Thursday, October 27, 2011

Day 3: Say It

Being grateful is a choice.

A little like love. It's nice to feel grateful, but being grateful is a higher option.

Saying "thank-you" to your husband or wife for the things they do for you every day can really put oil into the relationship.

Have you thanked your parents for their input, and sacrifice into your life? How about your boss? He or she provides work and a paycheck.

Here are some templates for you to use if you're feeling shy or tongue-twisted about thanking someone:

"I really appreciate the way you___________________________."

"Thanks for making it possible for me to______________________."

"I'm really grateful for your_________________________________."

"____________________has been a big blessing to me. Thanks!"

You probably won't have to say anything else, because your recipient's jaw might drop in silence.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Day 2: Things That Grow

This morning I enjoyed beans from the coffee plant, grown far from here in mountainous regions at optimum temperatures, picked, roasted and ground at their peak, brewed in scalding hot water, at just the time I had scheduled my coffeemaker to turn on.

With my coffee I had nutty, rich buckwheat pancakes from golden grain grown in a sunny field, harvested, threshed, and ground to a fine flour, mixed with oil, pressed from the tiny kernel of beautiful yellow sunflowers. I poured over them maple syrup, made from sugar extracted from green, willowy canes, and flavored with maple which dripped from the bark of a hardwood tree in the frigid early spring of the year.

All this, for pennies, I found in the various storage areas of my kitchen, the product of several seasons of labor. I made it in minutes.

I am so thankful for all things growing, and the people who tend and harvest them!

What about you?

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

30 Day Recount Your Blessings Challenge: Day 1

Yes! It's that time again. Time to recount the blessings. The official holiday is a month away, so we're getting an early start. We will conclude on Thanksgiving Day.

This time around I'm asking you to join me in posting your own blessings in comment form on each post that you read. I'll introduce a topic, and share my blessings, and you can add yours, or challenge me further if you'd like.

Today, I am thankful for the feeling of being alive. I can smell, taste, hear, see and touch my environment. No matter what else is going on, my senses can experience, record and savor each moment. It is a privilege I never want to take lightly.

The sense I most value today is sight. Typing would be a bear without it, especially as I am a notorious hunter and pecker.

What sense do you lost appreciate, and why?

Stephen King's 'salem's Lot a Juicy Read

I'm reading a vampire book.

Not my usual fare, but since it's Stephen King, I thought I'd read educationally.

So far I've noted the symbolism regarding religion, sacrifice, sin and atonement to be right up there. Surprising? Only if you don't believe those things don't drive every society on earth. Good is often afraid of evil. Evil laughs in the face of good. Good musters up it's courage and through confession, diligence and perseverance triumphs, but not without great cost. There is tragedy along the way. There are reluctant heroes, innocent victims and foolish busybodies whose unthinking blundering gets others hurt.

It is great storytelling. Did we expect less from the man who is the self-proclaimed Big Mac and Fries of the literary world? It's dripping-down-to-your-elbows-good.

Note: As soon as I get permission, I'll post an image of the book cover.