The Attitude of Gratitude

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I rose early this morning and fortunate that I am, the attitude of gratitude was - and is - front and center. I grabbed a pad and jotted down some musings which I'd like to share, FWIW.

Thank You:

for Earl Grey - hot w/milk & honey.

for sustenance of body and mind; for entering this incarnation in a land of plenty; for the United States of America and all the good service she performs throughout the world.

for my 4-legged companions: Bingo, Frank, PC Your presence is like a pry bar, demolishing every defensive wall I attempt to build around my heart.

for the wonders of yoga; for the yogis/yoginis down through the ages who played scientist/explorer, endeavoring to find their truths and passing forward their discoveries to the next generation for our edification.

for awareness of Thee in all things - Namaste!

for pouring Your essence into whatever it is I am; for flooding this vessel that I may overflow Thy divine nectar. Not a dike am I, but a full flowing stream.

for Effort, Sincerity, Endurance: my silent affirmation, my contribution.

for Love, Forgiveness, Compassion: my heart's blessed guests. May you not abandon this fleshy ship until I do!

for the mantra: (two lovers embrace) I am Thine - Thou art mine.

for my Guru:

When into Maya I'm pulled (willingly); as I head for the breach, no sooner do I thrust out my hand than you are there, omnipresent, ever within reach.

I cherish your presence, your teachings, your blessings, your constant admonitions to "go within". I begged, I pleaded to the Universe for guidance, cried rivers, screamed 'til hoarse to no avail, of course. And then, as I thought I was nearest the end, You opened your heart, my healing home, I staggered in.

May each of you blessed souls find that which you need in every moment, each pair of eyes, your next thought!

Rich ****

-- Rich (living_in_interesting_times@hotmail.com), November 22, 2001

Answers

Rich,

Your musings are allways well directed, thoughtful and insightful to you as a person.Thanks.

I'd like to touch on something that AB brought up in another thread, the act of being thankful each and every day.It's easy to say how thankful we are on such days as Thanksgiving and Christmas, it's almost cliche to a point.Sometimes it seems that those who yell it the loudest are the first to forget the message the other 363 days of the year and slide right back into the me,me,me frame of mind.I know I'm guilty of it to a degree when life's twists don't turn in my favor and I'm quick to forget my many blessings and bitch about the moment, this is someting on my list I will probably always work on and hopefully, by keeping it in my mind I will remain vigulant.

Each and everyday,should, by all rights be a day of thanks, just by virtue that we have the luxury of coming here and commisserating with each other is reason for thanks.Even in this microcasm of life there are lessons to be learned, thoughts and perceptions to be re-evaluated and relationships to be cultivated.

So, I really just want to say that I'm thankful for all of you and this medium.I have learned alot and I appreciate your friendships, I hope we are constantly reminded of just how blessed we really are.

Happy Thanksgiving.

And be most excellent to each other : )

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), November 22, 2001.


I enjoyed this also, Rich. It reminded me of something the clerk at the gas station said to me when I asked what she'd be doing on Thanksgiving. She said, "I'm NOT working that day. I will wake up, look at my children and say, 'I'm thankful that you are my children.' I will look at my husband and say, 'I'm thankful that you are my husband.' I'll be thankful that I don't have to work that day, and nothing else will be so important to me."

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), November 22, 2001.

Yes, Anita. Verbalize gratitude. Definitely. Even better, grab a hug and tell 'em thanks - whomever it might be and whatever for. The 'juice' that flows in that moment is priceless. My drug of choice is that one produced when people get connected heart to heart. Kind words and embraces are generators of such a drug. It ain't cheap, it's free.

Capn, right on.

Grinch Alert: I have this thing about holidays - I don't do them JUST BECAUSE the calendar says it's time. I cooked my turkey dinner LAST week because I got a freebie at the supermarket. I don't buy roses on Valentine's Day. I don't do Christmas or Channukkah, Easter or Purim. It's the contrarian in me. Was that way as a kid - rebellious. One of the four questions asked during the Passover celebration is this: "Why is this night different than any other night?" Well shoot, that ended my Passover celebrations as a kid. "That night" WASN"T different than other nights as far as I was concerned! Just a put on by couple-times-a-year-Jews playing make believe we're Jewish. Uh, huh. Game, set, match.

I see it with Christians every time Christmas or Easter rolls around. Going through the motions. I honor folks in their celebrations, but if they are walked through half-assed don't invite me. :)

So why did I awaken this morning with all that stuff I wrote above on my lips? NEW AGE BS ALERT: I think, in part, folks are practicing a bit more introspection since 9/11. The collective unconscious reflects this, seeps into each of us like soft waves lapping on a shoreline. It visits us in dreams and meditation, reflection and daydreams. I feel it and I believe this shift, tied in with the nudge Thanksgiving Day gives folks to actually give thanks en masse, produced as an end result what I wrote above.

Then again, maybe not. :)

Whatever the reasons, it felt great to express thanks publicly. Wish I could snake a few hugs as well! And whilst I'm at it, thanks Unk for creating this forum, and to each of you for spending time here and contributing bits and pieces of yourselves.

As capn so aptly suggested, every day is special - or could be if we wish it and then make that wish come to fruition.

Salud!

-- Rich (living_in_interesting_times@hotmail.com), November 22, 2001.


A passworded board isn't so bad after all...

Cheers, one and all and may your pleasant times be just that, and the awful ones not so bad.

And a good time be had by all...

Scratchin' an itch...

The Dog

-- The Dog (dogdesert@hotmail.com), November 26, 2001.


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