The Goodness That is YOU

Reminder:  If you've been keeping a Gratitude Journal now is a good time to update it.  Who blessed your life this week?  What events lifted your heart?  What did you see, hear or read that inspired you?  There are so many reasons to be grateful!  

A new post will be published each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

         Someone asked me the other day if I was feeling a little sentimental.  I replied, "No, I don't think so."  Then he referenced my blogs from earlier this week.  I laughed.  Guess I got caught strolling down memory lane.  But there's nothing wrong with a little exercise that brings you back into contact with the great people and experiences you've known.  However, to spare you from my nostalgia, I will address a different kind of topic today--the blessing of being POSITIVE.
         I've commented more than once that there is so much good in the world that it isn't difficult to find many reasons for being grateful.  But what about the good IN YOU, that goodness that IS YOU?  I sometimes think, if we could just understand how really awesome we are, we would be absolutely EXCITED about life and about all our possibilities for affecting the world around us in marvelous ways.  I don't mean that in a "Look at me.  Look how wonderful I am" way.  In fact, the very thought of how special we are is extremely humbling.
         We all came from God.  Having come from our great Creator, we also contain a bit of divinity.  Though much of that divine light may be dimmed by this moral life, that light is still within us, and we can, given enough thought and effort, access it.  But how do we do that?
          My formula:

• First, believe in the goodness that is you.  Believe that you are a bit of divinity, placed here upon this earth to do good and to be an influence that uplifts and helps others.  Believe that humbly and with thanksgiving.
• Second, spend a little time each day just sitting quietly and letting that belief sink into your soul. Ponder what it means and how you can use it for good.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone."  You must take time to be still and listen for the quiet whisperings of the Spirit--the spirit of God speaking to that bit of divinity within you.  
• Third, choose a quotation, scripture, or inspired thought that you can easily memorize that sums up that belief.  Here are a few suggestions, but any positive message will do if it reminds you that you are capable and of value:

If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.  Thomas Edison

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour."  (Psalms 8:4-5  KJV)

If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.  Vincent Van Gogh

Prepare your mind to receive the best that life has to offer.  Ernest Holmes

• Forth and last, go out and DO.  Act upon the belief that you have an important purpose in life and the power to accomplish that purpose.

         If that all seems a little heady or too "out there", believe me, there is absolutely nothing wrong with putting a positive spin on life.  There are certainly enough negative messages in the world.  Contemplating the goodness within ourselves, and the goodness we can achieve, will help to counter those messages.  Whether our purpose is to be the best parent, the best doctor, the best grocery store clerk or the best friend we can be, each of us can go about the world spreading the light of kindness and genuine concern for others.  
         We are extraordinary and unique, you and I.  We have the potential to bless the world in so many enriching and wonderful ways. We each have great capabilities and the power to achieve much good.  Wouldn't it be incredible if, together, we caused the light of that belief to shine so brilliantly that even those who doubt their value could begin to see it clearly? 


TODAY'S INSPIRING QUOTATION:  There is a basic law that like attracts like. Negative thinking definitely attracts negative results. Conversely, if a person habitually thinks optimistically and hopefully, his positive thinking sets in motion creative forces -- and success instead of eluding him flows toward him.    Norman Vincent Peale

Gratitude and Work

   
          Now that I've joined the Facebook generation, I've found myself wondering what will happen to my waistline.  Facebook, e-mail, researching information on the computer, that's a lot of time SITTING, and less time doing physical things.  It doesn't mean I'm not working--the computer has become an important work tool for me.  It does mean that my work has taken on a different hue.  One with which  I'm not yet completely comfortable.  I am, after all, from a different generation.
           One thing I noticed, as I was growing up, was the incredible work ethic of my grandparents.  Both sets of grandparents were always busy providing for the needs of their families, and that meant physical labor, and a lot of it!  Although they napped for a while each afternoon, in the hours before and after their rest they were working.  As a child, I watched my Grandpa Durfee and his sons build a house they would later sell to help provide for family needs.  I saw them helping one another, and helping my mom complete the construction of our home after my father died. 
         My dad's parents were Italian and they had a huge garden, a vineyard, orchard, and chestnut trees.  My grandpa and uncles were forever clearing away brush, weeding, pruning, planting and picking.  That was in addition to my uncles' regular employment away from home. 
         My aunts were busy cooking meals, doing laundry, tending children, encouraging civility and enterprise, and dispensing love in generally large doses.  My own mother did those things, as well.  When I was in Junior High School she returned to school to earn her degree as a licensed practical nurse.  She would later earn degrees as a registered nurse and a nurse practitioner. 
         I don't remember people sitting around too often with time on their hands.  However, there were periods of rest and recreation--playing bocce ball on the lawn, or watching a Saturday afternoon Red Sox or Yankees game on television at the Norcia farm.  And sometimes we'd go out to Sandy Point on the boat owned by my mom's brothers.  There we could spend a few hours picnicking and swimming.  We also had cousins and friends to play with.  However, these were generally "earned" privileges that came after our homework and chores were completed.  And we did have chores!  There was gardening to do, house cleaning, and tending the chickens.  Some of us had newspaper routes after school and on weekends.  As an additional part of our weekly routine, we were also expected to take our turns helping with the laundry and ironing, and with dinner preparations and clean up. 
          If all that sounds a little overwhelming, it wasn't.  It was the way life was, and it was healthy.  There were no computers, let alone computer games.  We had a party line with two neighboring families and often had to "wait our turn" to use the phone.  There were no 2 or 3 hour phone conversations with friends, and no begging for a phone of our own.  We asked before we plopped down on the living room rug to relax in front of a television show because watching T.V. was the exception.
         The other thing I remember about my grandparents, aunts and uncles, were their frequent expressions of gratitude for all they had. My Italian grandparents had moved to the United States to live and work in a Massachusetts mill town, just for the opportunity to have a better life than they had known in "the old country".   It wasn't until years later, with the help of an uncle, that they bought a small farm in rural Connecticut.  All the relatives in the generation before mine lived through a severe depression in this country.  They knew what "hungry" felt like, because they sometimes went to bed having eaten little or nothing.  They knew what moldy flour tasted like, because sometimes it was the only flour they had.  They knew the exhilaration of watching their gardens grow because they had taken the time to plant and tend them, but they knew more than that.  They were aware that sometimes all the planting and tending and watchful care in the world could come to nothing, because sometimes the earth did not produce if there was to much rain, or too little rain, or disease. Knowing how capricious nature can be, and how hard food was to come by, even from the grocer, they also knew a dependence upon God, and gratitude to their Creator for providing for their needs.  They knew that body aches and fatigue, even in productive years, were necessary to make the earth yield a harvest.  They knew the exertion required to catch a fine "haul" of fish.  And they knew that the after effects of sore muscles and aching joints were a whole lot better than the feeling of hungry.  
         Hard work, back then, was usually productive work.  I remember the joy on my Grandmother Durfee's face as she picked a bouquet of flowers she had grown in her yard, and my Grandpa Norcia proudly displaying the chicken eggs he had gathered from the coop and placed in his brimmed hat.  I remember my mother beaming with pleasure at the jars of canned beans, peaches, jams and soups she had "put up"; not to mention the freezer filled with produce she had blanched and packed away in plastic freezer boxes. I also remember the excitement as she earned her diploma in nursing.
         Am I stuck on living in the past?  I don't think so.  However, I am stuck on remembering that there used to be a physical component to life that was much more prevalent than it is today.  Sitting at the computer or playing with your cell phone seems, to me, to lead to more sedentary preoccupations, like games and texting--even while driving!  I simply fear that we will forget some really important things like: there are people to talk to--face to face; eyes to look in to, to see the sparkle of pride, or joy, or satisfaction reflected there; people to be listened to--really listened to--not just in passing, but with our full attention.  And even though the world has changed in many respects, there are still bodies that benefit from the pain of exertion and a little sweat pouring down the back during an afternoon of gardening, or building, or helping a friend in need; and minds that can be plied to think in new directions and learn new things.
         Yes, I am looking back a bit, but only because there is something to be learned there: hard work, whether mental or physical, feels great, and along with that feeling of satisfaction is the feeling of gratitude--gratitude that you CAN work; gratitude that your labors are productive; gratitude that what you have produced is blessing your family, and gratitude to God, from whom all blessing flow. Gratitude and hard work are twin attributes.  Working hard makes you grateful that you have the capacity to work, and that it produces fruit; and the fruit of your labor produces gratitude that your work has not been in vain.

TODAY'S AWESOME BLESSING:  Thanks to Facebook and e-mail I made contact this week with 3 friends from my younger years.  We hadn't talked in such a long time!  So, you see, I'm not anti-technology.  I just have a great appreciation for focused, productive work.

School's Open

A new post will be published each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.


West Broad Street Elementary School
Where It All Started For Me
Education, Friendships, Social Interaction



         For millions of kids across the USA this is the week that begins their new school year.  For millions more it will begin just after Labor Day.  How lucky are they?  I know that my sister in Florida has been busy for weeks preparing for her elementary school class.  I'm sure her head is spinning with ideas, and those kids are darn lucky to have Mrs. Simpler for their teacher. I wonder if they understand their good fortune.

         When I think of the kids in many African nations and other places around the world who would give anything for a pencil and pad of paper, or for the opportunity to have a school nearby, I have to wonder if, in this country, we know how really blessed we are.  I used to moan and groan about the end of summer, and dread the impending piles of homework.  I know I was one who probably took a good education for granted.  As I look back, I remember many wonderful teachers:  Mrs. Hustlebee in first grade;  Mrs. Blake in 5th;  Mr. Kravanek, Mrs. Fabricant and Mr. Pouliot in Junior High, and Mrs. Ostigny, Miss Silverstein, and Mrs. Nardone in High School.  There were many others, but those are the ones who stand out in my mind because they seemed to really care, not just about my education, but about helping me to be my best as an individual.
         And who can forget the friendships?  I hope Christine Murano has forgiven me for biting her in 1st grade--that was MY piece of puzzle, Christine!--Barbara, Suzanne, Linda, Judy, Mary, Tony, Mac and so many others. Do you remember buying comic books at Shea's, the class trip to Mystic Seaport, school dances, our high school performance of Strange Borders?
         I was a pretty shy kid, but not so withdrawn that I didn't notice I was surrounded by a lot of wonderful people, some who were friends from first grade through high school.  School provides that for us--a safe transition from the shelter of home into the larger world.  A way to begin spreading our wings, forming trusted relationships, discovering our abilities and, eventually, learning to fly.
         Reading, math, science and all the other subjects are, without a doubt, important.  However, school also provides a great laboratory for experimenting with getting along in the world:  practicing proper social conduct; learning sportsmanship; becoming a responsible member of the community. And in the midst of all that, we are blessed to learn self discipline, self confidence and self respect.
         So, as this school year begins, and you send those wee ones, and bigger ones, out the door, don't just breathe a sigh of relief that summer is over.  Take a moment to remember your own experiences with school, and all the wonderful people you knew, and possibly still know from those formative years.  How blessed we are that school, at its best, isn't just an institution for book learning.  It really is a place for learning about LIFE !


TODAY'S GENTLE ENCOURAGEMENT:
CONSIDER CONTACTING A FRIEND FROM YOUR PAST IN SCHOOL TO THANK HIM OR HER FOR THE GREAT MEMORIES!