Attitude of Gratitude

A friend of mine wrote about an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE in the church bulletin and it resonated with me deeply.  The daily practice of gratitude is essential if we are to connect to one another in the Universe.  Now more than ever, we must reach out to one another, extend a hand, a greeting, share a smile and simply acknowledge that we share this place on this Earth, and that we should strive to make it a peaceable kingdom for ourselves and those around us.  These are very simple gestures, but can be very powerful on the receiving end. 

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, because it presents a formality of that which I personally practice each and every single day, without fail.  Even in the light of turmoil, or strife, because it allows me to adjust my attitude or the nature of that which may be presenting itself as some sort of obstacle.  

Giving thanks is a release of anguish, and an invitation to peace.
Afterall, Thanksgiving IS for giving thanks...and there is always something to be thankful for!  And if you have doubts, get a camera and go out of doors, and capture a moment with Mother Nature.  You might be surprised what you see at the end of the lens. 

And as we approach the Christmas Season, I am always reminded of my favorite Christmas show...Charlie Brown's Christmas and these very special words from Linus to Charlie Brown...

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,

 good will toward men."    

Now, more than ever, let it be so.

Linking up with Kara for Tuesday Afternoons...stop by to say "hello"!

Peaceful, Easy Feeling

Onward...

"Watch your thoughts, they become words.

Watch your words, they become actions.

Watch your actions, they become habits.

Watch your habits, they become character.

Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."

~anonymous 

As I ponder my own actions and feelings of late, it is apparent that I am really in a good place right now.  The daily stresses be damned...I have a beautiful family.  We are all in good health.  We have a roof over our head, (thankfully after the firemen came to put out the chimney fire before the house became fully engulfed last night).

So with all this realization that comes from not having your house burn down, I am beginning a peaceful journey forward as I prepare to let my baby fly.  Yes, it's that time when the last child prepares to go off to college and I, as the mother, look back and wonder where all the time went.  

It's had its ups and downs...however, it is abundantly clear that, the ups outweigh the downs by far.  My life is full! 

"I have found that most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be!"

                               ~ Abraham Lincoln

When looking forward, it is important to draw on memories that have made you laugh.  Try to think back to the light hearted moments when nothing really mattered at the time...nothing, but that you were having a great time full of fun and laughter.  

An aha moment, like the one I had when I went to see the Steelers play the Oilers at Three Rivers Stadium for Monday Night Football with a friend...(aging myself again, as the Houston Oilers and Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh are both long gone)

There we were on the 50 yard line, just a few rows up having a great time when the TV camera came rolling by panning the crowd of die-hard Steeler fans.  Since I could not be seen on the 50 yard line, on national television, on Monday Night Football when I was supposed to be somewhere else, (like work) we ducked.  We put our heads way down, while the entire crowd that surrounded us was cheering and waving into the camera with Iron City draft beers in hand...now that was one of the funniest moments of my life!  And thankfully, one that recently came to mind prompting me to take the initiative and contact that old friend and have a great laugh all over again.

Yes, though I often tell my children, "Don't look back, you're not going that way"... that happens to be where the past lies.  Good and bad.  And the past is what has brought us to this point in life.  We are what our past has allowed us to become.

Draw on the good...learn from the bad and move on!  The good is where the laughs are and the laughter is where the fun is!  Having fun is the best part of living.

 "Don't take life too seriously.  

You'll never get out of it alive."

~ Elbert Hubbard 

"Ohana" Means Family

The Ties That Bind © 2013 hula.la

"We all grow up with the weight of history on us.  Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies."  ~Shirley Abbott

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms.  Many stories are told of the secrets of long ago when families were hush..hush about a child that did or did not belong to a particular family.  

There is the topic of illegitimacy, when a person becomes a parent by "accident" and a baby through no fault of his or her own is left without a complete family unit intact.  The description of a child from an unwed mother using the "b" word, is an unnecessary verbalization by a person who is cruel just for the sake of feeling superior or perhaps searching for a recognition of their own self worth by means of belittling another.  It is vengeful and lacking any element of compassion or common decency of the human race as a whole.  

There is the topic of adoption, when perhaps this same child, is very fortunate to have kindness bestowed upon him and is given the opportunity to be a part of a real family.  A mother, a father, a baby, and with any luck...siblings to really complete the picture of happiness among human beings.  (Until of course sibling rivalry sets in...as it usually does.)

"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons." ~Johann Schiller

And while an individual who may have been adopted by a particular family, is no less a member of that family, than a natural born member of that same family, it remains the same question of DNA.  Now that can consume a person from the point of discovering your bloodlines are not exactly what you thought they were for your whole life, until you either get to the bottom of the spiraling chain of DNA, or you die...wherein the secret dies with you or it is divulged by the remaining members who have known all along that your spiraling chain of identity comes from another source.

Your parents have poured all the love and devotion into your well being, into your identity as it were.  They are nonetheless, still your family, regardless of your gene pool.  The secrets of the unasked and unanswered questions that will most assuredly linger on, even after you have passed from this life, seem to gather momentum as they are whispered from ear to ear.  For though your parents may have passed, your biological connections may have passed, family secrets take on a life of their own.  They take on legendary qualities that somehow become bigger than life itself.  And if the legend lies in bloodlines that are reputable or perhaps even notorious, the evolution takes on twists and turns that has the makings of a two part mini-series. You can't make real life up.  It is what it is.  Believe it or not.

“Nothing is so soothing to our self-esteem as to find our bad traits in our forebears. It seems to absolve us.” -Van Wyck Brooks

Now the notion of blaming bad behavior on an individual who has never been a part of your life, is preposterous on the surface.  Except perhaps, for the face value of the simple knowledge of "abandonment" which suggests a somehow unworthiness to be acknowledged, therefore unworthy to be a good or decent human being.

Not deserved of recognition at birth, by a specific donor of your very DNA, is most assuredly a shame that is embedded in your brain and transforms your way of thinking of your own self as you progress through life.  Therefore, using that as an excuse for any sort of questionable behavior, would then be deemed "understandable".  For it wasn't your fault that you were born to an unknown, with unknown character traits that may be construed as tainted somehow causing you to act defectively according to society rules.  Abandonment, in and of itself can cause great emotional harm.  However, when the absolute character and DNA traits do come into play, and do prove to be true or compatible with said "unacceptable" behavioral actions, well then, it's as good an excuse as any.

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."  - Epictetus

To rise above, to overcome that which has socially been deemed contemptible, is to become a human being worthy of praise and honor. And any type of radical behavior, short of causing physical harm to another individual, can easily be forgiven with the quality of reconciliation or resolution in your own heart and soul for your own innocence that was tainted at birth when you were shunned by one, yet generously nurtured with love and compassion by another. 

Afterall, love is what makes the world go 'round.  
That coupled with music...well...

Nothing could be finer...than to be in Carolina in the morning...