This post is the last of the Season of Gratitude Series. I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Thank you for all of your participation.

On Thanksgiving Day around the US, people celebrate with their families and friends. Traditions may invlove gathering around the dinner table, saying a short prayer, asking everyone to say something that they are thankful for, and digging into a feast that includes turkey, stuffing, rolls, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, apple pie, and cakes.

Families come together from near and far to enjoy each other’s company, catch up on the news for the year, debate politics, or rouse over a football game. It is a time to reminisce over old times, and remember your roots. Grandparents and the newest additions to the family get a chance to share history. Love and joy is shared by all.

Today is the last day in the Season of Gratitude. I thank all of the contributors and participants for making it a robust collection of gratitude on the web.

Throughout the Season I have shared with you some of the things that I am grateful for and my insights on gratitude. Today, I round off the list.

I am grateful for and to my parents for building a home of love regardless of the physical surroundings. I thank them for being both deeply spiritual and outwardly ambitious. I thank my mother for her flare and passion. I really hope that a lot of that rubbed off on me. I thank my father for being an example of “centeredness”.

I am grateful for and to my brother for being impulsive and showing me what it’s like to live life in the moment and take risks. I thank you for always being outwardly expressive with your unconditional love. I thank you for being a younger brother that I can look up to and I hope that I am a sister that inspires you. I really thank you for my niece and nephew. They are really walking joy and love. You and Cari are doing a wonderful job.

I am grateful for and to the Kelly/Johnson family for embracing me as one of their own.

I am grateful for and to the Unity movement as a whole for creating a space where people can explore their Divinity. In particular, I am thankful for and to Unity Church of the Triangle, my current church home, for nurturing me, holding me, allowing me to express, and being a safe place for me to grow and explore my relationship with God. I am grateful for and to Rev. Neusom Holmes for his exemplary spiritual leadership and vision. I am also grateful for and to Rev. Charline Manuel and Unity Center of Miami for helping me grow through my spiritual infancy.

I am thankful for and to all of my friends. You each bring a unique perspective and tint to my life. I thank you for being honest, frank, open, loving, and supportive. I thank you for always being the best you can be and for calling me to be the best I can. I thank you for holding me accountable to my being.

I am thankful for all of the little things in life that I take for granted: running water, indoor plumbing, electricity for air conditioning in the summer and gas for heat in the winter, my computer which I use daily, pots and pans, utensils and plates, flooring and walls, a working vehicle, paved roads and traffic lights, phone and Internet service, cable and television, CD’s, stuffed animals, books, lighting, gadgets that make my life much easier, washing machines, vacuums, Swiffers, detergent, Windex, Fantastic, Clorox wipes, bottled water, paintings, sculptures, pictures and frames, and the infinite list of things that I don’t even know about which helps my life to run smoothly.

I am thankful for and to you, my readers for taking my ideas into consideration, providing feedback, and for being my audience. Have a great Thanksgiving Day. And if you are not in the US, take some time today to be grateful.

In Spirit,
Nneka