Greetings, Sunny Optimist buddies,
How are you?
I do hope all is well with you and there is sunshine in your lives this day.
I would love to start this newsletter by connecting with the spirit of Thanksgiving. While this is not something we observe in Scotland, I so appreciate my American friends' joy when they share their anticipation of this celebration. It is all about family and being with people they care about. It is about preparing a feast, taking time to savour it, and then being together in that happy post-prandial torpor that we all know and love. :).
I often wonder about the American culture that is a melting pot for so many different lineages. So many ancestral legacies are woven into the blanket of complexity of what it is to be an American. I appreciate that this celebration of Thanksgiving has a unique dedication to and flavour of the essence of the United States of America and its people. In these times, coming together and re-affirming family bonds feels so essential.
The image above made me smile. It captures the sense of festivity and the many blessings and gifts that come from taking the time and space to celebrate together. I love that the family, friends, and children each share what they are thankful for during the meal. That they consciously listen to and honour each other's words feels very special. Mmmmmm.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I invite you to take a moment to appreciate the people and communities you love. Think about your heritage, your traditions, and your lineage. Consider the Earth and her bountifulness. Think about all that you are and have at this time in your life.
I wonder, in this moment, what are you thankful for?
As I always say, I would love to hear your thoughts.
The Cycles within Life: The Stream
Each month I like to record a meditation for you from the book Meditations through the Year (Nature’s Cycles of the Seasons in Guided Visualisations) by Dorothea Breitzter-Kings. It is a most delightful little book. Dorothea’s writing comes from a deep appreciation of and love for the natural world. Her words have a lyrical quality and simplicity that makes it easy to float along on her imagery. In the introduction to the book Dorothea says:
‘‘By tuning into the cycles of that pulsating, ever self-renewing, inconceivably eternal life energy, we can draw closer, and learn to touch the self-renewing, the immortal within ourselves.’
I find these words powerful and energising. We can sometimes forget in our everyday lives that there is ‘eternal life energy’ available to us. So many of our current challenges and concerns can take us out of balance. To touch back into the ‘pulsating ever-renewing power of life’ is one way to sustain our optimism and our wellbeing.
The November visualisation is called The Stream, and the delightful piano accompaniment is from my friend Tim Uffindell. To listen, please click here or on the image above.
In the visualisation Dorothea takes us on a journey through the life cycle of water. Starting from the source, we, as the water, bubble up from the ground to form a stream. Then we merge with other streams to become a river that flows out to the ocean. Dorothea helps us visualise what it is like to be both a droplet of water and the ocean. What it is like to be buffeted on the shore as a wave or to be the slow and steady pulse out in mid-ocean. She then lets us evaporate and rise to join the clouds that take us back to the land. Here we fall as rain that goes down deep into the ground, ready, in time, to begin the cycle again.
Just lovely, I hope you enjoy it.
Questions for this Week
My questions for you are:
What arouses your spirit of gratitude today?
Who might you reach out to that would appreciate hearing from you?
How might you share your ‘ever-renewing gifts’ for the good of all life?
As always, I would love to hear from you.
Ann
Dearest, Ann. Thank you for this beautiful note and for sharing the video. It was an uplifting gift on this holiday weekend. I am grateful to see that it is never too late for families to heal, to break systemic cruelty and trauma with the launching of a new generation. Our old narratives don't have to define us or keep us captive. There's something to celebrate!
Always celebrating our friendship. Sending so much love across the pond!
xo
Chris
Hi Ann. I watched that lovely YouTube and yes it encapsulates so much. Gratitude itself is a beautiful word and I am grateful to be aware of my gratitude for such a lot of things everyday.
The gifts we have are not always as tangible as the things it’s easy to moan and groan about! I think it’s easier to concentrate on the problems that are arising rather than appreciate all the great difficulties one has worked hard to solve. Simply because it feels “ right” somehow to look at an issue or situation which is awkward and needs addressing. So for this reason I think it becomes easy to get ‘ addicted to worrying’ in an attempt to solve as much as possible.
But there again how wonderful it is to truly count one’s blessings. Which I do more and more and more. And thinking of the almost infinite list of problems illnesses and malaises one does Not have. Too many to count but always worth remembering. And to be grateful for each square inch of the sky and the meadow I can see. The list could go on and on. Certainly longer than the list of curses. That I think must be the beauty of gratitude
One doesn’t always have had to have been through the worst to be appreciative. It certainly is worth more thoughts than ever ti love the moments happiness.
I wish you a beautiful peaceful and happy weekend Ann and it’s a real blessing to think of all the magic and sunlight you bring with your kind wise words. Cheers Richard x.