I remember going up to a mountain outside of Tucson, Arizona many, many years ago. A girlfriend of mine took me to a Quaker retreat. The turkey was cooking in a deep dirt hole for a couple days already. They were all mainly older, powerful women with strong political views. I think I was one of the very few boys there, if not the only one. They let me and my girlfriend have the nicest room and bed in the stone cottage. I remember feeling a bit awkward about this. I don't like putting people out. And, what if there was some kind of Druid sacrifice thing going on. The powerful women said it was in honor of our young love or something like that. Needless to say, later that night I did sleep with one eye open just in case. Anyhow, it was my first and only Quaker circle experience. Before the feast, we stood in a circle holding hands and each of us said something we were thankful for. It was very simple and beautiful. What did I say? Ah...I remember, something like: I was thankful to be able to share music, poetry, film and art with my friends. I was thankful that I had friends to share music, poetry, film and art with. I was thankful for being part of the human race. I think also I might have said that I was thankful that I had been blessed with way too much imagination to balance out the genes of my challenging family.

My wife had an idea for this Thanksgiving. We're going to pass a hat around the table. All of our guests will write three things they're thankful for on three separate fortune strips. During the dinner, we'll pass the hat around again and each of us will randomly pick and read all of this collective thankfulness.

Remember, no matter how dark things are for you, there is always something to find to be thankful for. Cherish that. It is the light that will grow within you. Work hard to keep it lit-- it is the love of our shared Human Spirit.