gratitude

Thinking Out Loud ~ Take Time to Reflect on What is Important

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Aesop’s Fable, The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs.

The Fable

A Man and his Wife had the good fortune to possess a Goose which laid a Golden Egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and, imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it in order to secure the whole store of precious metal at once. But when they cut it open they found it was just like any other goose. Thus, they neither got rich all at once, as they had hoped, nor enjoyed any longer the daily addition to their wealth.

Note: It’s easy to get caught in the trap of wanting more and not being satisfied with what we have. It’s all around us; it may be happening to us and we don’t even know it. We may be sacrificing our relationships it to get more and give up the time we once enjoyed with the people we love. We may acquire what we are chasing and lose everything we have. Take time to reflect on what is important. It will make all the difference in your life.

Feel Good Tip ~ Feel Good Moments

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I stopped by my market today. I checked my grocery list on my iPhone, grabbed hold of a small shopping cart, and headed in. Ten items in my basket, I qualified for the express line. It wasn’t open and all the self-checkout stations were full. Hold on, a regular check out lane was open and empty. I was quickly checked out and on my way home with my groceries. I felt good. Sometimes it’s the small things like getting in the right line, making all the traffic lights on the way to work or home, seeing your child beaming when he/she comes home with a good test score. Enjoy these moments, they’re all feel good moments.

Healthy Lifestyle Tip ~ Healthy Ways to Begin Your Day

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I asked the Google AI generative the following question: What is the healthiest thing I can do the first thing in the morning?

The Google AI generated a series of suggestions. Here they are:

    • Hydrate: Drinking water first thing in the morning can help rehydrate you and boost your metabolism.
    • Exercise: Yoga is an ideal morning exercise that can energize your morning routine.
    • Get outside: Step outside to get some fresh air and sunlight.
    • Avoid technology: Limit electronics for the first hour.
    • Eat a healthy breakfast: Eating a good breakfast is an essential part of a morning routine.
    • Wake up naturally: One trick to improve how you feel in the morning is to go to sleep with the blinds or curtains halfway open.

Other healthy things you can do first thing in the morning include: 

    • Thinking of something you’re grateful for
    • Saying positive affirmations
    • Journaling
    • Creating a routine and sticking to it
    • Making important decisions the night before
    • Preparing the night before

Photo for Today ~ Pause to Wonder

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Feel Good Tip ~ Prayer takes Many Forms

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When Prayer Happens

I know that prayer takes many forms. It happens when I’m gathered with other believers. It happens when I’m grateful. It happens when I am in great need. It happens when I see or know of another suffering. It happens best when my lips are silent and my heart is speaking. I find peace when I pray. Whatever your tradition or faith, I imagine it is much the same for you.

Feel Good Tip of the Day

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What Are You Seeing?

I have eyes that see sights, people, animals, trees, flowers, movement, and letters on a page or screen and they send messages instantaneously to my brain to process. My eyesight has saved me from stepping on a coral snake, a large fire ant hill, and numerous other situations. We don’t think about our eyesight until it’s limited or gone. Just looking about and seeing people we love, a deep blue sky, or the evenings constellations should make one  feel good. Take a moment and marvel at the miracle of your eyesight and all the wonders it brings to you.

Poem for Today

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The Wonderer

Robert William Service

I wish that I could understand
The moving marvel of my Hand;
I watch my fingers turn and twist,
The supple bending of my wrist,
The dainty touch of finger-tip,
The steel intensity of grip;
A tool of exquisite design,
With pride I think: “It’s mine! It’s mine!”

Then there’s the wonder of my Eyes,
Where hills and houses, seas and skies,
In waves of light converge and pass,
And print themselves as on a glass.
Line, form and color live in me;
I am the Beauty that I see;
Ah! I could write a book of size
About the wonder of my Eyes.

What of the wonder of my Heart,
That plays so faithfully its part?
I hear it running sound and sweet;
It does not seem to miss a beat;
Between the cradle and the grave
It never falters, stanch and brave.
Alas! I wish I had the art
To tell the wonder of my Heart.

Then oh! but how can I explain
The wondrous wonder of my Brain?
That marvelous machine that brings
All consciousness of wonderings;
That lets me from myself leap out
And watch my body walk about;
It’s hopeless — all my words are vain
To tell the wonder of my Brain.

But do not think, O patient friend,
Who reads these stanzas to the end,
That I myself would glorify. . . .
You’re just as wonderful as I,
And all Creation in our view
Is quite as marvelous as you.
Come, let us on the sea-shore stand
And wonder at a grain of sand;
And then into the meadow pass
And marvel at a blade of grass;
Or cast our vision high and far
And thrill with wonder at a star;
A host of stars — night’s holy tent
Huge-glittering with wonderment.

If wonder is in great and small,
Then what of Him who made it all?
In eyes and brain and heart and limb
Let’s see the wondrous work of Him.
In house and hill and sward and sea,
In bird and beast and flower and tree,
In everything from sun to sod,
The wonder and the awe of God.

Photo for Today

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Thinking Out Loud ~ Why Saying Grace Before Eating Has Deep Meaning

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Joseph Campbell speaks of the importance of ritual when sitting down to eat in Reflections on the Art of Living. He says, “Ritual introduces you to the meaning of what’s going on. Saying grace before meals lets you know that you’re about to eat something that was once alive. When eating a meal, realize what you were doing. Hunting peoples thank the animals for having giving itself. They feel gratitude. The main ritual of mature, hunting tribes, like those of the Americas, were addressed to the animal. On the northwest coast, the principal rites were when the first wave of salmon came in, and they were intended to than the salmon. The life of the animal that you’ve taken is given back when you recognize what you’ve done. And so, sitting down to eat, realize what you are doing: you are eating a life that has been given so that you might live. P. 90

Note: The ritual of grace before meals or some form of expression of gratitude for what we are about to eat seems to me to be important. We are not entitled to the food, it is all a gift. Something died to feed us whether it is an animal, fish, or plant. Human beings other than us worked so we could eat. There is a line of people who made our meal possible from the grocery to the farmer or rancher. Yes, a heartfelt THANK YOU for this food is a worthy ritual.

Feel Good Tip of the Day ~ Happiness is Within Our Grasp

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I haven’t a single person who has told me, “When I wake up I make a decision to not be happy. Unhappiness is my goal.” We all want to be happy, some seem to have higher levels of happiness than others. What’s the difference? According to an article on Inc.com, there are five ways to make ourselves happier: exercise, practicing kindness, being grateful, surrounding ourselves with people we love, and letting ourselves be happy. Happiness is within our grasp. Happy people grasp know where to look

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