15 Days of Thankfulness: Catching Up

One of the things I love about this project is that it challenges me to be mindful and present in the moment. I have to purposely think about what I am grateful for and then express my gratitude  in a tangible manner- in this case writing. Writing comes easily to me because I am a natural born writer: throughout my life I have written fictional stories for my own amusement,diagnostic and medical treatment reports, teaching plans, technical reports, synopsis for courses, entertainment reviews and magazine articles,dissertations, sermons and blogs...and I rarely suffer from writer's block. No kidding. Most of the time I know exactly what I'm going to write about and have several other ideas on the back burner as well. What I do suffer from is a lack of time-as many of us do who lead full, active lives. "There is not enough hours in the day" may be a bit  cliched, but nothing else describes it as well. It's not a lack of time management- it's a genuine lack of time.

So today's installment of 15 Days of Thankfulness is going to be a  two-for-one in order to catch up, get on track and bring this project home in a timely manner.

Day 11

The subject for today is to select 3 friends who inspire me. I'm going to call in my chips and say that I've already written about a lot more than 3 of these people. It's difficult to just pick 3 because so many people have contributed equally toward inspiring me, and the last thing I want to do is to diminish the contribution of some in favor of others- I would never purposely do that.

The real problem I'm having in choosing is that people inspire me in particular areas- the inspiration is compartmentalized. I have been more than  blessed with the friendship of dozens of people who shine in their own way. They illuminate the dark corners of my life in times when I need to see light, and several of them are always there in the background, ready to shine just as the sun comes up at dawn.

My relationship with Jean ( and later her husband, George) began through Scouting. Jean was one of my Scout leaders, so the potential for being someone to look up to was already in place. One would think differently, but the dynamic of our relationship didn't so much change as morph when I reached adulthood. What was there when I was younger became richer and the layers more deeply defined as I earned the right to equality at adulthood. Jean and I can talk about anything- and often do. Mostly I talk and she listens before imparting wisdom. We have the relationship my own mother and I never had and what should have been there but was lost when my grandmother's alcoholism took her elsewhere. The physical distance has not dampened our relationship because we talk long and often.

Melinda has been nothing short of a blessing in my life every since we met online shortly after JD's death. In the days after that fateful day, I made myself available to listen to John's fans who needed a sounding board or someone to help them sort out just why they were morning so deeply for someone they knew only through his music. Melinda was in several discussion threads and we began to communicate regularly several times a week. Except for brief periods, that has continued for the last fourteen years- and like conversations with Jean, no subject is safe from our examination. Melinda and I finally met face to face in Aspen, Co in the fall of 1998 during the first John Denver Memorial Weekend. We each had separate activities planned for the trip, but after picking her up at the airport, I wanted to do give her something I knew no one else could- I wanted to introduce her to the Aspen JD had shared with me, the place that had inspired him to write and sing-and the place he wanted to come home to from all over the world. We drove out to Windstar Ranch in Snowmass when there was no one else there and then up on the mountain so Melinda could see the same vista JD saw at sunset from his beloved backyard in Starwood.And then we had dinner at the Woody Creek Tavern, which (forgive me) is a local dive that JD and I simply adored...we walked the streets of Aspen late at night talking for hours, and by the time we left nearly a week later, we were friends for life.

I still have these two extraordinary women in my life...and for this I am thankful.

Day 12
I have had trouble exactly following the rules for this challenge because so often I don't select the prescribed number of  three Cordelia had in mine when she created this project. Some rules are made to be broken, and I am a rebel at heart. Not following the rules in this case is my way of making the project my own.

Nature often challenges and enlarges my consciousness. I began my spiritual path because I more keenly feel connected to the Sacred when I am outdoors more than any other place. There isn't a place where I have been out in Nature that I have truly disliked- except one particularly cold, wet camping trip near Hawk Mountain where I was soaked through multiple layers of clothing and several layers of skin until I was quite literally frozen when the temperature suddenly dropped after dusk. The lesson that came from that experience was to not be overly confident of my ability to be comfortable in the wild and take nothing for granted. Ever.  There have been many other lessons-Nature is the quintessential teacher.

Maybe it's because I am a Pisces, but I have always had an affinity for water. I will instinctively seek and find a source of water when I am hiking and usually end up on a river bank or the shore of a lake. I am not a touristy seashore person, but I love the ocean, even in the winter. When I lived about an hour from the ocean I loved walking on the beach in March, when the Atlantic was so cold it would burn your skin.

I am intrigued by sights and sounds of  waterfalls. Very often I'm not content to watch and listen- I want to be inside the falling water.  I am truly a fish! The rush of water soothes mind and spirit. Scientifically. moving water givens off negative ions which stabilize alpha rhythms in the brain- that's why we feels so good near a body of water. I will happily walk in the rain, but as I've gotten older I find I don't like the combination of rain and cold. I can take one or the other- not both.

I also love wind for many of the same reasons; I love the song of the wind and the accompanying tangle of dried leaves, clattering bare branches, and dancing of trees. I always feel clean after being in the wind.

For the gift of all of Nature, but especially water and winds, I am thankful.

         

15 Days of Thankfulness: Upcoming Events

 Day 9

I'll admit it- I haven't been following the "rules" my friend Cordelia set down when she wrote up this latest challenge. There has been so much to be thankful for it's been difficult to limit myself- but I'm going to try this time....Here are 3 Upcoming Events for Which I am Thankful:

1.The Approaching Winter Festivals: Happy Holidays

Thanksgiving, The Feast of St. Andrew,Advent, St. Nicholas Day, Santa Lucia, Bodhi Day Yule, Las Posadas, Hanukkah, The Birth of Mithra, Saturnalia, The 12 Days of Misrule, Sol Invictius,Christmas,Christmastide, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Winter Skoal, Lunar New Year, Hogmanay, Epiphany (Three King's Day) and Eastern Orthodox Christmas all fall between the fourth Thursday of November and mid-January....and I'm certain there are a few I've forgotten. It takes us from deep Autumn into early Winter, and they're all " days of feasting". I  love decorating and cooking for the holidays and I celebrate as many as I can each year

2. The Public Release of An Affair of the Heart
The independent film documentary about Rick Springfield I am featured will be entered in film festivals around the country after the New Year- maybe as soon as Sundance Film Festival in mid-January 2012! If that's the case I'm going to stay with a friend in Utah who volunteers at the festival so I can help promote the movie. It's been shown twice-at the premiere screening in Malibu in September, and on the latest Rick Springfield fan cruise just last week-and the review have been better than we could have ever hoped for. I know it's has a niche audience, but I think it has a wider appeal to those who enjoy music documentaries and human interest stories as well. Time will tell.


3. Book Publishing

There's been some interest in a couple of manuscripts I've been working on. One is about holidays within the 'year and a day' cycle, and the other began as a Yuletide devotional and expanded to include my own illustrations. I've also just launched a new interfaith inspirational blog called Feast of Days, which can be found at spiritualbanquet.blogspot.com

This time and these things, I am thankful for whatever the future holds.

15 Days of Thankfulness: Things in the Home

Hail Caffea!

Day 8

I am pretty certain there is a goddess named Caffea who has made her temple in my coffee pot... I would be remiss if I didn't begin this list of things I'm thankful for in my home by singing the praises of the coffee maker! One of the blessings I missed the most when I was briefly in homeless exile was the ability to have a cup of coffee any time I wanted one. Coffee is more than a drink, it's a social ritual for me. Some of the most intimate conversations of my life have taken place over a cup of coffee. Coffee equals creature comfort to many: the day begins with a hot cup of coffee while gathering their thoughts.

While I'm not much on gadgets and fancy machinery, I have found that I am rather fond of both the vacuum cleaner and the steam cleaner. While there is something intrinsically satisfying about sweeping a floor with a broom, I'm finding that as I get less flexible, my appreciation for the vacuum has grown... you point it... ZOOP!...the cobwebs and dust bunnies are gone! It does a better job of keeping the carpet clean since too much vigorous sweeping has become painful for me. Ditto the steam cleaner. Armed with a soft dry cloth in one hand  and a fired-up steamer in the other , and the kitchen and bathrooms are clean and sparkling in  half the time without the use of harmful chemicals...and there is something satisfying about watching the grease melt out of crevices in  the stove that I can't explain.

The back yard this morning. I am blessed.

My thankfulness doesn't end at the modern conveniences around the house: I am thankful for the house as well. There is a formal living room/library, and when I first moved in I was thrilled to find an entire wall of vintage books. Yes, many of the volumes contain outdated material, but reading through them gave me a sense of how people thought at the time they were published.

There are two porches on the house, one above the other. The bottom porch is screened and includes a ceiling fan ( the coolest spot in summer, since we don't have air conditioning); the top porch is more of an uncovered observation deck. Both give fabulous views of the back yard, which is thickly wooded. Coffee on the screen porch at dawn where I can watch the birds feeding or at dusk when I catch an occasional glimpse of a raccoon or fox is magickal.

Don't laugh, but I am thankful for blankets. The heat is kept minimal here during the winter, and I have acquired a collection of colorful fleece throws for my bed. I appreciate they have less weight than a traditional blanket with comparable warmth since finding a comfortable position is sometimes a chore for  me- I'm not fighting a bunch of heavy blankets while sleepily searching for the sweet spot that will allow me to relax. Two of the three blankets I own are nothing to write home about-they are faded but warm and have long passed the age where they are attractive. My favorite blanket is a cranberry red velvet-like number from Martha Stewart which pretty much stays on the bed year round.

Creature comforts and things that make life easier aren't often thought about as something to be thankful for...but naming them today makes me thankful for them.

15 Days of Thankfulness:Things at Home

Day 6

Creature comforts I never thought of before are certainly much more appreciated now that I'm not living on my own. Privacy is at a premium most of the time, but there are rare moments when I am in the house alone when I can watch a movie on the computer, or listen to a CD without the headphones or... ( hold on, this is gonna get racy!)...Sleep in my underwear...So it truly is the little things that count these days.

I have a room in where I can retreat from the world and paint my toenails or do a few crafts, and a warm bed to sleep in at night. There is a roof over my head, and I can make coffee when ever I choose to brew it. I don't have to pack up my dirty launder and schlepp it to the laundromat, I can wash it at home and even though we don't have a dryer and it takes over a day for them to dry, at least I do have clean clothes and a place to shower ( though I do secretly, yearn for a long hot bubble bath!)

It isn't an ideal situation, but I'm not taking anything for granted. My situation could be and has been worse...so yes, I am thankful for what I have at home.

15 Days of Thankfulness: Animals Past and Present

DAY 5

Animals are a gift of life. They are sentient beings who need our love, time, attention, affection, and care. They repay us with unconditional acceptance, devotion and love. They are our teachers, our guides, and our confidants. Often times, they are also our healers.  They provide us with the opportunity to drop the mask and be authentically who we are. The mere act of petting an animal provides a soothing effect for most of us.Their presence in our lives has been scientifically proven to increase our longevity.





They teach us to live in the moment. If we adopt when it is young we are privileged to watch it grow into adulthood - similarly, we see ourselves through them. They grow old and die. The cycle of seasons are inevitable.


Like most families, we had several pets throughout the years- dogs, cats and others. Pop had a ferret named Rosco who used to ride in the front pocket of his wool lumberjack shirt and eat peanuts. I had a box turtle for a few months that was eventually freed in Noxintown Lake, where Robin Williams movie The Dead Poets Society was filmed. There were a few dogs-and many cats. We always had pets around the house from the time I was a tiny child. I took the last cat with me after I sold the house a decade ago.


I don't remember the names of some of these precious little souls. Some of them only lived a short while; others had a lifespan of  more than a generation. But I was touched by all of them and made a more sensitive, considerate person for their existence. For  their lives, I am thankful.

15 Days of Thankfulness: Childhood

 Day 4: Things I'm Thankful for from My Childhood

Things I'm thankful for from my childhood?
 

That I was never allowed to run wild. 

My childhood was far from perfect, but I don't think I even entertained the thought of just going off and doing whatever struck my fancy. It just wouldn't have been tolerated, and I'm glad my grandparents were strict in that sense, because it helped me build character. Some of the kids from the old neighborhood were allowed to do whatever they wanted- and they were always in trouble. Not normal kid-type trouble, the kind of trouble that merited a visit from the truant officer, social services or the police...and a couple of them ended up dead before they were even out of their teens-because they were given 'freedom' by parents who were overwhelmed with jobs, or involved in  personal pursuits. You can't just turn a child loose on the street like that-not then and certainly not now.

It wasn't that I was being watched like a hawk every minute of the day-but at least one of my grandparents always knew where I was and what I was doing... And cared what i was doing...because some of my childhood chums were sent out to play the minute they got home from school and weren't allowed back into the house until sunset. It didn't stop me from doing normal kid stuff- I got in my share of trouble, believe me.Still, there was always someone there when I got home from school in the afternoon. Someone made sure I got my homework done, and helped me if I needed help. I was expected to be indoors by the time the streetlights came on- without being called home. And I was-or else. There were consequences if I didn't abide by the rules.

It wasn't like my life was intolerably structured. That's just the way it was in our house: the adults had the final say and the kids knew their place because, well... we were children. No one expected me to act like a miniature adult when I was a child.

I see this happening now, and I ache for the kids who have to grow up too fast and never get to be children. I see families where the roles of parent and child are reversed, where the kids are picking up the pieces or cleaning up the mess the adults have made- and it's just so very wrong. Childhood is fleeting and gone in the blink of an eye. Kids should get to be kids when they are kids. Looking back on this time now, I know how fortunate I was.

Yes, I am thankful that I was allowed to be a child when I was a child, because once that time of innocence and learning are gone- it's gone forever.