Since this is the month of Thanksgiving, I want to share some ways I “feed” not my belly as we do on Thanksgiving Day with all the traditional recipes, but instead, how I “feed my soul.”
Over the years I’ve developed and been adopting an “attitude of gratitude,” waking up each morning thankful to be alive and well. Often times, the well part of that last sentence is not always the case, minor aches and pains are occasionally a bother.
But even so, I make it a habit of trying to always be in a good mood and disposition; thankful for each and every new day and hopeful that my positive attitude will rub off on others.
I have what my husband says is a “child-like wonder,” marveling over the most common, seemingly insignificant things. For example, I’m in awe of the ethical, whispy, flowing branches and needles of the Tamarack trees and how they change colors in the spring.
And the intense colors of the northern lupine flowers in their purple, pinks and blues; the flocks of goldfinches at the feeders in the spring, and the massive swarms of the tiger, swallowtail, butterflies that swarm and swirl around in the gravel driveway in the summer.
We have so much to be thankful for here and now and these are some of the things I am thankful for in my daily life.
- I give thanks for the glorious morning sunrises, beautiful sunsets, the glistening frost and snow in the fields and in the treetops, and the multitude of other just as miraculous natural bounties.
- I give thanks for the modern communication conveniences of the television, telephones, computer, cell phones, and radios, tying us together both locally, regionally and globally. Where would we be without them?
- I give thanks every day for the roof over my head, food in my stomach, and ability to make a living to support myself and my family.
- I give thanks for the ability to pass on the crafts by teaching chair seat weaving and basketry and the students that seek my instruction.
- I give thanks each day for the riches my family, friends and loved ones bestow on me.
- And I give thanks each day to God for the privilege of being alive, the ability to share my bounty with others and to accept and appreciate what comes my way.
By giving these daily thanks, I’m conscious of the truly abundant life I am living. As the Karma saying goes, “The more we put out to the Universe, the more comes back to us in ways that are unimaginable at the time.”
What are you thankful and grateful for in your lives and how do you acknowledge them? Let me know in the comments below.
