thoughts for Thanksgiving

this is of course an American holiday, but Saul Williams has sent some wise words to his myspace followers. on a day when many people across the world are fearful for friends and relatives, it's important to remember the good in the world. only light can defeat the darkness.

Do not bow your head. Do not close your eyes.

Let us look deeply within one another.

TODAY, I give thanks for the light that exists within each one of you.

TODAY, I acknowledge that your quest for light beyond shadow, your desire to defeat your own cynicism, your work at believing the impossible possible, your faith in change and the ability of humankind to transcend past transgressions and overcome the shortsightedness of ignorance and fear, and our collective effort at stretching the boundaries of reality, has enabled us to achieve the dream that is TODAY.

TODAY, I acknowledge that even my own success is a simple spoke in the wheel of our collective success, and that our collective success is in response to all of the individual effort that we have put forward in our individual lives, in private moments, in private struggles against our lesser selves.

Some of us worked on being more honest.
Some of us worked on being more kind.
Some of us worked on not hiding our emotions.
Some of us worked on becoming less angry.
Some of us worked on becoming better listeners.
Some of us worked on facing our fears.
Some of us worked on remembering to say thank you.
Some of us worked on trusting our loved ones.
Some of us worked on having more faith.
Some of us worked on detoxifying our environment.
Some of us worked on detoxifying our minds.
Some of us worked on monitoring our diets.
Some of us worked on strengthening our discipline.
Some of us worked on broadening our skills.
Some of us worked on learning new languages.
Some of us worked on becoming better parents.
Some of us worked on becoming better friends.
Some of us worked on remembering our dreams.
Some of us worked on forgiving the past.
Some of us worked on strengthening our bodies.
Some of us worked on sharing and giving back.
Some of us worked on taking on greater responsibility.
Some of us worked on our art.

As a result of all of the work that has been done quietly in our individual lives, we have collectively contributed to the blossoming understanding and simplest expression of what God is. God is our good, and even the good we do for our self counts. Each fully blossomed flower on the hillside of our destiny adds to the broadened spectrum of our being. And together, we create more than beauty, more than fate; we evolve the depth and scope of the All-Seeing.

We may never see it reported through the media, but there is more good happening in this world than evil. There are more children smiling in this moment than any single one of us could fathom… and someone just fell in love, and someone just helped a stranger, and someone just scored a goal, and someone got their hearing back, and someone’s joking with their co-worker, and someone’s sitting in the kitchen, while the rest of the household sleeps, writing a poem.

Today, I give thanks for all of the good that has gone unrewarded, for every kind word, action, or deed. Today, I gave thanks for the God that is within each and every one of you, that is us, when we claim who we are.