Thanksgiving

It is 7:26 A.M. and I have been up an hour and a half this fine Friday morning. Got up at 6ish to have breakkie with my husband before he left for work. It is also the Thanksgiving weekend - which means I'll be on my usual crusade to clean the house, get some groceries in, make some nice meals. Both my sons are home with their partners, and on Sunday we will join my extended family for a lovely dinner. While surfing the net, I found a lovely recipe for "Middle Eastern Nut Cheese" which I am going to try out. I will also be making a Kung Pao Tofu with Broccoli and Peanuts entree - both of these will be my contribution to the traditional turkey feast that my niece (a chef) is sure to have.
In the course of this last hour, I have visited some interesting sites but the last contained a most inspiring piece which I thought I would share with you. I believe I was on the Vegan Freak blog which is run by a married couple who are teachers at (in their words) a liberal arts college in New York state. The wife stated that in preparation for one of her classes she had found a quotation from Victor Jara, a Chilean human rights activist. I found the same quotation, as she had done on Wikipedia. Here are Victor's words about what love means...

Love of my home, my wife and my children.
Love for the Earth that helps me live.
Love for education and of work.
Love of others who work for the common good.
Love of justice as the instrument that provides equilibrium for human dignity.
Love of peace in order to enjoy one's life.
Love of freedom, but not the freedom acquired at the expense of others’ freedom, but rather the freedom of all.
Love of freedom to live and exist, for the existence of my children, in my home, in my town, my city, among neighbouring people.
Love for freedom in the environment in which we are required to forge our destiny.
Love of freedom without yokes: nor ours nor foreign.

Jara was brutally beaten, tortured and then executed for his activism. Strange isn't it how things come into our path, our view. I had never heard of Victor Jara until this morning, but when I read these words, I thought how appropriate on Thanksgiving, on this day in our lives when so many people on this globe are not free to love, to live and exist without fear.
I am thankful that this morning I was free to have coffee with my husband, that my son is free to sleep downstairs on the couch, that my other son is free to drive home today, that I am free to earn enough money to feed us all, and free to live my life surrounded by good people, loving family and friends.
May your weekend be a peaceful and joyful one. Be thankful.

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