I first heard the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Thanksgiving Address at a Midwinter Ceremony that my mother took me to. If it's true that what we focus on really grows, and if we do really receive more of what we express gratitude for, I cannot think of a better, more beautiful and comprehensive message of gratitude for all things and for each other.
A short explanation of the Thanksgiving Address:
"The Thanksgiving Address (the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen) is the central prayer and invocation for the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois Confederacy or Six Nations — Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora). It reflects their relationship of giving thanks for life and the world around them. The Haudenosaunee open and close every social and religious meeting with the Thanksgiving Address.
It is also said as a daily sunrise prayer, and is an ancient message of peace and appreciation of Mother Earth and her inhabitants. The children learn that, according to Native American tradition, people everywhere are embraced as family. Our diversity, like all wonders of Nature, is truly a gift for which we are thankful.
When one recites the Thanksgiving Address the Natural World is thanked, and in thanking each life-sustaining force, one becomes spiritually tied to each of the forces of the Natural and Spiritual World. The Thanksgiving Address teaches mutual respect, conservation, love, generosity, and the responsibility to understand that what is done to one part of the Web of Life, we do to ourselves."
Source: https://danceforallpeople.com/haudenosaunee-thanksgiving-address/
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