by Brett Stevens on November 22, 2012



If the only prayer you ever said in your life was ‘thank you,’ that would suffice. – Meister Eckhart



Thanksgiving is not a holiday; it’s a ritual.

Rituals exist like a kind of existential “to do” list, reminding us when to stop and focus on certain bigger-picture issues, so that when we return to our regular daily function, we have greater clarity.

As a harvest festival, Thanksgiving is a time when we look over the year and tilt the balance sheet to the positive. After all, we’re still alive. The harvest is done, and it may not be perfect, but it’s time to consider all that could have been, and know how good it is to have what we have.

This year, I’m thankful for many things, including survival. I’m thankful for another year in what I consider an optimal existence, not on a personal level, but derived from the cosmos (you can read “God” if you wish) itself. Life is designed to be beautiful and it is. All of its disadvantages and evils have a purpose. I can’t change the parts that are awful, but I can live in awe of the greatness of it all, which is made possible in part and necessarily by its awful parts.

I’m thankful for the community that has rallied behind this blog with intelligent comments, articles, help with technical and hosting, public mention, citing us in your blog posts and even talking about us with your friends. Thank you all. It’s a cliche to say I couldn’t do it without you, and it’s true: this blog is not and has never been a one-person effort. It’s more important to note that I do it because of you. When I look over our readers and see intelligent and aware people, it makes me want to not only keep going, but be better than I ever have before.

I’m thankful for the winds of history, which are changing and slowly (but less slowly than two decades ago) but surely blowing behind us instead of in our faces.

I’m looking forward to more chances to serve the order of the cosmos, which is beauty, and to beat back its necessary opposite, which is disorganization.

Thank you all for this opportunity.

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