Giving Thanks

 
Happy Thanksgiving! 

It is one of my favorite holidays, with the food and family and laughter and games.  Memorial Day is also pretty great with the start of summer festivities, the first BBQs, and the pool opening; and I love the fireworks and live music on the 4th of July; Oh! and St Patrick's Day as the weather is finally breaking a bit and the green parade of leprechauns usher in Springtime...  I'll stop... The point has been made; I just love holidays... especially Thanksgiving (and Christmas with the lights brightening the otherwise darkest of days...)

My Dear Yoga Guru from Northern India is very wise.  Honestly, I could listen to her talk all day.  Along with yoga poses that relax, strengthen, and stretch, she also gives very sound advise.

Firstly, she would like us to pardon the turkey.  That advice is admittedly just straight crazy.  If pushed, I might consider being a vegetarian everyday of my life EXCEPT Thanksgiving.  

Secondly, and especially applicable given my recent response to a messy playroom (and to be honest, my attitude wasn't great yesterday either),

"Don't pick a fight with your family over Thanksgiving"

and it is with that bit of wisdom that I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  May it be full of peace and patience.  May you (and I) spend the season with love, gratefulness, and blessings overflowing from our hearts.  May every person we meet (from those under our own roof to those eying for the last $199 TV on Black Friday) feel valued and respected and cherished.  In addition to being thankful for the food and the trappings, may we all be appreciative of the strengths and weaknesses, the quirkiness and the quaintness, the helpful habits and the annoying traits, of all those people surrounding us.  May we replace exacerbation and frustration with a very quick eye-roll and genuine laughter (with them, not at them-- especially to my family whom I am sure are quite done with my holiday spreadsheets).

In short, especially on Thanksgiving, may we all (special reminder to me) truly embrace what the OT, NT, Moses, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all agree upon; the back-stories may vary but the central point remains:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart 

and with all your soul 

and with all your strength 

and with all your mind; 

and, love your neighbor as yourself."

and as spoken by the great Dr. Rupert Simms,
let all the rest of the minutia go...

 Aside to the family I spend time with during this season... I love you all to death and can't wait to give thanks, eat, laugh (with you, and I will do my best to only occasionally laugh at you), visit, play games (my mom sent a new one that seems fun), make crafts (thanks to Pinterest, I've got a good one this year), and eat some more with you. Blessings and Love <3

 *and thank you to my Dear Sister for finding the perfect quote :0)

and now with this self-motivated pep-talk out of the way and an adjusted perspective, 

I'm off to turn up the FP, turn on some music (NOT X-mas), steep a ginger peach tea, 
and cheerfully ready for the festivities.

Also to quote my Dear Guru, 

Shanti Shanti Shanti

Peace individually, collectively, and universally