Gratitude

(Note from the Editor: Below is a guest post from Nathan George, founder of Trade as One. When I received this newsletter from him, I knew I had to share it with you. In this time of thanksgiving, Nathan takes our gratitude past a focused day and takes it into our everyday living throughout the holidays and beyond.)

In our materialist culture with its deep sense of personal entitlement, gratitude is a simple and subversive force. That's why Thanksgiving is so good for us. Through gratitude and generosity we can step outside of our own little world where we are the center of attention. In doing so, we step out of the firing line of all of the messaging, advertising, and fear-inducing hype that is aimed at us each day. As we allow the clamor and din to diminish, we start to hear and appreciate all sorts of quieter, gentler things that we often miss - our names, our purpose, our friends and family, and the simple joys of living.

This Thanksgiving holiday starts out so beautifully when, as a nation, we gather with our friends and family to give thanks and step back from the day to day. The danger is that we can then fall back into the ugliness of gratuitous consumerism on Black Friday and Cyber Monday - the official kick-offs to a season of material excess.

Trade as One is seeing people all over the country choose to subvert consumerism by deciding to spend less, to spend thoughtfully, and to ensure that the gifts they give are those that tell stories of the sort of world that our beliefs and hopes point us to. They are choosing to buy, give, and use items that are making a positive contribution to sustainable livelihoods for those trapped in poverty.

We have just produced another version of our Trade as One video that encourages people to use their spending power in positive and constructive ways. We hope you find it food for thought. www.tradeasone.com