River Valley Insight Meditation Community

A welcoming Buddhist Sangha in western Massachusetts

By Kim Weeber. Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday for many years. Focusing on the abundance in my life, instead of what is not going well is a prescription for being happier. So, yesterday I awoke with a feeling of gratitude and decided to start the day by sharing my happiness with my friends.

I am grateful for the sunshine coming in my window this morning, for my warm, purring, loving Rufus cat.

I am grateful for a warm comforter on a cool night, and for daffodil bulbs freshly planted and waiting to welcome the spring.

I’m grateful for the ability to buy delicious, healthy food, and for medical practitioners who help me maintain my health. 

I am grateful for a working car to take me to visit friends for Thanksgiving dinner today, and I am grateful for caring friends to share the day with. 

It was lovely to hear back from friends, and deepen our connection on this holiday. Gratitude opens the heart and makes it easier to be generous. And as we know, the Buddha emphasized generosity as a key practice on the path to freedom from suffering. Letting go in ways large and small gives us tastes of freedom and deepens our practice.

So, thanks for the friendship and support of all sangha members who have made River Valley Insight a spiritual home. Metta to you all.

From Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer – Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving address: https://americanindian.si.edu/environment/pdf/01_02_Thanksgiving_Address.pdf