I would like you to reach back in time and give thanks to the blue-green bacteria who initiated the masses by breathing volatile oxygen, for without them we could not be here.

And let us then give thanks to the plants who recognized that the sun is food, and in their breath, they give us ours.

And then let us give thanks to the marine life who perceived the strength of calcium and acquired it for shell and bone, for without them we could not move around as we do.

And let us give thanks to the mammals who adapted to land by keeping a warm ocean within their wombs, for without them we could not have been born.

And then let us give thanks to our ancestors who got it into their heads that they are clever, for without them we could not have evolved.

And let us give then give thanks to our bodies for all the powerful ways we can sense our world.

And now let us bring our hearts and minds together:

Let us share our breath with one another, the one gift we can give at any moment.

And let us give thanks for the process of life and death and rebirth so that we may enjoy each day to its fullest.

Let us give thanks to all that is known and all that remains a mystery.

Look at one another adoringly, for we are each a door through which we can see into the world.

We are imperfect mirrors, but loving ones just the same.

So give thanks and be here, now, present, in this space, with this community.

Bright Blessings.

Copyright 2015, revision 2019, Arianna Alexsandra Collins

Arianna Alexsandra Collins, naturalist, poet, writer, wild edible enthusiast, and Wiccan High Priestess lives in Ashfield, MA.

Into the Outside is a periodic feature in the Shelburne Falls Independent. This article appears in the Thanksgiving 2018 edition.

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