Time of gratitude and thanksgiving evokes soul

In Sunday’s entry on her news analysis and opinion blog, Virginia Bergman shares the presentation she gave at Groveland Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship in St. Paul, Minnesota. She tells a family story about the blue bird of happiness, acknowledges the power of imagination, and quotes Thomas Moore’s Care of the Soul.

Bergman describes how she honours soul, especially at this time of thanksgiving in the U.S.: "Rituals at home and in community help. I’ve mentioned my dream journal, keeping fresh flowers in my apartment, and recent efforts to meditate regularly. Preparing for Thanksgiving has reminded me of long-practiced family rituals. Our dinner menu is handed down from the previous generation. Along with turkey and homemade bread stuffing, it includes required items such as watermelon rind pickles, black olives, rutabaga, and cranberry sauce (the jellied kind that comes in a can)."

She observes, "Turning the pages of The Care of the Soul in the past few weeks, I’ve been reminded of the person I was at my first reading some ten or fifteen years ago compared to who I am now. And what delights me most is the discovery that wherever we are in our lives we are free to nurture our souls and experience healing and growth."