"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." – Henry Van Dyke (1852)
November 2003
Welcome to the fourteenth issue of Messages from SpiritLight at Home offering monthly inspirational thoughts, insights into new, useful, fun, sometimes unusual and interesting ideas and some of my favorite links on the Internet.
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." - Melody Beattie (American Author)
A MESSAGE FROM DEIRDRE
May the blessings of Thanksgiving fall upon you this season and always! What a wonderful holiday Thanksgiving is. Its origin is unique in this country, but I know that many countries celebrate their own ways of giving thanks and, in doing so, experience the warmth of their gratitude for all the good things in their lives glowing back at them.
What is the real significance of being in a state of thankfulness? What should we be thankful for in a world that continues to break out in war taking our loved ones away, where famine and homelessness still exist, dishonesty reigns, and natural disasters wreck homes and devastate people every day? It's enough to make us want to crawl in a hole and cover ourselves with a blanket and wish it all away, isn't it?
The lesson in this is that when we reflect upon even the worst times in our lives, most often we find we can remember something positive that has come from it. Whether it has been a lesson learned or a blessing in disguise, sometimes it takes a while for the meaning to be uncovered.
Did you lose your job and then find another path to go forward in your life more positively, or find another job that was far better and more satisfying than the last?
Have you been divorced and found someone else who, it seems, has been waiting all their lives to meet you?
Did something happen to you or a member of your family and you found out that you had more friends than you ever realized, through the kindness and loyalty they showed during your darkest times?
There must be thousands of stories out there resembling these blessings in disguise. Sometimes it takes an effort to find out what ours are, individually. Sometimes it's not easy. It is human nature to begrudge someone else's fortune when we are less fortunate, or to turn on ourselves in a moment of anger or resentment at the circumstances in which we find ourselves. When we do this, we really do only hurt ourselves. For the energy that it takes to deal with anger, depression and resentment is depleting to our emotional and physical bodies and it spreads to all those who love us. Often, it is easier to give in rather than fight to find the slightest positive aspect of our situation.
Perhaps it is then we can have the most impact on our own lives by endeavoring to find a reason to be thankful -- even in our darkest times. Easy to say- difficult to accomplish. But from there the slightest pinhole of light can be seen and sometimes it is easier to see it because it is so dark.
If we believe that "thoughts are things," that they are energized as soon as we project them into the universe, then we also have to believe that they become real and substantive matter. I believe that is why it is important for us to project positive thoughts so they can grow, just as a seed will grow if it is given sunlight. We need to nourish ourselves with positive thoughts, give them light and feed ourselves. It won't be long then before we are able to say, "You know, I'm pretty thankful for _____." And really mean it -- in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.
On Thanksgiving Day I will be sending my prayers to all who are suffering and will remember how thankful I am to you all just for being you and who you really are. For we are all brothers and sisters who belong to that one original Divine spark of light! Watch in wonder with me and see how it grows.
Light and love, as always
Deirdre
"Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart -- a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water -- I accept with joy." – Bhagavad Gita (BC 400)
In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's fall harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along with fish which was packed in salt, and meat that was smoke cured over fires. They found they had enough food to put away for the winter.
The Pilgrims had beaten the odds. They built homes in the wilderness, they raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, and they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. Their Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that was to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native American Indians.............
For more about Thanksgiving please go to: http://www.holidays.net/thanksgiving/story.htm
"Because gratification of a desire leads to the temporary stilling of the mind and the experience of the peaceful, joyful Self it's no wonder that we get hooked on thinking that happiness comes from the satisfaction of desires. This is the meaning of the old adage, ''Joy is not in things, it is in us.'' – Joan Borysenko
NEW PAGES
Our new site SpiritLight Works is up and running. Please visit at: http://www.spiritlightworks.com
SpiriLight Works' Grand Opening was a great success and I want to thank everyone who was able to stop in. We had great fun and our drawing brought forth four lucky people for a free Reiki session. Of course, only time will tell how successful the opening really was. So please spread the word! If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by!
A NEW feature to the newsletter is that now you can access it directly on the site. Every month, our newsletter will be published at SpiritLight at Home and you can find this month's issue by clicking on: http://www.spiritlighthome.com/NewsletterNovember.html
Each month, you can find it by typing in the appropriate month. For example: http://www.spiritlighthome.com/NewsletterDecember.html and so on. October's issue is active.
"Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present -- love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure -- the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth." - Sarah Ban Breathnach
INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS
Brought to you from various resources around the Globe. We embrace all religions at SpiritLight at Home and will endeavor to bring to you inspirational stories that can be applied to your own beliefs.
Brothers - A Story For Thanksgiving
by Ed Price -- from 'Themestream'
"Tom
Bonard eased his rangy gelding onto the icy slope of the coulee.
The nervous horse picked his way to the bottom, his hooves
slipping and sliding on loose stones and dirt. The blanketed
paint that Bonard was leading didn't have as much difficulty
because he was riderless. At the bottom of the dry stream bed,
Bonard saw what he was looking for -- a campfire flickering in
the darkness 150 yards ahead. He pulled his wide-brimmed Stetson
further down over his eyes to ward off the icy effects of the
blue norther' sweeping across the plains. This is the doggonest
place to be Thanksgiving night, he thought to himself as he
pulled his coat tighter around his throat against the wind-driven
sleet.
Bonard urged his horse toward the campfire, the paint trotted
behind on the tether. As he got closer he recognized a familiar
figure, wrapped in a blanket, hunched over the fire. Bonard
stopped and dismounted. The figure continued to stare into the
crackling, popping flames. Bonard knew that his old friend was
ignoring him on purpose.
"Running Wolf," Bonard shouted above the wind.
"What in blazes are you doing out here?"
The old Indian continued looking into the fire.
"Dying," came the reply.
"That's what I heard, but I didn't believe it," Bonard
replied evenly as he stooped by the fire to get warm. "I
rode out to your place to invite you and Deer Woman to
Thanksgiving dinner. Then she told me that you had taken a notion
that it was your time to die, and came out here to do it."
"Deer Woman talks too much," Running Wolf growled.
Bonard smiled. "At any rate, I came out to see if you could
postpone dying long enough to come to Thanksgiving dinner with my
family. Deer Woman is already there. Cora has been cooking all
day and the kids at home are really anxious to hear some more of
your great stories."
"You will have to tell them the stories for me,
Bonard," the old Indian replied, still looking into the
fire. "You know most of them."
"Can't do it was well as you can. Besides, since I became a
preacher I lost my knack for stretching a point three ways from
Sunday."
Running Wolf turned for the first time and looked Bonard in the
eye. "It is my time to die, Bonard. You know our ways as
well as any white man. You know that the spirits...."
"I thought you were a Christian, Running Wolf. Remember, I
baptized you. You know that only God can decided when you are to
die. You're not supposed to do it yourself. But if you intend to
sit here long enough, He might grant your wish anyway. As cold as
it is, you'll probably freeze to death."
"It is my time to die," the old Indian repeated
defiantly.
Bonard sat down next to the fire and pulled his coat up around
him. "Okay, Running Wolf."
Surprise came over Running Wolf's heavily lined face, the skin
stretched over his high cheek bones like old leather. "What
are you doing, Bonard?"
"Well," Bonard replied. "As long as we're
brothers, we might as well die together."
"Blood brothers," Running Wolf said, nodding.
"That was a long time ago. Many seasons."
"Sure was. We were just young bucks then."
Running Wolf turned to his old friend. "Will you sit there
all night? Cannot I not be alone in my misery?"
"If I have to, I will stay here all night," Bonard
answered. "It might take a long time for both of us to
die."
"You are stubborn, Bonard," the old Indian muttered.
"And you talk too much."
The two old friends sat side by side in silence, staring into the
fire for many minutes. Then Bonard said, "By the way, I saw
an old friend of yours today." When Running Wolf didn't
reply, Bonard continued. "Jody came to the house with his
wife and son Sprout. They're there now."
Running Wolf turned toward Bonard. A slight smile played on his
old, cracked lips. "My godson is here?"
"Yup. All the way from St. Louis. They took the train to be
with us for Thanksgiving. Only took them a day to get here.
Remember the time we went to St. Louis and how long it took for
us?"
"Many days."
"Two weeks."
"How does Jody look, Bonard?"
"Good. A little older than when you last saw him. Sprout's
growing like a weed, though. Jody told him all about the stories
you used to tell him when he was his age. That little boy has
really been looking forward to meeting a real wild Indian like
yourself. Now how in the world am I going to tell him, and your
godson -- my son Jody -- that their favorite person in the world
would rather come out here to die than to visit with them on
Thanksgiving?"
"I thought that you said we were going to die
together."
"I'm just hopin' you might get some sense between now and
then."
"Bonard," Running Wolf grumbled, "you talk to
much."
"I'm just stating the facts, my brother."
"I have come here to die."
"I know. That's what you said." Bonard got a far away
look in his eyes. "So it's a cryin' shame that you won't be
able to taste that juicy apple pie that Cora baked for you,
either."
Running Wolf turned again. "Apple pie?"
"A big one. Just chock full of apples and cinnamon and
sugar.... I can just see you and Jody and Sprout and me sharing a
big hunk of that pie right now by the fire, while you tell us
about your past glories as a warrior. But if you're determined
that you're going to die...."
Suddenly Running Wolf threw the blanket off his shoulders and got
to his feet. "Enough, Bonard. You fight like a woman and I
cannot win that argument. We will go to your house. I will put
off dying until tomorrow."
"They'll be here for a week, Running Wolf," Bonard said
grinning.
"Then, I will die next week."
Running Wolf and Bonard extinguished the campfire with dirt. Then
the old Indian mounted the paint that Bonard had brought while
Bonard mounted his own horse. "I can just taste that apple
pie now," Bonard said, smacking his lips.
"Bonard," Running Wolf said frowning. "You really
do talk too much."
"Yes I do," Bonard replied with a shout. "But
that's what I do for a living. Praise the Lord."
Laughter echoed through the coulee and could be heard even above
the howl of the icy wind as the two old friends rode away
together, then disappeared into the storm. "
"There is a time for everything, and a season for
every activity under heaven."
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Source: http://www.skywriting.net/inspirational/stories/brothers--a_story_for_thanksgiving.html
"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." - Charles Dickens
DEIRDRE'S FAVORITE LINKS
(Just favorites in my bookmarks - no profits made here. Any advertising (if any) is placed at the end of the newsletter.)
1. Ragensart.com - Extraordinarily beautiful original artwork from the realms of fantasy. Fairies, Goddesses and Enchanted Spirits by Ragen. Click here: http://www.ragensart.com
2. PandaSoftware.com - Panda Active Scan offers a free virus online scanner better than Norton! I used it and it found viruses, disinfecting them even when I had Norton installed! Click here: http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/
3. ScamBusters.org - The #1 Publication on Internet Fraud Click here: http://www.scambusters.org/index.html
"If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get." – Frank A. Clark
HUMOR OF THE DAY (Thanks Su!)
I couldn't help pass this along. It's especially appropriate as I remember how very thankful I am to be blessed with my two little grandsons.
What
is a grandmother or grandfather? (taken from papers written by a
class of 8-year-olds)
A grandmother is a lady who has no little children of her own.
She likes other people's.
A grandfather is a man grandmother.
Grandmothers don't have to do anything except be there when we
come to see them. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or
run. It is good if they drive us to the store and have lots of
quarters for us.
When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like
pretty leaves and caterpillars.
They show us and talk to us about the color of the flowers and
also Why we shouldn't step on "cracks."
They don't say, "Hurry up."
Usually grandmothers are fat, but not too fat to tie your shoes.
They wear glasses and funny underwear.
They can take their teeth and gums out.
Grandmothers don't have to be smart.
They have to answer questions like "why isn't God
married?" and "How come dogs chase cats?".
When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask
for the same story over again.
Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you
don't have television, because they are the only grown ups who
like to spend time with us.
They know we should have snack-time before bedtime and they say
prayers with us every time, and kiss us even when we've acted
bad.
"I don't like it when people on the street say ''smile'' or ''cheer up.'' It's a real cheap line. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling real grateful for everything. It's a solid time in my life. When people say I look sad, they're wrong." – Nicolas Cage
SUBSCRIBERS' SITES
Many of our subscribers have fascinating web sites. Please let us know about yours so that we might mention it in this section. Write to: deirdre@spiritlighthome.com
"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus (Greek Philosopher 341-270 BC)
Bless you and have a great month. See you in December!
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