The Thanksgiving of Community

I’ve never really gotten this Thanksgiving day thing… as a Canadian I wasn’t raised with it and it always seemed forced and obligatory.  Yesterday I was dreading it – ritual and consumption without meaning.  But this morning I woke very early, slipped outside into the quiet of daybreak, and breathed in the expectant air of things about to happen.  I let down my guard and was instantly filled with gratitude. I suspect it was in me but somehow disengaged.  I felt gratitude for my family, for our health, for fortitude in our times, and for the community that I’ve been privileged to experience this past year as I’ve traveled from town to town, sharing the work — where I witnessed, in awe, the passion and aspirations of artists everywhere, all sharing in the desire to fulfill our creative capacity.

This journey culminated in Saturday’s 99 Actors Day in LA with the convergence of actors and colleagues all striving for remedy, and for something essential to shift for each of us.  And what we all came to understand – in a profound way – is that we’re really in this together; we’re not alone.  We share a commonality – our love of this thing we do along with our continuous need to reconnect with each other and with ourselves.  This binds us to each other, wherever we are in our careers and our life journeys.  We are a community.  And it’s in this community that we find our inspiration, our resolution… our individual success along with our sense of belonging.  

That’s what I realized at dawn… about this thanksgiving thing.  It’s about firstly believing in our dreams. And then in sharing our gifts.  Celebrating each other. Expressing our gratitude.  Finding the power of connection in whatever community we realize. 

I’m grateful for the journey I’ve had this past year and how it’s lead me straight home to the heart of my family and the confluence of fellow travelers.

Thank you for listening, for opening your hearts to me, for sharing your gifts, for being a part of my community.  It’s been deeply moving.

Here’s to your personal and communal thanksgiving celebration.  And to the continued expedition… together.

Thanksgiving Day 2011

A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.  

– John Lennon