Gratitude is a pretty common theme for Thanksgiving, but that doesn’t make it any less poignant. Giving thanks is something we should practice every day, but it doesn’t hurt that there’s a specific day in which we celebrate by hosing turkey and gravy and potatoes and several piles of delicious sides and desserts and then unbutton our pants as we slip into a tryptophan coma.

 

And that’s a beautiful thing. But let’s talk about balancing the scales here and keeping our karmic checkbooks in the green. Now that you’ve made it past the feast, perhaps take a quick sweep of the cabinets to rid them of those extra cans of vegetables and soup that will soon be collecting dust. Call up your local shelter or soup kitchen and see what kind of donations they need (and they always, always need them). Gather up some long abandoned coats, sweaters, hats and gloves, and give them to those who could use the extras layers. Did you know that the number one most requested clothing item at homeless shelters are socks? That’s right. Socks. Don’t pretend like you don’t have any you could do without. We all do.

 

Performing these simple acts of house cleaning and charity helps us realize how much we actually have, and how seriously, deeply, insanely lucky we are to have it. Sometimes it takes giving things away to realize how much we have to give away. When we collect and hold onto things we no longer need, we block the “flow” of what we truly need. So by providing a warm meal and warm clothes to someone who doesn’t even have cabinets or a closet to fill, we’re feeding into the flow of abundance that everyone, everywhere, deserves.

 

This year, eat some leftover turkey, give some leftover turkey. Buy some new gloves, donate your old ones. Volunteer. Help where help is most needed.

 

In short: Feed the flow.