An Auspicious Thanksgiving in Dharamsala
Dear friends and family, Happy Thanksgiving!
It is a beautiful, cloudless November day here in McLeod Ganj. From the street one can hear the resonant and unmistakable voice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama echoing from his temple at the heart of the city, where he has been giving public teachings for the past three days. The outer environment seems to be in perfect accord with the joyful quality this holiday inspires within us, a group of Americans far away from home on Thanksgiving Day.
Tonight, we will all share a Thanksgiving dinner together. This day is doubly auspicious, for it is also the anniversary of the Mumbai attacks, which shook the core of Indian society one year ago today. Over a menu of pumpkin soup, vegetable quiche, mashed potatoes and apple pie, we will come together to celebrate and give thanks for our multitude of blessings.
The celebration of Thanksgiving is particularly poignant here, in the midst of a refugee community - indeed, our freedom and privilege are felt strongly on a day like this. With this in mind, we raise our glasses to all of you, our family and friends abroad - we miss you and wish we could all celebrate together. Thank you for all of your love and support, and from the bottom of our hearts, Happy Thanksgiving!