Today, I am grateful for the plants and animals that turned the sun into the food that nourishes me, for the ancestors who shaped me, for those who’ve taught and inspired me, and to all of you work, love, and fight along with me for the earth that holds us all.

As you cook and eat your feasts today, take a moment to really think about every ingredient—the hands that brought it to your table, the history behind every spice, the geography of every bite. Think of the 4.5 billion years of Earth’s history that led to a cranberry, a potato.

Meditate on the history of the land you feast on. Who was here before you? Do you know the names of those peoples? Where are they now? How did you get here? Why we are together? Why do we eat this, or that? What terrible violence brought us here? What grace can carry us forward?