Gratitude

From the Archives, because I feel the need to comfort my spirit and set it on a different course than the one where it has been imprisoned by the rather desolate weather this January.

From October 11th, 2008

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

How very basic, and simple.

The dear ones on the Meadow sent this today, in celebration of Thanksgiving.

We had a discussion about things we are thankful for, and Charles, when asked,  said that he was

 thankful just for LIFE, and as he told me after all the rest of the blessings are wrapped up in this one gift granted to him, - especially precious to those who survived the sharp point of the Second World War.

For each new morning with its light!

This is the ultimate gift.

The rest is gravy....

Thanksgiving is somewhat like Christmas - it is the season to be 'thankful' as Christmas is the season of 'good cheer to men of good will'. They each carry their transitory messages which, if we could but hang on to them all through the year, would make this world a much more pleasant place.

They are, alas, but a nine day wonder in the media (well, Christmas maybe a 90 day wonder with its commercialism). However, in a couple of places I have read of a Gratitude Journal being presented as an antidote to depression and a way of lifting one's spirits. Sadness and thankfulness are just not compatible....

I think that keeping a Gratitude Journal is a great idea! So often we get mired down in misery because of things that go wrong, small hurts, sometimes large hurts, - the effects of aging, frustrations and failings, misunderstandings and sometimes just general gloom.

How can you maintain this misery if somewhere you are taking the time to write down the pleasant things. A smile from someone passing, the fragrance of a garden, a child's first wonder at the world around, unburnt toast and fresh coffee, a conversation with a friend, music that stirs memories, - the list of things to be thankful for is endless.

I have a little red leather covered book that will be just perfect for this - expect to see me smiling most all the time!

I have to tell you that the entries in the Gratitude Journal petered out after six months or so.  I would like to think I was too busy in the garden and too contented to feel the need to remind myself of blessings.  

However, now that I am gathering myself together to greet February with a big smile and great enthusiasm, perhaps I will resume recording all the small and wonderful things that make me happy, - or not!  Sometimes we need to be grateful for the things that make us sad, but also teach us something of value.

We have come to the end of January, and her is my 

River Stone #31

Aware, always

with the eyes of a child,

of the great potential

for wonder and awe

and curiosity.

(Kierkegaard said this much more elegantly across in my sidebar)!

Being rather antiquated, besides being retired, I don't play the organ very often any more.  I fill in where I'm needed, and nobody yet has taken over the organ at funerals, so unless the bereaved import some more sophisticated music you will usually finding me playing the Prelude while the church fills for the service.

This morning, while Charles was away singing, I began to gather my music together for Friday's service.

I pondered about whether to play old hymns, which are often familiar even to those who only enter the church for funerals and weddings (both of which are often celebrated outside the church, and I use the word 'celebrated'  for a funeral service as they are often re-named ' Celebrations of Life'.)

Oh dear, I got distracted.  I pondered over whether to play old familiar hymns or some of the gentle, comforting classics.  My question was answered when I asked the family, who prefer classics.

Tonight I went looking for less complicated versions of Pachelbel's Canon in D,   - it is very jarring when you  hit a wrong note in those long, slow introductory chords and I like to make things easy for myself and my ego....  The other Bach and Handel pieces in my small repertoire present no problems and while I was putting them in order I caught the end of the Oprah show in the background, and her discussion with a gentleman whose name I never did catch about the value of gifts that make a lasting difference in our lives and those material things that please us for a short time (I think they mentioned nine months) and then are forgotten.

And I thought about the gift of music, and the lasting pleasure I was given with the opportunity to study the piano, and felt a great warmth of gratitude for this gift which makes life more pleasant for both Charles and I, because he loves music and gets to listen when I play Scott Joplin for him every morning and I get the joy of doing this!!

A River of Stones

River Stone #26

A rush of syncopated music

and the day begins

on a high note

P.S.  This is Post #700