From the Heart
By Geoffrey Peckham
With Thanksgiving Day four days away and the wind howling off Lake Michigan this morning, I am counting my blessings. Tusen Takk is a place for such reflection. Situated on the forested coast of a lake that is more of an ocean than a lake, the landscape is large. The sky and waves stretch to a distant horizon suggesting an infinite amount of space and a divine perception of time. Such places encourage a person to reflect on their situation - to consider bigger things. Our first two artists working here, Alan Eaker and Johnny Coleman, experienced this. Patricia, Tom, Maggie and I find ourselves in thoughtful reflection daily in this place. In that consideration, a response of thankfulness always seems to be kindled.
“Kindle” is the perfect word for what I believe happens at Tusen Takk. As a transitive verb, Merriam-Webster defines kindle as:
“1: to start (a fire) burning : LIGHT// using dry twigs to kindle a fire.
2: a : to stir up : AROUSE // kindle a child's interest in art.
b : to bring into being : START.
3: to cause to glow : ILLUMINATE.”
Tusen Takk is a place where people come to create art, literature and music. To make use of the above definition for kindle, Tusen Takk is a place where creative fires are lit, where the imagination is aroused, where new things are started, and where the human spirit is illuminated.
The Thanksgiving illumination I want to share with you is that if you are like me, you are alive today. By this I mean exactly that - you are not dead; so far you have survived this time of pandemic and you still have breath in you. Compared to this time last year, we are all more conscious of the fragility of our lives.
With this thought in mind, I’d like you to step back and consider this: we have just been given a great gift - the opportunity to deeply consider the meaning of our lives. Wouldn’t it have been a great tragedy to have lived your life and never asked and sought to answer the question, “Why am I here?” Instead, because of the pandemic, this year we have all been reminded that we have a finite number of days to live. With a bold new understanding of this existential truth, we have been given a chance to clarify our life’s purpose, especially as it relates to love. Our time is not yet finished - there is still time to love! For this gift I give God a thousand thanks, tusen takk!
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