Thanksgiving

Why Gratitude Is Great Every Day

It is fantastic to set aside a day annually for giving thanks, and we should. However, there is so much more meaning to be gained from an attitude of gratitude in the midst of ordinary days. We live by grace, everything flowing to us freely. Much of what happens and what we have, we did not plan.

The parking space that opens up on a day when walking hurts.
The child arrived after a long period of waiting.
The place where home is found.
The friends who love despite the flaws.
The technology that eases each day.
The books that let us travel away.
The pets that bring smiles and laughter.

All these and so many blessings enhance living, gratitude journals are a wonderful practice to indulge in thankfulness. What they give us is mindfulness of how full our lives are. Maybe it raises the spirits and keeps complaints at bay.

Try to take at least a few moments to recognize your extraordinary life every week. When you know what you have you may find yourself more content.

Life is a bountiful adventure abundant in every way. I hope you find reasons for gratitude all along the pathway.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Means

I have been meaning
To explain who I am, may be,
Is not always who
Strictly I mean as defined
By this voice, words, these two feet.

My eyes carry clues,
But even they lack evidence
Because the heart-beat
In my chest and the preserve
Of my mind go further, deep.

What you see is not
Often what you get, riches
Are hidden in doubt
Covered in terrible fear
Holding back, choking on tears.

I cannot stand here
Yet, I do, as I believe
I must. Why? Because
Someone should do what it takes
To wake the community,

Convey mentally ill
Can live without most restraints
Doing possible
Like anyone, though made harder,
Complications, divergent ways,

Creativity
Finds a flowing flood falls fast
Dipped body whole
Going within and without
Never giving up or in,

The voice louder, in
Color brighter, some wilder,
Linked like all others,
Human, as someone newborn,
Those long-lived; loved thoroughly,

The same/different,
Untamed, giving, love alive,
God placed – no mistake,
Painting history’s pages
With sharing, reach, making much.

Gratitude List

I am thankful:
1. I have been waking earlier.
2. I am enjoying my corded keyboard and mouse.
3. I have recently finished several books.
4. I created art this morning.
5. I appreciate that I have a home.

Prompt
Think about your life and the human condition and pick an instance that appeals from which to create a written or artistic work.

Heavenly Day

“Do you mean
These words that
You say?”
‘Heavenly Day’
“Well, yeah
In a way,
I mean it
Can or cannot
Be.”
“Then why?”
“Because God
Is near,
Always here,
Watching over
Wills and ways;
He pitches in
To help me
Carry on
When I fall
Off to the side,
He abides.”
“How do you
Know He cares?”
“The Bible
Says so,
And I have
Experienced
It happening so,
I believe,
It is the truth
In which I grow.”

Touch

The waves we
Make
The disturbance
On the surface
Are
Only evidence
Of
Existence.
We are
Distant,
Leaving
Imprints,
Dropping keys,
But
Those are
Not us; we
Transcend
Reality.
We are
Everything:
Hope,
Joy,
Life,
Love,
Make our
Victory
In God’s
Economy;
In and out
Of time,
Space,
Eternal
As story.

As a prompt: Consider your place in the universe, consider your impact on the planet, consider your beliefs, write something that packages that without any doubt.

We Create

When creating seems impossible, sometimes it is good to bide our time and do things that fill the well. Other times we have to jump in and make do with what comes. Pushing ourselves will not necessarily lessen our work’s quality, but it might get us back to flow.

We may not feel like cooking, but we will do it so we can eat. Our art will never appear without our exerting effort. Even if inspiration seems to desert us, we have agile minds, which can imagine even when the streams we commonly rely on have run dry.

We must do, or we fall into habits that include accepting creative blocks. There comes a moment we recognize a stop only exists as we allow it.

Breaking Through

The cold moves over
Me like a breath of wind brought
In with the opening
Of a door unexpected
And I chill a little thrill.

Night has in its fists
All the light it took away
At the sun’s setting
It seems to whisper Winter
Has no patience to further wait.

I laugh that ready
Chortle that calls another
Game to begin here
For this too is my season
Breathing it, I brace with health.

One essential point to keep foremost in mind is that we are not guaranteed time. What we want to do we must be busy about doing. Finding a reason is easy if we wish to leave some evidence of our lives on Earth. We are capable of much more than we often believe. Only we can do what we can do.

If you must, borrow
A smile from a friend, stranger,
Then bend creation.

Here’s hoping everyone finds themselves with the mindset to create. It is so vital; in fact, it can change reality.

Wave upon wave drives
Crashing to shore swallowing –
Ejecting, found more.