Hungry, Hungry Humans: A Thanksgiving Reflection on Gratitude and Inner Fulfillment

As we gather around the Thanksgiving table this year, it’s a poignant time to reflect on our shared human experience.

We are all ‘Hungry, Hungry Humans,’ constantly striving, reaching, and working to get ahead. This relentless pursuit is often driven by a rehearsed quality of mind, a collection of repeated (often fearful) thoughts that have shaped our current reality and our entire experience of life.

But let’s pause and consider: maybe the things we feel we need are merely rehearsed thought patterns, telling us we always need just a little bit more. More things, more experiences, more titles, more accolades, for others to behave differently and give us something we think we are missing: love, attention, validation. Yet, those who have tirelessly pursued these often realize that true fulfillment remains elusive.

In our constant striving for more, we do risk missing out on the joy and success we already possess. Without awareness or change, we might just continue to replay this collection of thoughts, missing out on all that exists today: our own youth and health, loved ones who will not always be with us, the excitement and potential of a current project we are launching.

Gratitude, I believe, is the highest energy we can emit. It’s not just about being thankful; it’s about recognizing and appreciating what we have. Imagine listing out all the things in your life that, if taken away, would be the only things you wished for. Our health, our family, our friends, the work we love, the ability to help others – these are not just aspects of our lives; they are the essence of our joy and success today!

What we are all really after, at the core, is a feeling. A feeling that can only exist within us if we learn how to cultivate it now. If we desire peace, we must foster peace in our present moments – through our thoughts, our focus, and our actions. If it doesn’t exist today, no external achievement or possession can bring it to us, not truly or for any lasting duration. No one has ever found contentment in the endless pursuit of more.

This Thanksgiving, I invite you to deeply consider what you believe you need in order to feel okay.

Are these genuine needs, or are they conditioned narratives dictating an unending chase? Thanksgiving gives us the perfect opportunity to be the person we most want and intend to be, and to do this where it is hardest: with our family members.

Let’s reflect on the abundance in our lives and emit the energy of gratitude. Let’s be grateful for our ‘Hungry, Hungry Human’ spirit, but also remember to find fulfillment not in the pursuit of more, but in the gifts that our current experiences and relationships offer. Perhaps they taught us how to love, or maybe they taught us how to set boundaries, protect ourselves, and who we never want to become.

If we want peace, then we learn how to create it now. If we seek joy, we do the work to find it in our present.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!