Thanksgiving Guts — Brave Tutu

If I’m honest—really honest—I’m afraid of cooking a turkey. It’s not about the worry of something tasting bad; that’s a whole other article of vulnerability. No, it’s that sack of guts that lives inside the turkey. Some turkeys don’t even have it in a sack. You have to be a pilgrim or pioneer and go in there blindly. I SHUDDER.

Something—no, everything—about this sack of guts grosses me out. I try not to think about it. But something in this “small” moment of fear seems relevant. Let’s dig into these past weeks. Not fun at all. I think about families divided by the election outcome. Lines drawn. Similar to how I feel with the gizzards and such, I feel sick.

People are spilling their guts on Facebook and I hear about horrible responses to their vulnerability. However, I must be Facebook sheltered (or done something right with my blocking button) and I’m not seeing hate. I am seeing pleas for conversation and authentic and hopeful ropes thrown to create bridges between both sides. People are scared, brave and open. Many feel they have not a choice, but a responsibility, to share those gut-deep concerns for tomorrow.

Brave Tutu is not a political podium, as I stated in Sugar Cube Search: Un-Cupboard, Uncomfortable. However, it is a celebration of significance and monumental moments. I look into gratitude. Gratitude….hmmmm what we all “should” be feeling this week. I realize that gratitude is a cornucopia of feelings, but it is NOT the absence of fear.

“Fear can exist in the exploration of gratitude.”

Fear, as some say, stands for “false evidence appearing real.” That can be comforting. However, in the case of these last few weeks, the “false evidence” is not a reality. Fear can exist in the exploration of gratitude. The vital connection between the two seems to require conversation. I heard a poet, minister and psychologist, Rev. Pittman McGehee, speak this weekend. He shared how respect, trust and empathetic listening need to be in place for meaningful dialogue.

I chewed on this. There has to be a micro and macro level of application. The sharing of guts and constructive dialogue has a place with trusted friends and family, even if it’s excruciating. And 90% of that dialogue is listening. For the macro, I’m not sure. As a Brave Tutu gal, I admit that my focus on the small can be a delight and a detriment. However, I’m listening and reading and trying to figure out what I can do.

My efforts include this Thanksgiving introspection. I looked at last year's article, WHAP! WHAP! Gratitude, and reflected on my fears. Thanksgiving, the inside of it, the reaching towards gratitude, is not a vacuum of parades and candied yams. Even though I’m afraid and sickened by the raw insides of it all…I aim to dig deeper. That “dig” requires conversation and I hope we can have one here. Please share how you deal with the guts of gratitude. How are you climbing past fear and into respectful dialogue? Please know I’m grateful for you. All of this takes courage.

Remember,

Your Brave Tutu (You’re Brave Too-Too)

-Take courage in delight. Discover power in small moments.