Focus on Life's Blessings

When Susan Bruck posted the following inspirational quote at her blog, I knew it would be a beautiful opening for this month's Spiritual Journey Thursday on reflection. 

"The Japanese philosophy encourages us to focus on the blessings hiding in our daily lives, and celebrating the way things are rather than how they should be." -Thomas Oppong

For many of us things in our personal lives are stressful. Pandemic blues follow. The facial coverings we wear may mask our feelings, holding us back from seeing life through a different lens. With determination and faith we need to find what is beautiful in life to restore a sense of joy. In trying to sort out my own emotions, I turn to nature's transformative touch. 

Remembering the brilliant sun over the marsh, the reeds brushing lightly past one another in a spring breeze, and the recent dark storms led to the creation of an inspirational digital filled with Long Island sights. I added the sketched hand to signify a need for humanity to reach out and connect with others. 

In this spirit of making connections, I reflect on an unusual Thanksgiving with my family. There were many differences that made this feast a new normal one. Instead of Mass at the Cathedral, we sat at home watching it on television. There was a small turkey breast with sides for our family of three, and Zoom and phone calls to connect with relatives and my granddaughters. Within the unfamiliarity of events there was a constant. The sermon, like many others, was a memorable one for our times. Our new pastor presented an urgent message: make Thanksgiving an action of the spirit, not just one day of celebration. His simple words encouraged all to fill our hearts with gratitude each day. Knowing that I had a dip in my positivity level during the pandemic, his message resonated with me.

As the pastor suggested, we need to become people filled with gratefulness for the blessings of life, not dwelling on the stressors that have us exploding like volcanoes of ill-wanted toxins. 

O Lord that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.

-William Shakespeare, Henry Vi, Part II, Act 1, Scene 1

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Thanksgiving Pantoum

 

Oh, my soul, focus on blessings

found on quiet earthen paths.

Follow the journey to

thankful living.

Found on quiet, earthen paths

find gratitude for

thankful living.

Connect in hope.

Find gratitude for

the things that are.

Connect in hope.

Share this season filled with nature inspired awe.

The things that are

can bring a sense of peace.

Share this season filled with nature inspired awe.

Oh, my soul, focus on blessings.

©CV, 2020, Long Island

A pantoum consists of four-line stanzas with the second and fourth lines of each stanza becoming the first and third lines of the next stanza. The last line of a pantoum is often the same as the first.

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Let the spirit of Thanksgiving

Become today's living action!

Awaken joy along the trail.

Be grateful for what is.

©CV, 2020, Long Island

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I plan on searching for life's small details to see the positives and share these with others.

What can you do to tip the scale to increase your positivity level and  

celebrate the way things are rather than how they should be?

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Thank you to my poet-librarian friend, Linda Mitchell, for hosting this month's Spiritual Journey Thursday. She chose the topic reflection as her inspiration for the action of reflecting  on what has been. 

I join my fellow writes as we pause to reflect

and extend our thoughts and prayers for all who are in need

during trying pandemic times.

Focus On Gratitude

This year, Thanksgiving was a day to look beyond the challenges, interruptions, and distractions of our pandemic lives and focus on what mattered. It was a day filled with gratitude for faith, family, and friends but celebrated in an unfamiliar, new normal way. If you were like me, you had a delicious dinner with immediate members of your family, zoomed with grandchildren, and/or relatives, and spoke with others. 

As an added touch, I resurrected a childhood tradition of walking after dinner cleanup time. We stepped outside; I was amazed by the deep jet black sky with a brilliant moon illuminating the street. Gratitude flowed. It was the start of a peaceful family walk. The weather was cooperative for an awe walk., being the most temperate of Thanksgiving nights in a decade. While walking, I recollected the following recent scene at the state park on the outskirts of my neighborhood. The photo taken shares the simple beauty of autumn in late November. With gratitude for nature's beauty I composed the following digital inspiration, image poem.

Even a short walk in the woods can produce a sense of awe when you learn to let go of stress and pay attention to small details. -How to Find Awe in Everyday Things by Sidney Stevens

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The Poetry Sisters offered an interesting challenging, #PoetryPals, for the end of November. 

"The theme is hindsight — pick one of your old poems to revise and/or write a new poem in conversation with it."  

With this in mind, I traveled back in time to last November and 

found the following zeno poem I created.

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Give thanks for fall's seasonal gifts

coloring world

with love,

glee.

November comes

in peace.

See,

wonder, explore.

Find rest.

Be!

©CV, 2019

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For the challenge, I created a zeno poem that connects thoughts from 2019 to 2020 for my Abundant Autumn Gallery. 

Give thanks for fall's abundancy

dispelling fears.

Seek

earthen beauty,

joyful

hope.

Thanksgiving comes

in peace.

Feel

inspired awe.

Center!

Be!

©CV, 2020

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I am grateful for autumn and an unusual Thanksgiving filled with nature inspired awe

to move us beyond the confinements of pandemic living.

Join me for Poetry Friday, hosted by Carol at  Carol's Corner. 

Note:

I will be slowing going through Poetry Friday blogs this weekend since there are multiple scheduled viewings of my Long Island house. I am grateful for this and also very pleased that my Virginia home is completely built and ready for a December closing.