Buddhist teachings are filled with instructions to be present to each moment with a sense of gratitude. For example, Shantideva wrote,

“When eating do not gobble noisily,

Nor stuff and cram your gaping mouth.

-Shantideva

Which sounded like a serendipitiously funny thing to read on Thanksgiving week. By no means do I advocate not eating a hefty plate of food and pie. But whenever you eat that big plate, be present to it! Enjoy every bite. Savor what took so much time to cook, and what was prepared with love. Don’t think about the dishes yet, or worry about what comes next. Don’t rush in eating a meal that took hours- and maybe days!- to prepare.

When you sit down for what I hope will be a delicious meal today, may you be fully present to it. May you treat it with respect, which is to say, may you honor the beauty of the moment.

Certainly, for many of us, this is not the moment we wanted. But it is the moment we have. And, with Buddhist wisdom, we accept the reality of things and recognize that nobody escapes from suffering.

Granted, nobody gets a perfect Thanksgiving, even in a non-pandemic year! The real trick is to live deeply in the one we get.

So, instead of spending the day mentally comparing this Thanksgiving to others, return yourself gently to the present. Be here, now. We’re in this timeline!

Also, if you’d like, you could also, at some point today, offer thanks to the earth for its sustenance. To farmers and farmworkers for their faithful efforts. To grocery store workers for their long hours.

Similarly, you could offer compassion to all those who feel lonely today. Those who will go hungry. Those who lie in hospital beds or nursing homes unattended by loved ones. Those whose tables have a chair empty for the first time.

Be present in gratitude. Show up in the moments of today. Take time to remember what is good and worthy of joy.

Above all, I offer each and every one of you my heartiest wishes for a very happy Thanksgiving.