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November 24, 2005
Thanksgiving Day -- So Many Feelings
I am thinking of all the things I am thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day. And I am most grateful and thankful for being alive and being able to enjoy my life. There are days when things seem very bad -- there is loneliness, sickness in my family, despair that things can never be the way I want them to be or can never return to the way they once were. But, I have always been able to transform the pain and sadness I have felt throughout my life into something new and life-affirming through the use of my imagination and creativity. I have learned by now that when things seem the worse in my life, there arises something within me that causes me, yes, compels me, to create something new, to find a new idea to latch onto with a strong grip, to undertake a new book project or have a new thought about approaching a problem. I regard myself very fortunate in being able to have this ability to change things. I would never have su®vived without this ability which God has given me.
I also just came back from the park where I walked for a long time, smelled the leaves and Autumn air, saw the beautiful water surrounding the land, and felt so happy to be alive and healthy enough to take my walk and enjoy myself. I thought of both my father and brother who died so young, in their forties, and felt so sad for them that they did not have enough time to experience the fullness of their lives or to be long with the people they loved. And I thank God with all my being for what I have been given.
In the New York Times today (Nov. 24), I read, too, about a successful career woman who gave up her career for a while to return home and take care of her aging, sick parents. She said she had been living a selfish life and wanted now a fuller one loving and caring for others. I do not know if I could di what she is doing, but she gives me courage and hope to know that there are people who can care deeply for others, no matter how hard life may be for them. I need to know this because lately I feel so depleted and cynical by all the rancor and anger I see in Washington as politicians attack one another and divide our wonderful country so terribly. Wasn't there a time when we loved one another, cared for one another, and were grateful to know one another, rather than stand divided as we do now because of the President's policies? I have many thoughts this Thanksgiving Day. I pray for peace to come.
AND YOU, What are you thankful for? What do you pray for? Share with me.
Posted by billz at November 24, 2005 11:57 AM
