Living life as an example....

One of the tenets of my belief is that "you" live your life as an example to others.  What does this mean?  Well, no one is perfect, and we are all human beings.... in that we are small, and flawed.  We should be humble by the greater forces around us. (And I don't mean the government or churches).  I mean Mother Nature, and the intangible unseen forces of the greater universe around us.

I believe that I do live a life as an example to others - not always the best example; I suppose it depends on the day and the context of what I am up to.  But today, for this post, I want to talk about being "in service" to others.  I hear this a lot... and recently I was questioned about it (in an interesting way) and that made me decide to create this post.... but I digress.

What does it mean to be in service?  Well, for me it means that I will volunteer myself to help out a cause that I believe in, or share a skill that I have to help someone who needs it.  One can't make a living continually volunteering all the time, so of course there are times when I volunteer and times when I get paid, and other times when barter may be appropriate.

I could not in good conscience ask someone to volunteer for something that I am not willing to do myself; and I am happy to admit that I never have.  I am also someone who encourages people to value their time and energy, and when appropriate, get paid for what they do.  Because bills must be paid, and there is a certain satisfaction that comes from receiving a form of payment for a job well done.

What about the EGO?  Oh My!  That is a topic for a longer post.  Let me just say this about that.... Everyone has an ego - the ego can help us survive, and it can help us to be successful, overcome obstacles and strive to achieve goals... I am often mystified when people speak of the ego in purely negative terms.  We need a healthy ego to survive.  There are extremes of behavior, that is of course, human nature.  Instead of focusing on negative energy and thoughts; why not try seeking balance?  Because after all, none of us is perfect.  In our imperfections we are unique.  And often it is those quirks of "imperfection" that make us lovable to others, and sometimes even to ourselves.

Take care of yourselves.  Love yourself, love each other.  Be unconditional in that love... and be all encompassing in that love.  We are men and women by birth or by choice; we are human by genetics.  

Humanity is not a color, gender, religion, or political view.... it is all of those things and so much more.

The Attitude of Gratitude

Here in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November- some say it is to honor the peaceful meal shared between some of the early settlers of the Plimoth colony and the Native Americans of the area.  Of course, having grown up in the Southeastern Massachusetts area, I have been often to Plimoth Plantation (a living history site for visiting the Pilgrim settlers), and once I even participated in their "Eat Like a Pilgrim" event where you can learn some interesting facts about history, table manners, and what these folks may have actually eaten at the "first Thanksgiving".  It's quite interesting, and the food is delicious, so if you find yourself looking to visit America's Hometown (now spelled Plymouth), this is a must do!

Now, gratitude seems to be "a thing" lately - people are urging others to practice gratitude every day.  Like Alice's Restaurant (when sung by 50 people a day, with feeling, when it comes around again on the guitar) is a movement; the practice of gratitude seems to be becoming a movement.  There are many Facebook posts - people challenging each other to post what they are grateful for for a specified number of days - or to post a certain number of things they are grateful for each day for so many days.... there are gratitude journals, and last year I noticed that Lululemon was giving away free note-cards for their customers to send a note of gratitude to someone.... That is all very very nice.  In fact, I took a few, and sent even more than what I took - but then again, if you know me, you know that I write notes of love and gratitude as a regular practice... no prompting needed.

Sigh*

Shouldn't we be grateful every day?  Of course we should.  I'm not saying that people shouldn't be shouting from the rooftops, or posting in caps on FB, Twitter, etc or even blogging about it (conspiratorial wink inserted here)... I do think that we shouldn't wait until one holiday a year.... and I hope it is a part of your daily life.  Why not make it a daily tradition... let the gratitude envelope you and surround you with it's comforting warmth.  Know that you are loved and that obstacles are just the universe's way of saying - "hey, you could do better".  Be kind to yourself, and be kind to each other.

I believe in you.

For those who have never experienced the blessing of Arlo Guthrie - enjoy this; a family Thanksgiving tradition for 25 years in my house - plays on the local radio at noon - we all tune in and sing along.  Alice's Restuarant - A Thanksgiving Tradition