Tag: Thanksgiving

Happy Indigenous Heritage Day

As we rightly remember blessings bestowed
We cannot help but remember what is owed;
Land we now enjoy once belonged to bands
Of people here long before our Euro-throng;

So . . .
I Give
THANKS
But Not For
CROOKS & BANKS

I Am
GRATEFUL
But Not For
The CRUEL & HATEFUL

I Have
GRATITUDE
But Nor For
ATTITUDES & EMPTY PLATITUDES

Yes, we are rightly thankful for the seeds
That we plant ‘n grow to meet our needs,
But we should count the beads of history
And recall the grand mystery we erased,
Leaving only shadowy lines to be traced

Happy Thanksgiving, perhaps, but also . . .
“Happy Indigenous Heritage Day,” I say!

Note: For a succinct chronology of the protests against DAPL (the Dakota Access Pipeline) you may want to read the following article:

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/09/dakota-access-pipeline-protest-timeline-sioux-standing-rock-jill-stein

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I Thank Thanksgiving

I thank Sol for shining so brightly,
And Luna lighting the sky nightly;
I thank the canopy of heaven so blue,
And clouds and rain they bring anew’
I thank all the birds that daily sing,
With the deep, soulish joy they bring;
I thank the soft, chill breeze blowing
In Fall, teasing another winter showing;
I thank all living creatures, far and near,
Those who bring fear, and those so dear;
I thank love and beauty ever present,
Hidden sometimes, but never absent;
I thank thanksgiving in ever-gratitude,
And the pleasantries it brings, sings
∈∋∈∋∈∋∈∋∈∋∈∋ with joyful attitude.

The ‘Be Thankful’ Challenge

I cannot think of a better challenge than the ‘Be Thankful Challenge,’ which I received from My Silly World, a wonderfully interesting and inspirational blog. Please, by all means visit this site!

The Rules
– Share this image in your blog post.
– Write about 5 people in your life you are thankful for.
– Write about 5 things in 2015 that you are thankful for.
– Spread the love and challenge 5 other blogs to take part.

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Thankful

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Five People For Whom I Am Thankful:

  1. My children, who are, beyond any doubt, the two greatest blessings in my life!
  2. My older sister, Angela, who wears her name ~ Angel ~ very well; she is one!
  3. My friends, who provide so much comfort, care and encouragement … along with great conversation, lots of laughs and fun…
  4. My dear feline companion, without whom so many nights would be lonely…
  5. And the Spirit of Life, who permeates my life and the world around with light, love, peace, happiness and truth.

Five Gratitudes From Year 2015:

  1. Having the awesome privilege of providing end-of-life caregiving for a truly wonderful lady, who reminded me so much of my grandma
  2. Growth and maturation, which has been somewhat painful but far more beneficial than any of the discomfort
  3. The good health and well-being of my children!
  4. My own health and welfare; life could be much worse, I know, and mine is not…
  5. Being challenged to give thanks … to publically express genuine gratitude; we need more of this!

Here is where I will deviate and challenge all of my blog-buddies to take the Thank-Challenge!  For what are you thankful? Let us know … let the world know!

no greater blindness, but now I see

FarHorizon1

There is no blindness greater than the blindness of a thankless heart that simply refuses to see any reasons at all for gratitude.  Much to my own shame, great portions of my life have been wasted in just this sort of self-imposed darkness, and tragically those who loved me the most were often the ones hurt the most by my own self-centered grievances.  But if I “once was blind,” in the words of that ancient hymn, now I really do see;  I see light on the far horizon.  Light growing in the darkness, driving away the shadows, revealing in greater and ever greater clarity those blessings that have always been mine, and so many more that yet might belong to me if only I believe and reach out and lay claim to them.  Yes, there are plenty of reasons to be thankful, and so I am thankful.  And the more I live in this spirit of genuine gratitude, the more I seem to see;  the less blind I seem to be.

“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.”

–  Aesop

“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”

–  John Milton