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| Author: Posted: Nov. 17, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 3,843,979 |
Question of the Week: 86 - 11/24/2002 How’s Your Gratitude Attitude? It has been a rough couple of years in this world of ours. Wars and terrorist threats make the news every day. You seem to run into every cranky person on the planet. You think that your phone might be tapped -- or soon will be -- or really should be. Your family is a little less than Brady Bunch perfection and the holidays haven’t even reached full swing yet and already you have run out of money and gained ten pounds. (You know where!) Has your 'gratitude attitude' taken a big hit of late? Or are you still the poster child for the ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’ platform? How do you maintain an attitude of -- or develop an aptitude for -- thanksgiving when the going gets rough? Who and/or what are you the most grateful to/for? |
| Reponses: There are 64 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| I'm An Average Person..... | Nov 27th. at 7:40:26 pm EST |
| Etain (Ohio) | Age: 31 - Email |
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with an average life. I'm just a regular person out there trying to make it in the world. Like everyone else I have good days and bad. But I have to admit my life is good. Yes, I'm worried about our govt and the environment and every little thing everyone else is worried about.....but I love my life. I don't have any money, but I wouldn't trade my life for the world. I'm grateful I have the most wonderful husband and daughter in the world. (And no we're not perfect.) I'm grateful that I know my family will love me & suppoert me no matter what happens. I know that what I put out into the universe comes back to me. Naturally I am generous to friends and family....I don't try to force it or be fake about it(eg: yeah if I do this then the universe will give me that). I just give what I can (and sometimes I have nothing for myself), but I swear I get so much in return that cannot be measured. I am rewarded and blessed so many times over with conspicuous and inconspicuous gifts that I cannot even to begin to describe them. I guess I always live like today will be my last day, because I never know when it will be. Enjoy you lives and have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families! |
| For The Little Things.. | Nov 27th. at 2:39:30 pm EST |
| morrianna (lake zurich, il) | Age: 35 - Email |
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I am grateful for my three precious cats, who seem to always know how to cheer me up and make me laugh! I am very grateful for to my soulmate who inspires me in so many ways to live my life to its fullest potential. I am very blessed in so many ways and I thank the goddess for her loving presence in my life. Bright blessings to all! |
| Life Goes On | Nov 27th. at 11:32:23 am EST |
| Aislin Ordella (quebec, canada) | Age: 21 - Email |
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There is no way i could list all the things I'm thankfull for but here are a few. I am thankfull for the love I give and recieve everyday. I'm thankfull for my family and my homes. I'm thankfull for all the things of beauty that i have seen, and all the places that i have been. I'm thankfull for my loved ones and the angels that keep them safe. I'm thankfull for every blessing in my life. I'm thankfull for the lord and lady's patience with me. I'm thankfull for everyday I wake up in my lovers' arms. I'm thankfull for being able to meet so many other pagans online and share information. Always as you are...Aislin |
| That's Easy! | Nov 27th. at 11:12:59 am EST |
| Joelle Mullins (Michigan, USA) | Age: 32 - Email |
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What am I grateful for? That's easy! I'm so very grateful for my husband and the fact that he loves me for who and what I am. His love is unconditional. I'm grateful for the laughter he brings me, and everything we share. I am grateful for my son. For the joy he brings me, and for making me want to be a better person. For showing me joy in the small and simple things and for showing me the awe in the things I take for granted. Things like a fuzzy drifting on the breeze, or an airplane high above our heads. For comforting me when I'm down, by something as simple as his presence, or him coming up to me and putting his little hands on my face and saying, "I love you Momma, you so pretty." That, makes any problems I may have, compleatly meaningless. :o) That is what I am grateful for, and it is more than enough. Brightest Blessings to you all. Phoenix ^ |
| What A Beautiful World! :^) | Nov 27th. at 8:19:48 am EST |
| Starsinger (San Antonio, TX) | Age: 44 - Email |
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This has been a year of incredible evolution for me. I realized for the first time that I don't HAVE to "acknowledge that Christ is my Savior" and I won't "burn in hell for eternity"! All of those ideas, half-felt whimsies that had been nagging me for years are really true: this is a beautiful world, and our purpose here is to enjoy it! It is not try to ignore it for our spiritual development, not abnegate it or our bodies or the pleasures they offer. What a wonderful day when I allowed myself to believe that it is not only OK to take intense pleasure in sensory experiences--the feel of grass, twigs, and soil underfoot, an incredibly brilliant sunset, the feeling of a hand on my body—but it can be a part of ‘devotions’! I will spend the holidays with my (very) Baptist extended family, who will never understand my leaving the “path of salvation,” but I can have an deep relish in the feeling of family, hearth and home. I am grateful for my new viewpoint, my new-found sisters in the Goddess, my dog, who allowed me to run with her when I couldn’t find the “wolves,” my husband who just shakes his head when I share my latest discovery with him, yes, for my family, too, and this beautiful, ever-changing, delightful world! Brightest Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving! |
| British Thanksgiving | Nov 27th. at 6:53:35 am EST |
| Bruce Fraser (Northumberland, England) | Age: 42 - Email |
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Oh, how I wish us Brits had the equivalent of a Thanksgiving. It's a long wait here in between Guy Fawkes Night (November 5th) and Yule. On our side of the pond,we, too, sit and wait for the latest war to begin and our troops to head off into battle. I suppose I have to be grateful for being over the age of conscription. Love to everyone in the US! XXXoooXXX |
| I Am Thankful For | Nov 26th. at 9:02:27 pm EST |
| Lorna (new hampshire) | Age: 36 - Email |
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I am thankful for another year to be with and enjoy friends and family and I hope that the years ahead will be good ones. |
| What A Question . . . | Nov 26th. at 7:19:10 pm EST |
| Medusa (Portland, OR) | Age: 28 - Email |
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And what a year it's been. Both on the personal front and the public/political front, it seems like my life and the life of everyone I know has gotten extremely complicated. Of course, my friendly neighborhood astrologer (and several of my witchy friends) assure me that my own personal upheaval has a lot to do with the onset of my Saturn return, and that I should just surf the spirals", as one of my writing friends puts it. The same friend suggests that, as far as the current political regime is concerned, we need a serious attitude adjustment. Which is why the question of my gratitude attitude is particularly relevant. Because yes, there is a lot of disturbing stuff going on around me; the question is, do I hyper-focus on my fears, therefore calling them in to reality, or do I focus on my dreams, and the positive things in my life, in the hopes that the good energy I send out can help turn the tide? What a challenge to all of us, to remember gratitude and joy and beauty at a time when things look rather bleak. I'm not great at being positive when there are things to worry about--I'm a champion worrier. But I'm really trying to change the habit of uttering self-fulfilling prophecies of doom. Here, then, is my list of things to be grateful for. -enough to eat -a nice place to live -the realization that it's never too late to change your bad habits. -good friends -good health -the fact that there are thousands of people in this country and others who are all focusing their energy on positive change, in every way they can, and that ultimately something will have to give. -my job -finding my current spiritual path, such a blessing after a lifetime of trying to fit into a world that wasn't right for me. -the gifts of healing and art in my life -a world that is so full of mysteries I will never know them all, and therefore I'll always have something to learn and wonder about. There are so many other things, I can't possibly fit them here. Many blessings to all. |
| Still Holding Fast | Nov 26th. at 6:43:34 pm EST |
| Moon (Oswego NY) | Age: 41 - Email |
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Although I am very unhappy about the way our gov't is handling things and the direction we seem to be catapulting in as a country, I think I am still maintaining a decent level of optimism where my personal life is concerned. I am eternally grateful and thankful for even the smallest speck of goodness in my life, but, I must stress the fact that I am like that every day....not just on Thanksgiving. I know things could be alot worse and I try to remind myself of that every day. We are very blessed with decent health, close family and friends that are the absolute best. We have a warm roof over our heads and a comfortable home and enough to eat. Those may sound like unimportant things to some folks, but when you are a single mom who struggles financially on a daily basis, these things are quite worthy of my thankfullness. It could all be gone in a single heartbeat, so I try not to ever take any of it for granted. When the going gets rough, I have the Goddess to turn to. I have learned the hard way that sleepless nights spent in worry don't help matters any and that sometimes just letting go is the most productive method of problem solving. Things will work out one way or another. You just have to have faith. I hope all that read this will have something meaningful to be thankful for on this holiday. Blessings to all. |
| Remembering To Share The Hearth | Nov 26th. at 6:34:35 pm EST |
| Nightcloud (Minneapolis, USA) | Age: 48 - Email |
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So much emphasis is given to being and doing so much during this time. It is expected, almost forced that each and every one of us do/go/see/buy the most, the biggest, the greatest. Party invitations from employers, friends, co-workers, family, and sometimes even the land-lords of employers, (I kid you not). It's enough to make anyone say, I can't, I don't want to. I give up. We have forgotten the core of all celebrations, the Hearth, the home, our own hospitality. I found myself falling into that black pit, wondering where to go, how do I, (without family) celebrate or do I with stand another year alone. I decided not to, I decided to open my home, my hearth in my way to friends; the family of my heart though not my blood. In doing this I was reminded of all the many blessings and gifts I have been granted this year soon to be past. I am grateful for my two fairy-godchildren; not everyone can say they make wishes come true, but I get too. I am grateful for my beautiful Chow Chow, friend, companion and pack-mate. I am grateful for my job, in today's world that is a true blessing. I am grateful for my boss, 'cause I'm a pain and he knows it. I am grateful for my home, small but welcoming. I am grateful for all my friends, their numbers may be small but their quality is of the highest degree. I am grateful to be returning to school after a 25 year absence and for the opportunity to do so. I am grateful for my health, nothing wrong that a bit of diet and exercise won't fix, another blessing indeed. I am grateful for finding this site and all the others I have found through it this year, for re-joining the pagan fold as it were. Mostly I am grateful to my Patron Gods, Apollon and Dionysos who have given me so much this year and all the past ones, their light has brightened my life so much and brought so me so much joy! May you all share in the joy this season. May you all find a Hearth fire to welcome you and bring light, life and love. Brightest Blessings, Nightcloud |
| Blessed With Strenght From Above. | Nov 26th. at 4:18:24 pm EST |
| nadiwolf | Age: 20 - Email |
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I am most grateful for the strenght that i found within my self to move on from every terrible occurence. The hope that i will prevail,the determination to make my dreams come true. I am truly grateful for the basic human instinct to move on from every situation with strenght and determination to make it right . we were truly blessed with the powere of optimism, to instinctly say to ourselves and those in troulble, "it will be ok.". The love that i recieved and shared, the great strenght ive experienced, and the compassion ive felt from the blessing of strenght from above. I am thank ful for the strenght that loved ones give when your introuble. I am grateful that america can come together and join in love and strenght to protect our freedom and its people. blesings to all. Nadiwolf. |
| Life Itself | Nov 26th. at 10:37:58 am EST |
| ladyraventhorn (Cambridge,MD) | Age: 31 - Email |
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Blessed be all fellow pagens; I think in this time of great struggle it is a wonderful thing to reflect on our own lives. The joy that each and every mircle of each day brings with it. To open your eyes each morning, to breath fresh air, to live and work in harmony with the earth and all living things, what greater joy can their be? The laughter of a child, the sigh of someone content, the softness of a lovers touch, the warmth of a stranger's smile, the thanks of someone else for doing what you already enjoy doing. these are things to be thankful for. If the world was filled with more of this perhaps there would be less tragedy and sorrow for all of us to be burdened with. Ladyraventhorn |
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