“Thanks” Giving?

Today is Thanksgiving  for some … others don’t celebrate, and friends up North celebrated last month.  I thought it’d be a good time to write a little bit about “Thanks”

Thanks gets a bad rap. We often equate gratitude and acceptance with being weak and accepting things at a state less than what we wish them to be. This is not true. Instead, being grateful and appreciating what we have (or accepting what is happening around us) are like magic goggles that help us see how to create the best change for ourselves, our family, community and world.  No joke.

Things don’t have to be perfect in order for us to give thanks or feel gratitude.  Being thankful for finding humble shelter (even if it’s not your dream home) doesn’t mean that you can’t move into a mansion one day, nor does it mean you can’t make your little abode nicer.

Things aren’t always perfect but we can be grateful for that too. I’m grateful for my health even though it’s not perfect.  I’m alive! I can live another day and spread some light and love to those around me, and learn from others even if I get migraines or still have pains from an old injury.    I’m grateful for my house even with a leaking pipe or freezing temperatures creeping in drafts, or the constant need to paint something, replace something, or rebuild something. After all, t’s a wonderful place with musical instruments, people I love,  the tools of my gifts.  I’m grateful for my friends and family and everyone I know in my life.  Sometimes they’re not perfect, or they’re scared or negative…  but the same goes for me too! I’m just glad we have time together to explore and learn together.

Happy Thanks giving, everyone!  I hope no matter what you’re doing, whether it’s turkey (tofurkey?) pumpkin pie, Thai noodles or enchiladas, and no matter where you are… that you have a happy day.

 

*The image above is a little painting I did on my phone using a program called Artflow using the oil paint brush for the main picture  and the “pen” mode for the lettering. 

Happy thanksGIVING!

(a small notebook drawing of mousie Thanksgiving … idea by my dad lol)

 

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving/Hanukkah/ holiday kick-off with loved ones all around!

There is always something to be grateful for, even if it is small.   I’m blessed in so many ways.  I’m grateful for my friends, family, fellows, clients, and opportunities to create and inspire.   I’m thankful for my online friends and sources of inspiration and admiration.    Gratitude is not a one time a year thing, it’s an everyday appreciation of what we have.

If we DO then we shouldn’t just let it be a holiday “warm fuzzy”  — but a call in our heart not for pity or doing things to make ourselves feel good  but to help others as best we can, always!

And it’s not just the less fortunate but also those around us, neighbours or friends, who might be suffering loss, illness, sadness  or hard times over the holidays.  What a great time to give THEM thanks and appreciate them for what they do!   Giving a little time, love, gratitude or attention is the best gift that everyone can give no matter what.    And you don’t need to wait until it goes on sale or trample the crowds to a midnight door-opening on Black Friday, either!

THANK YOU for all you do, and for you being you!  Wishing you and yours the best holiday 🙂

***Here’s some tips if you decide to make this a season of giving:

*check with local homeless shelters, food pantries or charities that help elderly, disabled or families in need and see what their donation “wish lists” are.  Sometimes you might be surprised by what you find!   (like fresh salad greens or specific types of toiletries or clothing)    For instance, – an item always in demand in colder climates at homeless shelters are disposable hand-warmers.

*If you donate food,  don’t give away things that are extremely-expired, dented, bulging or rotten. People in need are human beings, not raccoons.  If you buy new things at the store,  pick items that are palatable and nutritious.  There’s so much more to do with our gratitude than to break out that can of beanie weenie that has been in the pantry since 1977 or donate some tins of pumpkin pie filling once a year.  (though giving even in small ways is AWESOME and so appreciated!)

*Good food donation items are:     canned veggies, fruits, juices (no added sugar),  spaghetti sauces (be careful as some charities don’t accept glass items), proteins like canned tuna, canned chicken, canned beans, legumes, peanut butter, soups, whole grain cereals and crackers, dry pasta, dry potato flakes, low sugar cereals, nuts, dried fruits, seeds, oatmeal and rice

*You may be able to find a “giving tree”  or “Angel” tree (as they’re sometimes called) in your community.   A charity organizes a gift drive and participants get a  new toy, needed item or clothing item for the adults or children in need which then get distributed at Christmas time.

*Don’t forget furry friends.  Winter can be harsh for animal shelters and rescue agencies.  Check and see if your local animal carers have a “wish-list” too!

*servicemen and women appreciate greetings and well-wishes

*Senior centers can be a marvelous place to give the gift of TIME.  If you play an instrument or can instruct a craft class, donating your time is a lot of fun and very rewarding.

*During holiday sales two for one deals or other magnificent deals might pop allowing you to donate some of those brand new items to folks who could use them.

*If you don’t have extra money or food,  spending a few moments of your time to sit, listen, be there, or pitch in,  can be immeasurably helpful for those in need.

 

 

A Flood of Celebration: Card of the Week 17th September, 2013

This week’s card is a day late. A flood, according to CNN, of “Biblical proportions” has hit my state of Colorado and while away on a trip, all-hell-broke-loose on my home turf.   The clouds let loose more rain than we get in one year, in less than 24 hours. Creeks spilled their banks, roads collapsed, bridges washed out, homes simply washed away, people were evacuated and airlifted out  and, tragically, lives were lost.  I spent much of my return yesterday contacting friends, clients and friends and hearing about evacuations by the National Guard airlifting friends in Blackhawk helicopters, heroic tales of missing persons being found again, rescue help and neighbours banding together to stem the flood tide away from homes.

This week’s “card” (or tile)  from Mary McNaughton’s Synchro-Signs might therefore seem incongruous.  Happy balloons, candles and ribbons “CELEBRATE!” it says….

And yet I find this ultimately fitting.  When I came home, my garden had been rinsed of most of its beauty, my bathroom ceiling had a crack in it that, when touched, turned into a gaping hole, mold, moss, mushrooms and split wood abound.   BUT I had a home. I was alive, my family was alive, my house was safe.   This was AWESOME!   The tales I heard from friends echoed this celebratory sentiment.  One friend described with joy how she had listened intently in the middle of the night to the waterfall of water flooding into her basement and growing higher and higher in the lake of her yard  until she felt like she was at sea on a ship;  waves lapping against the walls of the basement and slapping the top of the ceiling of the basement beneath her like waves on a hull… she slept in fear and her furnace and basement were ruined but she was SO happy – the water had not come up stairs, she was alive, they weren’t trapped.     Another woman said she had been evacuated two times but was finally able to go home yesterday – her gratitude and joy and compassion for those less fortunate, those who are in shelters, rose in her voice.

It seems like we wait for the Universe to roll out the caviar, lotto-winnings and “Good things happening”  to celebrate…. until something bad happens. Some tragedy strikes.  Our fathers or mothers fall ill and it dawns on us how much we love them. Our roof blows off and we realise how lucky we are to be alive.     This week, celebrations are in order.    Don’t wait until life kicks over your sand-castles to treasure the beautiful things in your life.  Treasure them now.  See them with the eyes of someone standing on the last bit of road left on Earth, the infinite stretching ahead, their world forever different. See them with the eyes of a flood victim cherishing a child saved by the Red Cross.   Value and celebrate the gifts that you do have because surely you have them!    This is your chance, right now, TODAY  – to give a mighty hug to your mom, dad, brother or sis. This is your chance RIGHT NOW, TODAY to go into your studio or your office or the back room of your house and see the wonderful possibilities waiting for you within those sturdy, safe walls.  What stories can you write, what pottery can you throw, what poems will you compose?

If you feel the flood waters metaphorically rising in your life, or if the Universe hasn’t opened a fresh jar of caviar for you – celebrate anyway!       Crack out your best yellow cake, make some sugar roses, light a few candles, strap on a party hat.   Be glad, be happy.     You’re alive, you’re loved and there’s SO MUCH ahead of you for the taking.   There’s so much you can give to other people and so many ways in which your help is needed and appreciated.

In my besotted garden, the sun has finally come out after the storms and even though most things are damaged, there now stand a cluster of perfect, white EASTER lilies blooming in September (planted in the Spring it is there time to resurface, just as fall is around the corner) a perfect symbol of how life celebrates itself on a continuing basis; I’M ALIVE, I GO ON, POSSIBILITIES don’t cease…

Prayers and thoughts go out to those who cannot go home, who have no home now, or who have lost both property or human life.  In the coming days and weeks I will be donating time and resources to help my community… another thing we shouldn’t wait to do until something happens, this is a good reminder to cherish THOSE gifts too:  community.

About this deck:

This week’s wisdom comes to us from Synchro-Signs by Mary McNaughton and  published by Hampton Roads Publishing .    They’re not gorgeous, painterly works of art but they are simple and evocative.     This is not a card deck at all (the 101  rudimentary universal  symbols and glyphs are printed on tiny 1 inch squares of  cardboard  -I keep them in a box and mix them like rune-stones)  but it’s the only oracle I use when I need to flesh out a writing project or to put myself aside and read on MYSELF or issues at hand.