{"id":1627,"date":"2022-11-16T15:34:49","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T20:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redchairblogs.wpengine.com\/holymoly\/?p=1627"},"modified":"2022-11-16T15:34:49","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T20:34:49","slug":"non-traditional-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/2022\/11\/16\/non-traditional-gratitude\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-Traditional Gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are the fall semester students of Religion 115: Green Spirituality for Lifelong Wellness led by Dr. Amy Merrill Willis. This class focuses on the connection between the environment and humanity. During the semester, we have been reading <\/span>Braiding Sweetgrass<\/span><\/i> by Robin Wall Kimmerer as a resource to expand and apply knowledge about the reciprocal relationship between humans and the land. Kimmerer, a scientist and member of the Potawatomi Nation, explains the importance of Thanksgiving in Native American culture and shows us how it differs from typical American conceptions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanksgiving is typically a holiday that is spent with family and friends. However, green spirituality teaches us that thanksgiving can represent more than just spending time with friends and family, but also being thankful for the earth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kimmerer emphasizes gratitude for non-human relationships as well as human relationships. This includes the trees for shelter and shade, the food for the energy and strength it gives us, and the animals that surround us and all of the things they have to teach us. She introduces us to the Haudenosaunee Nation\u2019s daily ritual called the \u201cThanksgiving Address,\u201d which is a long statement of gratitude. Here\u2019s a quote from the address: \u201cWith one mind, we honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden, especially the Three Sisters [beans, corn, squash] who fed the people with such abundance\u201d (109). Each part of this long address has the same topic in mind; being grateful for the earth around us and what it is able to provide.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Thanksgiving Address\u201d\u00a0 ends each paragraph with the phrase \u201cnow our minds are one.\u201d This ritual seeks to build common ground, unity, and belonging.\u00a0 However, we know that people across the country see Thanksgiving in different ways. Americans often describe Thanksgiving as a day of friendship that began with a feast between colonists and members of the Wampanoag tribe in 1621 to celebrate a good harvest and union between the English and the Native Americans.\u00a0 Sadly, the horrors of Native American massacre and assimilation have made Thanksgiving a day of mourning for many American Indians. For some, Thanksgiving is often a day marked by political arguments among family members. Year after year, unresolved conflicts build animosity between loved ones. In the midst of all these divisions, Kimmerer reminds us to practice gratitude which \u201cleads to an outlook of contentment and respect for all of Creation,\u201d including your family (Kimmerer, 111). Kimmerer teaches us that everyday can be a day of gratitude, not just the third Thursday of November.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As we approach Thanksgiving, we hope you will find a deeper sense of gratitude, contentment, and unity with all of your human and non-human relations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to learn more about what Thanksgiving means to local native peoples in Virginia?\u00a0 Listen to this <\/span>great story from WAMU.org<\/span><\/a>! (Link can be found in the email under the newsletter.)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are the fall semester students of Religion 115: Green Spirituality for Lifelong Wellness led by Dr. Amy Merrill Willis. This class focuses on the connection between the environment and humanity. During the semester, we have been reading Braiding Sweetgrass …<\/p>\n

Non-Traditional Gratitude<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-amy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1QIf6-qf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}