Thanksgiving 2012

I’m anticipating Thanksgiving along with everyone else. I’ve started making the pie crust,  and I’m looking forward to gathering with my folks, visiting from Alaska; my aunt, who lives locally; and my wonderful husband. We have some movies lined up, dinner reservations (yes!), outings planned, and tickets to the opera. We’ll miss our son terribly (Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday), but we take comfort that he is with friends and his lovely girlfriend in Alaska. And we’ll miss siblings, cousins, and extended family spread all across the West!

Last year I wrote about the importance of gratitude and thankfulness for health and peace of mind. This year, I am sharing a link from an Eden by the Bay reader. Rachel Sussman has been studying some of world's oldest living things as part of a science, art, philosophy, and environmental project. The subjects of her study must be at least 2000 years old, just to meet her entrance criteria! Take a look:

 

 Needless to say, most of her subjects are plants, bacteria, or fungus. Their longevity is mind boggling and humbling. In most cases, their slow-paced lives are fragile and precarious. Their existence is marked by community and generations, not just the individual. Global Species Longevity - something to think, about while giving thanks and being grateful. Happy Thanksgiving!