I literally just remembered that I should post a thanksgiving message. I have been so busy. My family already celebrated our Thanksgiving just for that reason – because we are so busy.
I would just like to encourage for people to remember and be thankful for things each day. Don’t wait until Thanksgiving to share your thankfulness for someone or something. Do it now. Do it today. Do it as much as possible. Time goes by too fast.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I am a person who thinks about kindness. I think about kindness, caring, compassion, and nurturing. I think about what it means to show those things and do those things for others – to show love to others – a loving kindness. I also try to practice that for myself, as well. However, I sometimes wonder if kindness is still a thing? Does it matter anymore? Do people care about whether or not someone is kind, caring, compassionate, nurturing to them, or not? Are most people just superficial about kindness and caring? Are they kind and caring to others out of selfish reasons? How deep does it go? These are things I think about and for good reason.
People are human. I know. I get it. People are fallible. We are not perfect. We all have reasons for the things we do and say, and the things we don’t do and say. And, sometimes we are motivated or unmotivated by things within us that make us who we are that we may not even understand, whether beneficial or not. First of all, people are motivated by basic needs, and then, once those needs are met, we can seek out other things. If those basic needs are not met, we appear to be caught in a cycle of trying to obtain and fulfill them – or give up and become hopeless and despairing, or even replace the unfulfilled needs with unhealthy things. This is important to recognize for people at both ends of the spectrum. People who have more than enough of their fulfilled needs sometimes don’t know what to do with it all, and people whose needs are unfulfilled continually (generally) seek to have those needs be met.
What I am getting at here is that kindness matters, even if it we think it doesn’t. There is always a need for kindness, caring, compassion, and nurturing. There is a need for loving kindness in the world, and there is a need for people to show it and express it, not only to themselves and each other, but to the natural world around them. I was speaking with an elderly man in a professional care setting recently who believed that he did not matter anymore, that his actions did not matter anymore. He expressed that, without work and family, nothing mattered. I encouraged him to remember that everything matters. Everything we do, think, and say matters. I reminded him that he matters, but it may now be in a different way. He must now find “different” ways to matter, for others, but most especially for himself.
In a business event setting recently, I spoke with a male peer about kindness and compassion in relationships in general. I also stated that it is something that has often seemed to push men (in particular) away from me. I stated to him that I was beginning to think that it was a personal flaw, but he reminded me that it is a strength. And, that is something I needed to hear and be reminded of – that it is still okay to be kind and to be myself. But, of course, being kind and compassionate does not mean that someone is a pushover or is willing to be taken advantage of. Sometimes, the way kindness appears to others seems to invite such thinking about taking advantage, and that is also something people on the giving end must be aware of and people on the receiving end must temper.
Of course, in my work, I apply and infuse my kindness, caring, compassion, and nurturing. I can be myself by showing sensitivity, understanding, and empathy to others while also fulfilling other tasks. I can give to others what I would like to receive, and take pleasure in those times when it is reflected back to me. With this being the season of giving thanks, I recently received a beautiful “thank you” message from a peer in an educational setting. I so much appreciate having received it, and replied in kind. Just that one message made a world of difference for me, to have someone recognize the kindness, caring, and effort that I do my best to invest each and every day. I needed that. I soaked it up like a sponge. Sometimes, we give, give, and give, and it is really nice to occasionally receive some emotional confirmation and fulfillment back in return. Sometimes, we all have a cup that needs a refill.
So, again, kindness matters. It is still a thing, even if we don’t see it, feel it, or experience it around us or toward us all that much. Sometimes, we are the ones who are giving and giving of lots of kindness, caring, compassion, and nurturing, and it is a welcome relief when someone recognizes it and takes a moment to return it. Our world is so fast-paced and people are oh so busy with their lives (myself included), but it is important to remember to take a moment. Take a moment and continue to do, say, or show something kind to another, just for kindness sake and not for seeking anything in return. The world will be a better place for it and you will be a better person for it. A little bit of kindness can go a long way.
Food season is upon us. The holidays are around the corner, and food is already in focus. At the grocery stores, turkeys and hams are piled up in the freezers, and candies and chocolates are weighing down the shelves. From Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas to Valentine’s Day, it’s food season!
When I was a kid, Halloween was a big event to enjoy. I always liked going out trick or treating and getting candy. It was fun and it was nice to go out around my neighborhood, especially with neighbors trying to guess who I really was. I have to say that my brother always got more candy than me. Not only was it a challenge to get the candy, but he definitely seemed more hungry than me for sweets.
Halloween isn’t such a big deal for me anymore. Lots of people are into it, but it is just not something I’m into anymore. When my son was a child, we would go out trick or treating only to a few neighbors who we knew, and we’d go to trunk ‘n treat events at churches – and also volunteer at them. It was fun, but I don’t miss all of the sweets, candy, and sugar.
Thanksgiving is around the corner now, and I already have my turkeys for both Thanksgiving and Christmas in my freezer. I like to be early and be prepared to have first pick of whatever is available. I don’t go for the really big turkeys; I don’t have that many mouths to feed. A turkey that is under 12 pounds is about right, though the two smallest I found this year were just under 13 pounds. When I bake those, we will definitely have leftovers for awhile, and we will get tired of them, but they will still be good anyway.
Along with turkey, I like to have several different side dishes, like mashed potatoes, peas or corn, broccoli or cauliflower, stuffing, rolls, cranberry sauce, and I used to make gravy, but there’s not so much interest in that anymore. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, or cherry pie are also favorites, and pecan pie used to be a favorite. Pie a al mode is good too, with a bit of vanilla ice cream. I’m getting hungry just thinking about all of this – yum!
And then, we have all of the Christmas candies and chocolates. Those are truly my downfall! If I have one vice, it is sweets. I have struggled with sweets most of my life. Since I became a teenager, sweets have often been my go-to for comfort when there is nothing and no one else. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with food, especially sweets that overly satisfy my sweet tooth. I love to make homemade sugar cookies, homemade chocolate fudge, homemade chocolate brownies, etc., all from scratch. I have great recipes, and they all sadly (but deliciously) include lots of sugar and butter. Those are the ingredients that make the sweets taste so good, but they also pack on the pounds. I love to eat and the older I’ve gotten, the more careful I have to be with not eating too many sweets. When you have a sweet tooth, it is oh so hard to deny fulfilling it. It may provide some comfort, but it is definitely unhealthy. I truly envy people who can walk away from sweets and not give in.
Then, there is Valentine’s Day with all of the focus on chocolates. I’m not so much into Valentine’s Day for several reasons. If there was a special partner in my life, it would be more important to me. I do, however, show my love to my son and I get Valentine’s chocolates for him; he enjoys them. He is definitely more into Valentine’s Day than me, especially for the chocolates – including for the post-Valentine’s Day discounts on them.
In the past year, I have lost a significant amount of weight. It is a wonderful feeling. I worked hard at it with exercise, eating much smaller portions and more healthy foods, and staying away from the sweets – or at least limiting my intake of them better. Now, with the holidays rolling around, colder weather setting in, and a greater need for the comfort of sweets, my sweet tooth is calling. I recognize it, however, and I’m doing better with managing it. I like being a size smaller and being more fit and having more energy. I like looking better and feeling better. But, I also like eating and recognize that I have to keep avoiding and/or limiting my intake of sweets. They look good, but aren’t good. They are not going to get the better of me this time!
Have you ever seen trumpet flowers? At least, that’s what I call them. I have a shrub of Brugmansia – or Angel’s Trumpet – growing in an island in my front yard. I didn’t even know they were there! I removed two towering shrubs from that island this past Spring, shaped up the azaleas there, and transplanted more azaleas into the island. In the process of polishing up the plants in the island, I also cut back a “dead” butterfly bush – which actually grew back, much to my surprise and delight. And, I cut back what appears to be the Brugmansia shrub; I hadn’t known what it was until it started blooming beautiful trumpet flowers.
So, this is a very nice surprise, and is something that my mother must’ve planted in the island, although I never recall seeing it in full bloom until this year. I had another Brugmansia shrub in a large backyard island – the size of which I drastically reduced this past Spring to help me save more of my time from having to take care of everything in that island. But, when I reduced the size of that island, I transplanted about 25 azaleas, a couple of large rose bushes, and many lily bulbs to other island locations in my yard and around my house – and I didn’t save the Brugmansia shrub or the two towering butterfly bushes that were there.
Brugmansia is native to South America, prefers full sun, needs a lot of water, and has a variety of colors (yellow, white, pink, etc.). In late summer, we experienced lots of sun and rain where I live, and it appears that my Brugmansia shrub with the beautiful angel’s trumpets just loved it! These flowers are very unique and I don’t recall seeing them anywhere else in recent memory. So, I’ve been enjoying them (at least until the freeze will likely harm them tonight) and thinking of the memories of my mom who had a serious green thumb and loved working among her flowers and plants.
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