As we embark upon another Thanksgiving and face a growing influx of queries from friends about the chaos around us, we are reminded of the importance of going inward and taking time to reflect. Is it chaos or perceived chaos? What if we look at the series of events like a movie screen, one we can decide to drive past or one we opt to stay glued to? In other words, does someone else’s reality need to be ours, even if it appears to dominate the airwaves? Do we subscribe to the fear, or can we simply see it as a different reality we simply don’t embrace as our own?
If everything is pure consciousness, then we are part of that consciousness. In fact, we are consciousness itself. We are always creating our own realities in an ever-folding play . . . one we call life. Our life.
We create our reality with our thoughts, our belief systems, our ideologies and the things we pay attention to. If we don’t pay attention to a “thing,” then does the “thing” exist? Is it real? These are some of the existential questions we turn to again and again, generation after generation.
Through awareness, we can observe the thoughts that come and go, the emotions that keep us stuck versus those that bring us joy, and the circumstances we have told ourselves are the very reasons we don’t have inner peace. It’s always a choice.
Although it might not seem that we have much to be thankful for when we scroll through dire Instagram posts or watch the news, when we go inward to our own reality . . . the one we wish to create . . . we realize that we do have choices about what to bring into our world or not. What to create or co-create or not. What to acknowledge as real or not. What to subscribe to as a problem or not.
Thanksgiving was originally celebrated in 1621 as a harvest feast with the Wampanoag people and the Pilgrims in New England. It wasn’t until Lincoln established it as a national holiday in 1863 that we began to celebrate it as a nation. Its origins are baked in gratitude: A time to give thanks for what we have, not for what we don’t. In the 1800s, it was a simpler time and that thanks was for weather that brought us a good harvest, enough food for our family and safety for those in our immediate sphere (family and friends).
Without community, we wouldn’t have survived long winters and hardships, especially through famine and pandemics far worse than our modern-day Covid. In the 1600s, the Wampanoag taught the colonists how to survive and farm their land, so it was also about collaboration and an honoring of “the other.”
Four hundred years later, we have conveniences our ancestors couldn’t have imagined, yet we are increasingly complicating our lives with analysis paralysis and information overload. Constantly glued to our screens, we look to technology to accelerate and amplify. We look to screens for shortcuts (images of natural beauty) rather than going out into nature itself. We ask Chat GBT about our mental health because it’s too expensive, or we don’t feel safe going elsewhere. If we conform to a digitized world—even when it doesn’t feel good—we set in motion a trajectory toward a sick civilization. This may sound extreme, but that very constant plugging in and relying on “it” to solve our problems keeps us from discovering who we truly are, at our essence . . . at a soul level.
When we are in service to humanity, which includes our own well-being btw, we are jazzed up because we’re aligned with what we’re here to do. We inherently know what we’re here to do and don’t second-guess ourselves. We stop looking out there for the answers, whether it’s a Spiritual Guru, the President of the United States, a CEO of an organization, the Pope, Allah or God.
Universal truth comes from within. This doesn’t mean walking a solo path without collaboration, community, mentors or teachers. It simply means that you, as the guru or master of your own life, come first; what works for you might not work for your parents, siblings, or partner. You might hear a message from someone you trust that resonates as a universal truth when you sit silently with it. The key is to sit quietly with it.
Take this Thanksgiving season to walk in nature. Sit in silence. Reflect on the messages you’re getting from the media, from social streams, from YouTube shorts, from the Starbucks line or from a neighbor. Just BE.
Don’t try to fix that which is out there. Instead, focus on the inner peace in there. At the end of the day, when your mind is silent and your heart is at peace, the chaos or perceived chaos can’t hurt you. It will no longer trigger you and send you spiraling. You’ll stop second-guessing yourself. Ancient wisdom will become you, and you will become it. Your ancestors will speak through you even if you don’t claim it as such. There will be an innate knowing of what’s true for you.
Rather than listen to sides—whether it’s political sides, socio-economic sides or how to parent—tune into your heart. Know that you are pure consciousness, and as creatrix energy (we are all energy after all), you can and do create your own reality in every single moment
What will you choose? Make your choices a habit . . . a daily practice. Something you do without thinking. This can be through a ritual you perform every morning or evening before retiring for the night. This can be through a ceremony you do once a month or quarter. This can be through a community that supports you when you slip. Catch yourself when you go into self-doubt. Catch yourself when you self-criticize. Catch yourself when you judge another.
We either feed love or fear. We turn to pain or joy. Choose love. Choose unity. Choose collaboration. We aren’t meant to walk this journey we call life alone, but we are meant to trust ourselves . . . our inner compass. We’ve lost the ability to do that by giving away our power to others: institutions, corporations, religions and historical narratives that were largely created by men in power as a way to support their agenda.
When gratitude comes out of the closet and pierces your heart like a Cupid arrow, you realize things are okay and will always be okay. Even if you lose your job or house to a wildfire, your child is born with a rare disease, or your money is gone through a Ponzi scheme, you’ll be okay.
Focus on love. Gratitude. Community. Focus on your inherent wisdom, your internal compass. Take time for you every single day and listen to that voice that comes quietly but surely. It’s the time when your Higher Self speaks and reminds you what is real.
As we look outward and at times feel the chaos and confusion hitting not just our country but the world stage, it can feel a bit overwhelming. Remember, you know universal truth when you hear it, because it comes from a place of authentic care for another. Harmony and Balance, like what Gaia does best. Love, like what a baby shows with its smile and gaze into your eyes.
Go to that inner place and trust. You are Source, and Source is you. You are subatomic particles, and they are you. You are star dust, and they are you. You are Godde, and she is you. You are not separate from any of it. Find inner peace within, and it will shine outwardly without you even trying. Share a nugget of that wisdom from within at your Thanksgiving table this Thursday, November 27.
Share from a place of peace and resolve. Don’t try to prove anything to anyone; simply just BE that peace. BE that resolve. BE that gratitude. BE grace. BE love and share these qualities with others.
On the other side, I’d love to hear how you handled the triggers and prickly pear moments that came up this holiday season.
Renee Blodgett is the Founder and Managing Editor of We Blog the World, a global travel, culture and lifestyle publication exploring the world through the lens of meaningful experiences, human connection and cultural depth. Having lived in 10 countries and traveled to 95, Renee has spent much of her life immersed in the people, traditions, landscapes and ideas that shape how we experience the world.
Since launching We Blog the World in 2007, she has written and produced extensive editorial coverage spanning boutique and luxury travel, culinary experiences, arts and culture, wellness, adventure, technology, spiritual traditions and transformative travel. Her work is rooted in the belief that travel is about more than where we go—it is also about what a place, culture or encounter awakens within us.
Renee brings more than three decades of experience across journalism, photography, media, brand strategy, technology, wellness and global storytelling. She has worked with companies and organizations around the world on brand positioning, communications, product launches, media strategy, speaker positioning and storytelling. Through Blue Soul Media, she works with authors, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and purpose-driven brands to clarify their message and expand their impact, which includes speaker coaching/training for high-profile stages such as TED and bringing authors’ work to market while retaining authors rights.
She is also the co-founder of Blue Soul Earth, an educational platform exploring consciousness, ancient wisdom, spirituality, healing and the intersection between science and the nature of reality. Renee is the producer and host of the award-winning Blue Soul CHATS, a conversational series bringing together leading voices in science, technology, consciousness, wellness and spirituality.
Her growing body of work also includes Blue Soul Living, which extends her interest in consciousness and well-being into the spaces we inhabit, exploring how intentional design, energy and environment can support greater harmony and connection.
Renee is the award-winning co-author of the bestselling Magdalene’s Journey and founder of the Magdalene Collection, inspired by women’s voices, stories and wisdom across cultures and generations.
A longtime photographer and storyteller, Renee has documented people, places and cultures around the world and produced photographic collections focused on destinations including the Galápagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome and Ecuador. She also co-founded Traveling Geeks, an international initiative that brought entrepreneurs, journalists, creators and technology leaders together with their counterparts in other countries to exchange ideas and explore innovation across cultures.
Renee’s work has been recognized by Forbes, the United Nations and others for her influence in media and social storytelling. Across her work in travel, media, consciousness and culture, a common thread remains: curiosity about the world, the stories that connect us and the ways meaningful experiences can change how we see ourselves and one another.
