Thankyou

Looking into different ways to be thankful for what we do have, doesn't always come naturally or easily but when it is put into a practice it becomes a natural part of the day. As babies we never said thank you for our milk or any other tasks our carers did for us. Saying thank you needs to be lead. The first lesson in saying thank you is to recognize that what you have is a gift.

In our modern throw away society it can be hard to appreciate what you have in the moment. Not to be thinking of what you don’t have and what the next thing you want is. This can be difficult for young children, society, media and advertising can have a big influence on them, offering the next best thing or upgraded version of what they already have.

Honoring the things we have, how do you do this?

Gratitude and the feeling of having enough.

'the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.'

May all I say and all I think

be in harmony with thee,

God within me,

God beyond me,

maker of the trees.

— Chinook prayer, Pacific Northwest Coast, North America

If we look to the forest for inspiration we see an abundance of life, and resources freely available but the rule of nature is always take only what you need.

Lets start with the basics to appreciate : food, a big part of our day, Who do we thanks for our food?

A grace is a short prayer or thankful phrase said before or after eating. The term most commonly refers to Christian traditions. Some traditions hold that grace and thanksgiving imparts a blessing which sanctifies the meal. In English, reciting such a prayer is sometimes referred to as "saying grace”. ref :wikipedia

Looking at ways different people and places give blessings on there meal.

Health to the Whole Earth, May we never hunger. Health to the Rivers and the Oceans, May we never thirst. All Our Relations. Ho.

Thank you to the farmers who worked in the field, Planting and harvesting the food for our meal. Thank you to the sun and rain that helped the food to grow. Thank you to the sky above and the earth below. Peace on earth, health to all our family, and blessings on our meal.

Blessed be the Earth for providing us this food Blessed be the Sun for helping it to grow Blessed be the Wind and Birds for carrying its seed Blessed be the Rain for the water’s loving flow. Blessed be the hands that helped prepare this meal, May those hands and our hands, bodies too, be well and quick to heal. Blessed be our friends, our families, and all of our loved ones. Blessed be our mother earth, our father sky and sun. – Christian mealtime prayer

The food is brahma (creative energy). Its essence is vishnu (preservative energy). The eater is shiva (destructive energy). No sickness due to food can come to one who eats with this knowledge. – Sanskrit blessing

Dear earth who gives to us this food, Dear sun who makes it ripe and good, Sun above and earth below, Our loving thanks to you we show.

Blessings on our meal. – Secular mealtime prayer

Om, beloved mother nature, you are here on our table as food. You are endlessly bountiful, benefactress of all. Grant us health and strength, wisdom and dispassion, and help us share this with one and all. – Hindu mealtime prayer

• Japanese: itadakimasu (I am receiving)

• Ghanaian: Earth, when I am about to die I will lean on you. While I am alive, I will depend on you.

• Southeast Asia: This food is the gift of the whole universe. May we be worthy to receive it. May the energy in this food give us the strength to transform our unwholesome qualities into wholesome qualities.

Finally the prayer we often say before eating is:

Thank you for the food we eat

Thank you for the world so sweet

Thankyou for the the birds that sing

Thank you Mother Nature for everything

All ways of saying 'grace' bring different elements to our minds before enjoying our meal and highlight the abundance that we have in our lives.

“In each area of life, the awareness that we are inseparable from the Earth will inevitably make us choose the path that serves both us and the planet best. This shift in perception naturally returns us to our true selves, for our ‘ground of being’ is rooted in the living universe just as surely as a tree is rooted in the soil and flows from the same wellspring of life as do all the rivers in the world.

“Eventually, those whose lives we touch will also begin to perceive the Web of Life in this new, yet old and familiar, way as our true home, the original mothering source of all good, and the restoring of the wasted land can begin.”

Mara Freeman from Prophetic Voices of the Sisters of Honua