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Gratitude and Appreciation

Gratitude and Appreciation

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The bittersweet wistfulness of late fall is a good time to reflect, appreciate, and be grateful. It is connected with the traditions of harvest, the feel and smell of autumn, the awareness that cold winter is approaching. All the senses come alive with foggy mornings, trees baring their arms, the last warm moonlit nights, the cessation of summer’s buoyancy.

Thanksgiving is also associated, for me, with a break from routine – the first trip home from college, the warm hospitality of kin, reunions with friends. It’s less hectic than Christmas, and not so cold that a profusion of light is needed (although a fire is very lovely).

This year, we’ve all been pretty sick, and we aren’t going anywhere. It’s a low-key day, a relaxing one. I’ve got some chores to do, but everything is simple and sweet. All is prepared for the meal, and it isn’t a huge feast. I like it.

It’s a great year to withdraw a little, to allow my mind to wander, and to celebrate my own little family. It’s a good time for introspection and introversion. I would not be good company in a group this year. I’m grateful that there is no sacrifice to be made, no atonement, no resolution, no gift-wrapping, no grand plan. There will be no arguments, no whining, no politics, no religion, no nationalism, no pointless squabble, no rehashing of disputed histories, no need for diplomacy, no call for forgiveness, no heaviness, no superficiality, no football game to watch. I don’t need to walk on eggshells.

I’m grateful – to the core – for my dear family.

I’m especially grateful that it is so very easy to be proud of my delightful son, and so rewarding to be his mom. I never thought it would be something that suited me, but I was so wrong.

I’m grateful for my kind and smart and understanding (and big and strong) husband. I’m grateful for my daily life: for the welcome-home hug, for the coffee, for dinner that is often served to me, and for the occasional walk in the woods. I’m grateful – really – for intelligent conversations and also for silliness, and for living with someone who thinks I’ve still got it.

I’m grateful for our kitty-cat Molly, who has tamed us, trained us, and let us know just who is in charge.

I’m grateful for some of the most wonderful friends that anyone could wish for, and for the spirit-sisters and soul-brothers that mean more to me than they might appreciate. You know who you are (and you know who you’re not).

I’m grateful for my brothers Roy and Michael – and their families. I love my nephews Dylan and Eric and David, and you are great Dads.

I’m grateful for my Mom, and especially for those moments when we really connect.

I’m grateful for my uncles and aunts. My Uncle Ronnie has been there for me my entire life – and he holds a special place in my heart.

I’m grateful to have been able to get to know my Dad’s brothers and sisters better over time, and that nothing but actual distance separates us. I love you Joyce and Elaine and Roberta and Gail and especially Jerry, who is so like and so unlike my Dad.

I’m grateful for all my cousins (and there are a lot of them!). You are so funny Mark, you are so dear Allen, you are so lucky Paul. I’m especially grateful for my beautiful, intelligent, grounded, caring woman-cousins. You make me smile – a lot. You are astounding women in your own right, and you’re great mommies too! You – Kim and Jillian and Micaela and Aletta and Kirsten and Katie and Dawn are stars in my universe. The cousin-spouses are wonderful – you’ve chosen well.

I’m grateful for the cousin-kiddies: Zaqq and Jynessica and Alex and Katie and Olivia and Grace and Paige and Devin and Brooke and Douglas, and Shelby, Hunter, and Zach, and Ethan, and Taylor, and and .. awww… this family sure did reproduce well! I don’t think I’ve listed anywhere near…

I’m grateful too for my in-law families. Tommy and Pam, Steve and Pat, Laura – and yes – John (I hope I’m still your favorite left-winger). All their kin are my kin too.

I love my nephew JT and his dear wife Tonya, and I love my nephew Lance. I remain hopeful that bridges will yet appear, and I have faith that all misunderstandings will be unraveled and healed.

I’m grateful to have found an odd kind of respect for and friendship with my hubby’s ex-wife Paula. I’m grateful for the caring love between my stepson and son. I’m grateful for some good discussions and fun with my stepson Evan, and I know that all difficulties will heal in time.

I’m grateful that I have a job, and that it’s a good job with a company that I respect. I’m grateful that I have amazing colleagues there: smart, fun, and sometimes even annoying. I love them all.

I’m grateful that I am able to live in a house, especially one with a back deck that looks out to the woods. I love to watch the sunsets and the moonrises and the birds, and the trees. I love to sit outside here and feel that we’re miles from anywhere.

I’m grateful that I have “a room of my own” – the private space that is my office and the private space of my mind/heart/spirit. I’m grateful too for interconnectivity – for the telephone, and the internet, and yes, for Facebook.

I’m grateful that my car is somehow still running, and I’m grateful for the new furnace. I’m grateful too for a good vacuum cleaner. It sounds silly, unless you’ve lived without one.

I’m grateful for music, which so often takes me “where my heart wants to go.”

I’m grateful for books – both material and electronic. They have enlarged my imagination, taught me critical skills, expanded my ability to navigate, and allowed me the possibility to imagine things and people and paths differently. I love the heavy books, and I love the candy books too.

I’m grateful for my mentors and teachers, without whom I would have been lost. I’ve been so fortunate in having such excellent guides and friends throughout my life.

I’m grateful for adversaries, too; sometimes you are great teachers.

I’m grateful for the absence of some folks from my life, too.

I’m grateful for humor and laughter, for celebrations, tricksters and court jesters.

I’m grateful for invented vocabularies, for wordplay and codes and abbreviations, and for just the right amount of teasing and sarcasm.

I’m grateful for conversations, and for silence.

I’m grateful to be welcomed in, and grateful too for sweet farewells.

I’m grateful for alone time.

I’m grateful for moments of insight, for mutual understanding, a shared joke, a spirit-communion, for wit and also for deep, abiding love.

I’m grateful for high bandwidth.

I’m grateful for moments that are forever suspended in time.

I’m grateful for every kindness that I see, no matter how small it might seem.

I’m grateful for those who bring out the best in others.

I’m grateful for authenticity and trust.

I’m grateful for what means nothing and still means everything.

I’m grateful for hugs.

I’m grateful for everything I can see, smell, touch, feel, hear, taste and imagine.

I’m grateful that I’ve become more grateful, and that the smallest detail can sometimes bring such joy.

I’m grateful for the microscope, and the telescope, and for the ability to scope.

I’m grateful for the cosmos, and starlight, and especially for the moon – and for what points toward it.

I’m grateful for all of the manifestations that point to the divine and the sacred, and for the playfulness they evoke/invoke in me.

I’m grateful for meditations, for the elements, for the directions, for all the rich tapestries of life.

I’m grateful for language, for paradox, for metaphor, for the rules of civil discourse and the visionary transports of poetry.

I’m grateful for everything, and for nothingness, and for the sweet spots where order and chaos meet in beauty.

I’m grateful for the presence of Love, and for the grace that I receive.

Thank you, deity/deities.
Thank you, cosmos.
Thank you, our reality-niche.
Thank you, family.
Thank you, friends.
Thank you, body and heart and mind and spirit.
Thank you, Love.

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘thank you,’ that will suffice.” ~ Meister Eckhart

Our Thanksgiving Prayer

Our Thanksgiving Prayer

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Dear Lord and Lady – the mediators –

And to the Sweet God above all gods –

We thank you for this meal that we are here to enjoy together.

We pray for those who are sick, lonely, afraid, and in need – that you may send them strength and comfort.

Protect us from domination and destructive intent – and help us to combat it in fairness and love.

Help our leaders to remember, and to honor, the well-being of the people – all the people – everywhere in the world.

We humbly ask that you provide what we need for our souls and bodies and minds to grow and be well.

Help us to attune to that sweet spot of thriving – between order and chaos – as we navigate our world.

Forgive us our shortcomings, and help us to forgive those who hurt us.
Help us to be mindful, loving, patient and kind.

May we dwell with the Spirit, in gratitude, and with brave and compassionate hearts.

Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

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I hope you have a terrific Thanksgiving, and that you can think of a thousand things for which to be grateful.

[youtube width=”425″ height=”355″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6iLB4q-NDI[/youtube]

Annie Lennox – A Thousand Beautiful Things

Every day I write the list
Of reasons why I still believe they do exist
(a thousand beautiful things)
And even though it’s hard to see
The glass is full and not half empty
(a thousand beautiful things)
So… light me up like the sun
To cool down with your rain
I never want to close my eyes again
Never close my eyes
Never close my eyes

I thank you for the air to breathe
The heart to beat
The eyes to see again
(a thousand beautiful things)
And all the things that’s been and done
The battle’s won
The good and bad in everyone
(this is mine to remember)
So …
Here I go again
Singin’ by your window
Pickin’ up the pieces of what’s left to find (left to find)

The world was meant for you and me
To figure out our destiny
(a thousand beautiful things)
To live
To die
To breathe
To sleep
To try to make your life complete
(yea yea)
So …
Light me up like the sun
To cool down with your rain
I never want to close my eyes again
Never close my eyes
never close my eyes …
That is everything I have to say
(that’s all I have to say)

Muah!

Popcorn and Woolworth

Popcorn and Woolworth

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Today in history is brought to you via my emails from Centrum.  On February 22:

1630: A Native American named Quadequina brings popcorn to the first Thanksgiving celebration, introducing the English colonists to the popping kernels that had been grown for more than 1,000 years on the North American continent.

Hey, Centrum, how about letting us know the name of the tribe? Googled it – it’s the Wampanoag tribe. Ok, the leadership of Quadequina and his brother Massasoit was what allowed for the umbrella of friendship and protection afforded the Pilgrims.

They had popcorn??? Why isn’t that part of the Thanksgiving tradition?

Isn’t it about think we reexamine America’s Thanksgiving holiday?

There are so many questions about this odd holiday, and so little that is actually taught or celebrated – or acknowledged – about the truths of it.

1879: Frank Winfield Woolworth opens his Great 5 Cents Store in Utica, New York. He pledges to sell everything for a nickel or less. Woolworth went on to open "five and ten" stores across the nation.

I always heard it as "five and dime" – although that doesn’t make sense.

Instead of the wonderful Woolworths stores I remember with great fondness, we now have junky "dollar stores."

I much preferred the five and dime.

Terrorism and the Preemptive Strike

Terrorism and the Preemptive Strike

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Since the advance news of Bush’s first campaign commercial came out, I have been thinking of all the ways to respond to the statement that “some people are attacking the president for attacking the terrorists.” While I will undoubtedly have more to say if and when I actually see it, I do have a few comments in advance.

I haven’t heard anyone attacking anybody for attacking the terrorists, just as I don’t know anyone who does not support the troops (we all love those brave men and women, but some of us want to see them come home, or have sufficient income for their families, or not sacrifice their lives for no good reason, or perhaps even avoid being guinea pigs). There is, however, a wee bit of disagreement about who the “terrorists” actually are, or how best to attack them.

Are the terrorists those being held without charges in Cuba? Are the terrorists american citizens who need to be monitored a la Orwell? Are all foreign brown people terrorists? In some sense, could we be the terrorists? Like a virus, the “enemy” is everywhere, from caves to suburban American communities. The state of permanent emergency both reinforces and consolidates the power of a sub-faction of the republican party (the neo-cons) into an ever-evolving fascistic force, and dupes the American people into supporting them out of a sense of patriotism.

How best to “attack” the terrorists? Is anyone against international cooperation on the issue? When we have an immanent threat, or decent intelligence, there isn’t much squawking about it. No-one seemed to object to freezing assets, for example, or to targeting sites for a strike.

Speaking of attacks and strikes, let’s think on the term “preeemptive strike.” The term preemptive strike is being used in a very odd way by this administration. Traditionally, it is defined as an advance strike in the face of a justifiable sense of immanent danger – a clear and present danger. It conveys the sense of a quick strategic attack on a specific target (like a biological weapons factory or a nuclear missile launching site) in order to destroy any possibility that the enemy will meet its destructive objective.

The specific military strategic definition has also been expanded by the history of atomic weapons, and draws its power from the fear generated by nuclear proliferation and the hopes behind theories of deterrence. Fear of a first strike in such a context of possible apocalyptic consequence contributes to our national feeling that we can and should dictate who can and cannot possess nuclear weapons. More recently, of course, the nuclear fears have been extended to include all weapons of mass destruction, all of which we have ourselves (and that reminds me, I really have to write a piece on weapons of mass destruction).

In the case of Iraq, the “preemptive strike” does not meet the definition in any sense, although it draws considerable psychological power from it. We never found specific targets in Iraq, but instead used the language to justify complete invasion and takeover, in a quasi-corporate imperialistic and imperious manner driven less by humanitarian concern for the Iraqi citizens than political and economic concerns. It assumes that we have the power to take precedence. It gives contracts to its buddies, and avoids confronting the real issues. There is sufficient reason to believe that the administration simply wanted a war in Iraq despite (rather than because of) any intelligence they might muster. In this era of ambiguous “states” of war, it should be clear that the war in Iraq is a long way from being “over,” regardless of any statement to the contrary. In any case, taking over a nation does not solve the problem of terrorism. Additionally, we have now set a precedent that will be hard to break, not only with regard to our own country, but also with regard to any other country who could use the same argument.

How about a national discussion about the terrorists that the president supports? Sharon, for example? While Israel seems somewhat divided (in much the same way as our own country), there seems to be a general lack of accountability that is fair to blame on the nation, just as our own actions can be blamed on all of us. I never thought that I would become anti-Israel, but the nation of Israel has become its own shadow. Are they going to set up the ovens next? And isn’t this the primary reason that the terrorists are against us in the first place? We have a strange blindness with regard to this. There is certainly enough blame to go around in the middle east, but let’s use our weight to try to solve that problem. Just when it seemed that Bush was going to be a major player in doing so, he stepped back off the scene.

But I will say something good about President Bush. He spent Thanksgiving in Iraq and addressed some of the troops. I could be – and actually am – very cynical about that, but I’m brushing my criticism aside for the moment since that would erode my overriding judgment on the matter. Whatever his motivations, and I think there are many, it was still the right thing to do. It was uncommonly courageous on his part. As a psychological preemptive strike, it was a good one.