Words from the Heart

Image by AlicePopkorn via Flickr It is not often that I go into a rant about something, but celebrating an occasion or feeling that should be celebrated daily just about sends me into a tizzy!  Three observances fit this description - Valentine's Day, Earth Day and Thanksgiving. By singling out one day to share the love, concern or gratitude, we give permission not to recognize those emotions the rest of the year.  Therefore, it is no surprise that today, Earth Day, when much of society is taking a moment to realize that Mother Earth is dying beneath us, that I want to scream, "Wake up, folks!  We need to love the Earth everyday!" The trash that has surfaced after this long winter is just one little example of our careless regard for our planet.  If each of us took the time to find a recycling bin or disposal can, if we spoke up to people you carelessly drop their trash wherever they are, if we left a place, as we did in Girl Scouts, cleaner than when we came ju...

Webster's defines "tradition" as: 1. the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice; 2. something that is handed down; 3. a long established or inherited way of thinking or acting; 4. a continuing pattern of cultural beliefs or practices; ...The definition goes on for several more explanations, but I think you get the idea. Growing up, we had a few traditions. Some were so entrenched in our lives that we didn't realize they were traditions until we stopped practicing them. Things like, Wednesday was spaghetti night; Saturday, we had beans and franks; and on Sundays we usually had a sit-down meal at around 2 o'clock. We called it dinner, which cracks my daughters up every time I ask, "So what's for dinner?" They call it supper. Other traditions were explained in sincere, one on one talks, like when my Mom told me why we went to church on Sunday or w...

Thursday many of us around this country will gather with family, friends, friends that feel like family and/or family that we wish were friends. There will undoubtedly be bountiful feasts prepared...some perhaps from our own gardens...most prepared by someone in attendance. Children will run around gleefully playing, football games will be held at many high school fields, some folks will sit together to watch the parade and to see their favorite pro teams battle for THE title, mothers/grandmothers/aunts/sisters will gather in the kitchen to prepare their specialties. Finally, everyone will sit around a table filled with mouth-watering delicacies to eat. Stop! Here is where I make my humble request. It will only take a moment. Before everyone digs into the food, whether there are only two or thirty-two of you gathered, take a moment to reflect on the feast before you. Take a moment to realized how blessed you are. Take a moment to explain to the children that they are privil...

Sitting at the computer, I notice that the dark is descending upon us at only 4 p.m. The darkest days of the year are yet to come. The light of the computer screen is all that is illuminating the space I am in at the moment. I want to get my thoughts down more than I want to turn on the lights. Imagine having brought in the harvest, stocked the larder and gathered your family around the table for a harvest feast. Or, imagine how dark, how alone one might have felt during a time without electricity. It is no wonder that our ancestors, the world round, celebrated Holy Days of Thanks and Light at this time of the year. Thanks for the harvest became the forerunner of our Thanksgiving. While thanksgiving for the "return" of the sun(light), created the first Solstice celebration. From Bodhi Day to Kwanzaa, and from Hanukkah to Christmas, all the celebrations of this season center around the Light. Several years ago, I attended a very beautiful service where the electricity w...

Tomorrow is one of the biggest greeting card holidays next to Christmas. I have a real problem with it, as I do with the commercialism of Christmas as well as the assumption by retailers that everyone celebrates these holidays. But, I digress. Valentine's Day, as many know, began as a Christian (Catholic) holyday in remembrance of St. Valentine, a bishop who was imprisoned for his faith. There are several legends that explain how the day became associated with love. In one, it is said, " Valentine is said to have spent a year in rigorous imprisonment during which he was missed a lot by children. They began to toss loving notes and flowers between the bars of his cell window. To an extent, this legend may explain the tradition of exchanging notes and flowers on Valentine's Day. Some scholars believe that during his stay in prison Valentine made friends with jailer's blind daughter who at times brought to him notes ...

It's the day after Thanksgiving. The leftovers have been stored. Already, folks are saying, "What, turkey again!" Those that over-indulged yesterday are working on the diets they said they would start. Life goes on. I wonder, at the end of today, how many of us will give thanks? What about next week, next month, next year? Thanksgiving, like Valentine's Day, and Mother and Father's Day, is a holiday that I think should be celebrated every day of the year. Just think how much richer our lives would be if, every day, not just once a year, we celebrated "the Giving of Thanks." Gratitude is such a wonderful gift to give ourselves as well as others. I challenge the readers of this blog to begin a new year, beginning today, by taking a moment each day to give thanks. Reflect on your day. Look at how, even the moments that were most difficult, helped bring you to where you needed to be. Sometimes, hindsight being 20/20, we don't see how adversity is a bless...