Happy Thanksgiving!
Did you grow up liking Thanksgiving more than Christmas?
I did and still do.
I remember one of my most memorable Thanksgivings was after I returned from traveling for eight months around the world. My views were rather idealistic and I was inspired to live on purpose. I was in “total Trust” mode.
At that time Joseph Campbell’s “Power of Myth” was really popular and following my bliss was the theme.
I did some unusual things that year, like I lived for a month at the Ojai Foundation in Ojai, Calif., in a work/study where the purpose was to learn the American Indian Way of Counsel.
Our meetings were in a circle and an object was placed in the center. Whoever wanted to speak would take the “talking piece” and have the attention of the circle.
Before I left I also went on a vision quest. My first 24 hours in the wilderness alone with just water. I learned something about my own resilience.
I also learned to walk in low light, moonlight, or no light by trusting my instincts.
While at Ojai, I visualized where I was going from there. My plan was to intern at a PBS-TV station and live on the biggest hill in Seattle.
Looking back I can’t believe I actually took all my stuff to Ojai and stored it and then loaded it up when it was time to leave Ojai. I drove my stuff in a U-Haul truck and 1300 miles later I was Seattle. Three hours prior to arriving in Seattle (in Portland) I made a phone call about a place I found in a newspaper ad (this is pre-craigslist). I drove directly there!
A few days later I celebrated my stream of miracles as I served Thanksgiving meals as a volunteer in Seattle.
That’s my “total Trust” Thanksgiving story.
Happy Thanksgiving and as cheesy as it may sound – for this day, and every day, I am grateful!
