Radical Spirit

Leftovers?

As I'm waking up and watching a chef recommend recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers, I'm reading very wise words from a good friend of mine. 

"When you're sitting down today to start your Thanksgiving feasts please remember all the homeless youth (and adults) that will be eating at a church, homeless shelter or out of a dumpster behind your favorite local restaurant. Forget saving all the left overs for turkey sandwiches or lunch at work for the next few days, please plate them up, walk a block or two and help make sure that ALL in your neighborhood have a good meal to eat this Thanksgiving."

If our holiday is so abundant that we have extra food, it's only fitting in these hard times to share in the blessing. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Gratitude is Where Miracles Happen

All that we behold is full of blessings.  ~William Wordsworth

Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
~George Herbert

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.  ~Eric Hoffer, Reflections On The Human Condition

When I think of all the adversity I've seen in my life, my heart gets heavy. But when I stop and count all the blessings, in and through the hard times, my heart is eased, my mood gets lighter, I feel positive and eager for more adventure. This is the power of gratitude. A grateful mind savors each moment and looks forward to the next instead of being stuck in reflecting on past heartbreaks. A grateful mind is positive and productive and in a place of capability and possibility. And this is the place where miracles happen.

 

A Life of Gratitude

Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal.  It's a way to live.  ~Attributed to Jacqueline Winspear

Praise the bridge that carried you over.  ~George Colman

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

A life lived in gratitude is most likely to be a happy one. We can spend our days being frustrated and flustered over all the political inequities, and there is much to be concerned about. And we can spend every moment worrying about how the rest of the world lives. But does frustration or worry change anything? No. On the other hand, when we wake each day full of gratitude for another day and all the good things we have, like friends, family, a home, food, health, etc, we allow ourselves to be a positive force for the world around us. From that place, real lasting change can happen. And from that place, we find the wisdom to accept that which we cannot change.