March 1996
Giving Thanks — Pilamaya
by Aliess M. Brady
When I give thanks, I open up my mind and picture my food as it grew: the well-tilled fields, rich and deep...the sun...the rain...sturdy green plants growing...the farmer’s hands, the truck driver, the grocer, and the stock person — everyone who helped make the food on my plate a reality. As I see each one in my mind’s eye, I pause to reflect on the path of the sun’s energy and how it came to me. I pause to meditate, sending the heat of my own love and gratitude back to all those who gave away so that I could eat — plants, animals and earth included.
Pausing to consider the give-away of plant and animal spirits, as well as the time and effort that others spend with the food I eat, is a good exercise in recognizing my relationship to them as well as to the continuum of all creation and its interdependence — known in the Lakota language as Mitakuye Oyasin (pronounced, Me-tah-kwee-ay Oh-yah-seh). Literally translated, it means: "All One People, or We Are All Related." It also means, "My heart hears this; my heart agrees with this." This phrase encompasses many things, from a relationship to a way of life, not the least of which recognizes that without plants, animals and other people, I would not be here. Mitakuye Oyasin refers to all of those imbued with life force. For the Lakota people, that includes Great Mystery (or God), Father Sky and Mother Earth, the Stone People, rivers, lakes, mountains, the Thunder-Beings which bring rain, plant people, winged ones, swimming ones, creature-beings (insects), four-leggeds and two-leggeds (humans), the youngest and most ignorant of all creation.
Recognizing that relationship is important because it confirms and completes the law of reciprocity: through meditation and appreciation for all of the relationships inherent in the journey my food makes to my plate, live mysteries and stories that I can learn from. Giving thanks for the food we eat creates a stronger relationship with it, a mindfulness. In giving thanks, the gift is blessed, the giver honored.
I believe that it helps me to create further when I receive appreciation for what I have done. Gratitude helps me to grow and expand. I believe that like me, this may be true for all of Creation. For why do we do anything if not for gratitude, appreciation, love and praise? Indeed, one might argue, what is life for if not to delight in the interplay of creating, giving and receiving? So I give thanks, for the food I eat and everything I receive. I give thanks because once I have given, I can receive again with joy. Pilamaya, Mitakuye Oyasin.
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