Gratitude isn’t only for one day

By Jan S. Gephardt

Here in the United States, we recently celebrated Thanksgiving. As I noted in my last post, it’s supposed to be a time to reflect upon the blessings in our lives and be grateful. My purpose today is to make the point that gratitude isn’t only for one day a year. It’s better understood as a lifestyle.

It’s my lived experience that when one looks at the world with gratefulness, it’s easier to see the blessings that fill our lives. Even when our lives are hard. Maybe especially when they’re hard. And yes, this marks me as an optimist by nature.

I recognize that pessimists have an important place in the grand scheme of things. They do seem naturally better-suited for some essential roles in society. But that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily fun or easy to go through life as one. And it doesn’t mean that the pessimists in the world don’t need us optimists around. If they’ll accept it, we can give them necessary balance when they start going totally sour on everything (as is their natural bent).

Balance in life and human society requires both! (Many thanks to Quotefancy).

 

Are We Wise Enough to See It?

An important part of bringing that balance into one’s perspective is a key awareness. NO human is a totally “self-made” person. That “self-made” poppycock is a self-aggrandizing fallacy. It flies in the face of human nature because we are a social species. Our primary survival mechanism is gathering into interdependent groups. All of us, no matter how independent-minded and  contrary, must depend on others in many ways and for many things.

Maybe our families bestowed riches, education, and advantage on us. Or maybe they did just the opposite. Whatever our history and personal level of success, we all have received favor and grace somewhere along the line from someone. From society’s basic infrastructure, if nothing else! If we are wise enough, we recognize that.

And if we recognize it, honesty demands that we be grateful for it. Gratitude isn’t a show of weakness – it’s an acknowledgement that our species’ greatest survival skill is active in our lives. That’s why I contend that gratitude isn’t only for one day (for instance, Thanksgiving. Or perhaps the day after Christmas. Or some moment when we can’t escape the obligation to write a thank-you note). Gratitude isn’t only for one season. It isn’t only for one year, or any other finite period. Properly understood, it’s perpetual.

Maybe not a law of nature, but certainly a law of human psychology. (Courtesy of Wow4u).

 

Seven Days of Gratitude

Back in 2017 I wrote a series of seven blog posts in a row. I posted one right after another on seven successive days. They were my response to a self-challenge to think about the things I was most grateful for. Now, as I just pointed out, if gratitude isn’t only for one day – and it isn’t only for seven.

But that exercise provided a learning experience. Several patterns of thought emerged. Had I pushed the experiment further, I’m sure I would have discovered more. But even though I clearly had lots more time to write blog posts back then, there were limits.

What themes did I choose for my Seven Days of Gratitude? They covered quite a range, from the personal to the broadly institutional. Considering them from that perspective, let’s take a quick look. Are these things you would have chosen?

Don't just take my word for it. The lives of the grateful are richer in every way. (Thanks again, Quotefancy!)

 

Gratitude for Personal Things

As I said, some of the things I was (and am) thankful for were personal. Take for instance my family (that was Day Two’s topic). Cliché, much? Yes, “I’m grateful for my family” is basic elementary-school essay fodder, but that doesn’t rob it of validity for many of us. Some people’s families are real-life horror shows, but most of us regard our near kin more kindly. How do you feel about yours?

Another important point of gratitude for me was the companion animals in my life. In genuine ways they also are family. Pack is Family, after all! Even though I didn’t bring them up as a topic till Day Six, they are an active force that makes my life better. This blog is so pet-friendly, that won’t surprise you. Since pet-related posts often get more traffic, if you’re reading this post you probably feel much the same!

One “gratitude topic” that isn’t in the lineup of “usual suspect” clichés was another deeply personal one. I expressed gratitude for my callings. That is, for the things I do well and that give my life meaning and purpose. I believe that each of us comes into the world with a unique suite of abilities and predispositions. When we find ways to develop and express those “best things” in our lives, everyone in our lives benefits in some way. It is a supremely satisfying “fit,” even when it’s also a lot of work. What are your callings? How do you express them?

How do these things work in your life? Do you see them as blessings? (See credits below).

 

Gratitude for Broader-Based Gifts: Food Security

Gratitude isn’t only for one day, and it isn’t only for one “level” of blessings. When I looked beyond my personal existence, I found yet more things to be grateful for. I’m privileged to be able to claim some of them. Take food security, for instance!

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reported in September that more than one in five Americans has experienced food insecurity this year. One in five! In the country that is the richest nation in the world! And speaking of “in the world,” we’ve got a global food crisis on our hands. So, if food insecurity is not one of your clear and pressing worries, you have a very great deal to be thankful for!

Those of us blessed with food security should lift up a hearty “thank you!” And then why not look into Charity Navigator’s excellent guide to giving opportunities that fight hunger? But for a few twists of fate, we could be among those on the “hungry” side of the line!

An excellent place to start! But don’t stop there. (Quotefancy comes through for me again!).

 

Yet more Societal Gifts: Peace

Number Three on my 2017 list was Peace. Yes, we’ve all seen the clichés and memes about “whirled peas” and beauty pageant candidates claiming they’re all in for world peace. But gratitude isn’t only for one day, and it isn’t only for my small part of the world. Anytime we feel blasé about peace, we need to remember what’s actually going on in the world.

What would Somali farmers say about peace in their part of the world? How would Palestinian or Syrian children (whether refugees or not) feel, if they could grow up in peaceful neighborhoods? Or schoolgirls in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Pakistan, or Afghanistan? How would Rohingya refugees feel about the ability to live quietly in peace? Or, of course, the Ukrainian people spending this winter huddling in what's left of their cold, dark homes?

And let us not forget violence in our own country. The murder rate in my hometown of Kansas City is nothing short of blood-drenched, although (for now) my little neighborhood is relatively quiet. We “only” hear gunfire once in a while (last night, for example), and usually a fair number of blocks away. No, I don’t take peace for granted at all, and neither should anybody! You bet I’m grateful!

Freedom from violence makes all our dreams more possible. (What would I do without you, Quotefancy?)

 

But Wait! There’s More!

The last two items on my “Grateful” list deserve at least one separate blog post, so I’ll mention them only as a preview of future (and a reminder of past) posts. Kind of an “alpha and omega” for my thank-you roundup, the very first item on my list was freedom of religion, a topic I’ve already written about several times, including in my 2020 series on the First Amendment, and in a 2019 post about violence against places of worship.

The “omega,” but far from the least important on my list? Gratitude for the arts. I’m a writer and artist. My career history includes work as an art and writing teacher, a graphic designer, a journalist, and an art agent, among other arts-related work. I come from an artistic family (for one, my sister and publishing partner is the Director of Concert Operations for The Dallas Winds, as followers of this blog may recall).

My whole LIFE has been about, and suffused with, the arts. They have not only sustained me as the source of my most meaningful work, however. The amazing thing about the arts is that they can touch any human life with a near-miraculous gift of grace. They have lifted our spirits in times of dire darkness, helped us find meaning, and opened untold wonder for untold numbers of people. So I’d be pretty darned ungrateful to leave them off of my list!

Gratitude for these blessings brings richness and joy to our lives. (Double thanks to PictureQuotes; see credits below).

 

So, then. That’s my list. And while gratitude isn’t only for one day, it also isn’t only for one person’s list. What’s on yours? Can you find seven things to be grateful for? Share in the comments if you wish. But more important by far is to recognize them. Cherish them. And do your best to spread the gratitude you feel into the world around you.

IMAGE CREDITS

And now for more gratitude! First of all WOW, Quotefancy! This blog post wouldn’t be the same without my access to your trove of image-quotes. See the individual credit lines in the captions for the four different, but highly appropriate, quotations from this resource. Thank you very much! I also owe a double debt of gratitude to PictureQuotes for the two images used in the final montage. They provided both John Irving’s words on religious freedom and those of Aberjhani on art.

To the rest of my image sources, I also am grateful to you! Many thanks to Wow4u, for the Oprah Winfrey quote-image. And three hearty “thank you!” shout-outs to One Bite Wisdom on Pinterest, Quotesgram, and Biblereasons. I loved being able to find the component quotes that I used to build the three-part personal gratitude montage. I appreciate all of you!

Native American Heritage

Today is officially designated as Native American Heritage Day. That's right. Out of all the days in November, which also is supposed to be Native American Heritage Month, the day they designated as THE day to honor Native American heritage was Black Friday. Sure. Nobody's thinking about anything else today.

Shoppers compete for bargains on Black Friday (no photo credit listed).

They codified this into law not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES. H.J.Res. 62 was enacted and signed into law by President George W. Bush on Oct. 8, 2008. The following year, the same sponsor (Hispanic Congressman Joe Baca, a California Democrat) reintroduced it (with adjusted wording?) and H.J.Res. 40 was signed into law June 26, 2009. But it wasn't finalized (as far as I can tell) till August 20, 2010, with yet more adjusted wording.

And they say Congress never gets anything done.

They really worked hard to get this specific day codified into law as Native American Heritage Day. But I discovered I'm not alone in thinking the day after Thanksgiving is hardly the best day to single out for this recognition.

Problems with Thanksgiving

Many Native Americans already have enough trouble with Thanksgiving itself. There's been a movement afoot since 1970, to call it Native American Day of Mourning, or Native American Genocide Day, because in traditional US narratives "the focus is always on the Pilgrims."



Although many Americans really want to dispute it, the European invasion of the so-called "New World" was an unmitigated disaster for native people, and there's no other word for it but a slow-rolling, widespread, persistent, and extremely effective genocide. It was no accident. Even the Holcaust Museum calls it a holocaust, arguably perhaps the largest and longest in recorded human history--and unfortunately human history has a lot of genocides to compare.

Despite all of this, and despite the fact that some tribal groups indeed have gone extinct, Native American (or, in Canada, First Nations) people persist. It would be comforting to say that they are, at last, safe and fully valued today, but that would also be false. In nearly every arena, Native Americans' opportunities for wealth, education, and optimal health care are severely crippled.

The pernicious legacy of Indian Schools

Native American cultural traditions were nearly decimated by the "Indian Schools." These were boarding schools where people's kidnapped children were taken. The children often were abused for such misdeeds as speaking their own languages, or telling traditional stories. They were taught European religions and languages, made to dress like Europeans, and taught menial tasks.

Two of the main buildings at the Shawnee Indian Mission Historical Site in Fairway, KS (photo by Keith Stokes)

I live very close to one former such school, the Shawnee Indian Mission, which (in part) gave so many parts of the Kansas City metro area (at least on the Kansas side) their names. It inspired the name of my home church, Old Mission United Methodist Church, and it hosts an annual fall festival that draws people from all over the area. But the full, pernicious nature of the schooling that went on there still isn't clearly understood by the surrounding community. For many of the 40+ years I've lived here, I didn't fully get it either.

Oh, and lest you think that horrifying chapter ended in 1973, think again. It's being perpetuated, whether willfully or not, in the foster care system of today.

A challenge for all Americans

Native people still live among us. They are an important part of our nation, yet their important cultural sites, way of life, and sacred places still are under attack. Some have assimilated, but many others still feel ostracized, marginalized, and all-too-often erased.

But that erasure cannot--MUST NOT--stand. In a few, meaningful ways, native voices may start being heard (yes! Sharice Davids is my Congresswoman). But we need many, many more. In Congress, certainly. But also in our daily consciousness. In commerce and opportunity. In education. And in health care. It's not just their fight. If the rest of us can ever hope to right the scales of cosmic justice, the fight for Native American heritage and equity must be our fight, too.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Canyon News for the Black Friday photo, to Turn to 10 NBC News for the "Day of Mourning" video,  and to my longtime friend Keith Stokes for the photo of the Shawnee Indian Mission.

Blessings to count

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving in the USA this Thursday. Many nations, cultures, and religions through the ages and throughout the world have designated official days to give thanks. But seriously. No matter what day it is, there are always blessings to count.

If you don't think that 's true--or at least not for you--you're overlooking some important aspects of your life. Including that you have one.

What blessings?

It's a near-certainty that there are people who love you. Please note: companion animals count as "people" for the purpose of establishing this fact (it's never wise to discount companion animals, in any case). They are among the many blessings it's especially important to count.

But also please note that there really are people who care about your welfare . . . even if they don't personally know you. This means that you're actually not ideally suited to count all the people who care about you. This is because you can't read minds, and you don't know everyone.

This goes double if you're depressed. You may not believe it, but you DO have blessings to count.

There are politicians who will brag that the economy is booming, and that's true for a lot of people (particularly those in whose favor the system is biased). If you're not one of those people, however, that doesn't mean your life is all blight, unless you refuse to see it any other way. Even the least advantaged among us has blessings to count.

Beyond being blessed

The best way to count one's blessings, in my experience, is to pass blessings on to others. Best of all is to do it with all the generosity we can manage. If you have blessings to count (and I believe all of us do), then you have the means to not only enjoy blessings, but to be one to others.

Believe it or not, the act of giving--of being a blessing--multiplies our own feelings of joy and well-being. We humans are social creatures by nature. We are innately programmed to connect with others. Thus, it stands to reason that we feel most fulfilled, most right with the world, when we can do good things for others.

Evolution has dictated that people need to work together, especially in the face of challenges. It's the most effective survival tool we have. The "loneliness epidemic" of today is a direct result of people losing their connections to others, and thus their sense of purpose, their sense of worth.

Reaching out to others with a helping hand or even simply an encouraging word is essential to rebuilding a sense of connection. In general, the more connections you make the more blessings you'll be able to count.

The blessing of "thank you"

Never underestimate the power of an encouraging word. It's the most under-used and extraordinary gift you can give, sometimes. It costs no money at all, "only" a moment of thought and noticing.

Over the years, I've written several posts about saying "thank you." One of my very most popular posts is the one on ways to thank first responders. I recently reiterated thoughts on gratitude to veterans, and another one of my all-time most popular posts is the one on ways to thank veterans.

Honoring those who give of themselves to serve our community is always appropriate. But sometimes I like to challenge myself to find others who deserve thanks and rarely get it. If you're traveling this holiday, you'll have lots of opportunities. Consider a thank-you or a kind word to an airline or highway employee who's trying to make things work, in a challenging situation.

Do you thank wait staff, hotel employees, or sales clerks who smooth the way for you? Do you appreciate those skill or knowledge helps you? You might rationalize that they're only doing their job, but if you use that as an excuse to treat them like machines or tools, take warning: you're developing a crabbed and callous soul, and it sucks to be you.

Connect with people. Sow peace, not division. Be a blessing to others, and it's well-nigh guaranteed you'll have a generous bounty of your own blessings to count.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Vikayatskina via 123RF, for the "Give Thanks!" wreath design. I'm also grateful to Fight for Life via Mimipopa, for the "thousands of tiny miracles" quote, to Picture Quotes for the "take for granted" quote-image and  the "be the blessing other people count on" quote-image, and to Everyday Power, for the quotes from Camille Pissarro and Henry Ward Beecher. I appreciate all of you!

In search of Thanksgiving peace

That's the point of Thanksgiving, isn't it? To break bread together, to join with each other over a table of plenty (or at least, we hope, "enough"), to mend fences, to heal wounds, and to come together.

But we live in a rough time. Post-election, wounds are still raw. Gains and losses are still bitter. And many peoples' Thanksgivings will be times of strife, if we're not careful. So, then, what to do?

I'd hope that we'll seek the more excellent way (I Corinthians 12:31), or in other words, the way of love. I started this month with All Saints and All Souls Day references to honoring our ancestors. Yet for many younger people the necessity of dealing with still-living ancestors and/or elders can become quite a trial.

The reverse quite often is true, too. Older people may have little patience with the things their younger family members value. This is mostly because they don't understand them, and may even be afraid of them. But they, too, need to remember the way of love.

Both sides seem all too short on respect for the other, too much of the time. But the way of love is a way of respect. It's an attitude that sets aside the assumptions of failings and seeks out, then abides in the places of agreement. A good start is simply to listen. To seek to hear, more than to be heard.

Only by setting part of our pride, our sense of controlling the situation, and our drive to force others to agree with us, do we find a place of mutual acceptance and peace. It behooves us to remember Wayne Dyer's thought.

Only when we're willing to step back from conflict can we truly be at peace with each other. Unfortunately, the hosts too often have to intervene with "rules of conduct in our house." One of my Beloved's elders banished all talk of religion and politics from her household on Thanksgiving. It worked, because they all respected Grandma.

But however we do it, we must remember and honor the soul-work of the table, the giving work of the cook(s), and the purpose of this day.

All of us have more to be thankful for than we have reasons to despise each other. Let us strive to remember that, and to act on it.

IMAGES: Many thanks to The Way International for the "Breaking Bread Together" graphic; to Oprah's Pinterest page, for the quote-image from Iyanla Vanzant; to Quotemaster, for both the quotes from Gertrude Stein and from Gloria Steinem; to QuotePixel for the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi; to Brainy Quote for the wisdom from Wayne Dyer; and to the World Food Program USA on Pinterest, via World Vision and its HungerFree initiative for the Laurie Colwin quote. Many thanks to all of them!

What is food insecurity?

The Artdog Image(s) of Interest 

November is the month of Thanksgiving, a traditional celebration of feasting in the United States (several other countries also celebrate Thanksgiving days of one sort or another). We traditionally think of this as a time of harvest, of feasting, and of plenty.

But for much of the world, much of the time--including in our own USA--food on the table isn't a "given" at all, and "plenty" is an abstract concept. My Images of Interest for the rest of the month will examine aspects of food insecurity and ways to address it, both at home and abroad.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Hunger Free, via World Vision's Pinterest page, for the illustrated quote from Norman Borlaug, and to the Australian organization Foodwise, via Ecologic Media's Pinterest page, for the attractive and informative infographic on food insecurity.

For Companion Animals

Day Six: Gratitude for Companion Animals

When placed up there next to some of the other massive issues (yesterday I was talking about global food security, for example), the blessing of having a companion animal in one's home at first doesn't seem to be in exactly the same league.

But human-animal bonds are ancient and strong. I have argued on this blog in the past that the history and development of humans would have been considerably different without domesticated animals--especially dogs (dogs are my ultimate favorite animals, so I admit I'm sorely biased).

It's a really incomplete picture to leave out cats, horses/donkeys/mules, cattle/oxen/water buffaloes, sheep, goats, swine, chickens and other poultry, rabbits, guinea pigs, camels, and llamas, though. Indeed, without mice, rats, and other animals, our medical history also would have progressed much differently.

But this post is particularly concerned with companion animals--the very dearest pets, the ones we invite into our homes, and often consider to be members of the family. Readers of this series with exceptionally good memories will recall from the latter paragraphs of Monday's post that I do consider ours to be family members.

We have several decades' worth of studies that affirm their value, at this point, though the unenlightened in Western society still all too often insist "it's just an animal." Poor things: they simply have no idea.

I can personally attest to the importance of companion animals for meeting people and staving off loneliness (yes, that's me in the photo above, with my current dog Jake). The very best way to meet people in our neighborhood is to take the dog out for a walk.

As to staving off loneliness? My dearly-loved Chihuahua-MinPin mix (who stayed right beside me through three successive bouts of pneumonia one horrible winter, and who still is featured in my Facebook profile pic) died the Christmas before both of my kids moved away to college and took all the other resident animals with them. With my Beloved working extremely long hours, if I hadn't gotten my little Iggy-girl Brenna that following November I think I'd have gone into an even deeper depression from sheer loneliness.

My daughter spent more than a year, living mostly--except for her animals--alone in California, doing hard, undervalued work as a caregiver to an elderly relative. She did make friends, but her animals helped keep her sane. They still do, even as she faces new challenges.

I also can attest to the beneficial effects of companion animals on children. In my family's case, two Border Collies and a Bernese Mountain Dog-shepherd mix helped my Beloved and me rear our kids, assisted by several cats and an assortment of gerbils and hooded rats (at our church, my daughter became known as the "gerbil-whisperer" for good reason!).

It is perhaps needless to say that I believe that the initiatives to use therapy animals for everything from the "reading dogs" who help beginning readers strengthen their skills to the "comfort animals" who visit hospitals and hospices, disaster sites, and nursing homes are well-advised to tap into the almost-magical connection humans have with companion animals.

I'm a strong believer in the value of the human-animal bond. As our society splinters into ever-smaller family units and as people "cocoon" in their homes more and more (the telecommuting fad seems to have peaked, but internet sales still continue to gain on actual face-to-face shopping in brick-and-mortar retail stores), humans' essential, social-animal nature hasn't changed. It's healthier to connect with an animal than with nothing and no one at all. I could argue that our animals are one of the last things keeping us connected to ourselves.

The health benefits of companion-animal ownership--both mental and physical health--are well-documented and hard to dispute. The soul-benefits are harder to define, but no less important.

IMAGES: The "Seven Days of Gratitude" design is my own creation, for well or ill. If for some reason You'd like to use it, please feel free to do so, but I request attribution and a link back to this post. Likewise, the three quotes from Allan M. Beck and Marshall Meyers all were extracted from an article by "Anna" on Ethical Pets The Blog, but the photos are variously by my daughter and me, of ourselves and some of the dogs in our lives. I did the design work for all three of those quote-images. Feel free to re-post them, but please include an attribution and a link back to this post. Thanks! The Jane Goodall quote image is from the Eco Watch site, from a post by "True Activist" last April. The Anatole France quote image is from One Green Planet (featuring a photo by Wendy Piersall), via Pinterest. Many thanks to all!

For Food Security

Day Five: For Food Security

I feel more conflicted about this one than I have about my previous gratitude topics. Not that food security is not a marvelous blessing--it truly is, in every sense of the word. 

But I'm aware that all around me--in my community, across my nation, and around the world, there are many, many people who do not share this blessing.

To express public gratitude for it, in the knowledge of such widespread lack, almost feels like gloating. That's not my intention at all. If I could, I'd extend this blessing to everyone in the world, so that no one anywhere has to go to bed hungry, or wonder where their next meal will come from.

Here in the USA, today is Thanksgiving. Everyone in the country is presumed to be eating their fill, then waddling into the next room to zone out in a "food coma" while watching American football games. However, despite the best efforts of community charities, not everyone will be able to do that. Statesman Jacques Diouf put it well:

Everyone alive should be acknowledged to have a basic human right to adequate, nutritious food. That this is ignored, pushed aside as inconvenient, left to the vaguaries of climate change, governmental style or unregulated capitalism, or even actively subverted so hunger can be used as a weapon is inexcusable. Yes, people have been doing it for millennia; it's a crime against humanity every single time, in my opinion.

How can persons of conscience work to fight food insecurity? Acknowledging that we who can eat well are blessed, we can make charitable donations on both the local (link to find US agencies) and international (this link: UN) level to help fill immediate shortfalls.

But we also must advocate for longer-range goals: 

• improving sustainable agricultural and fishery practices, because if it's not sustainable, everyone will starve in the future;
• increasing the efficiency and speed of global food distribution, so there's less waste;
• eliminating "food deserts," both urban and rural;
• bolstering U.S. foreign aid, and making sure it gets to the correct recipients; 
• improving the quality and scope of domestic programs that not only seek to keep everyone fed, but acknowledge their varying abilities to feed themselves (if you think "if you don't work, you shouldn't eat" is a just demand, do you then believe that the disabled and the very young should all starve?).

Creating systemic improvement is a large, difficult goal, fraught with practical difficulties, cultural pitfalls, and unintended results. It also is desperately necessary, as long as people anywhere are hungry.

Creating changes in public opinion is a way to begin. Funding empirical studies by unbiased researchers is a reasonable step forward. Involving all involved parties in design of solutions is a reasonable, respectful necessity that is likeliest to result in the best solutions. Many initiatives have already begun. We all must work together to bring the best ones to fruition.

IMAGES: The "Seven Days of Gratitude" design is my own creation, for well or ill. If for some reason You'd like to use it, please feel free to do so, but I request attribution and a link back to this post. The "Food security definition" quote by Pattie Baker is from Quozio, via Pinterest; her book Food for My Daughters is available from Amazon Smile and other fine booksellers. The Jacques Diouf quote is identified as sourced from Live58, though I couldn't find it on their site; I did find it on the website for GRIID (the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy). The quote from Ray Offenheiser of Oxfam America is courtesy of The Huffington Post, via Pinterest. Many thanks to all!

For my Callings

Day Four: Grateful for my Callings

The idea that one has a "purpose" or a "calling" on one's life is another one of those universal thoughts that many different spiritual traditions have identified. I've connected to mine through my Christian faith, but you don't have to be a Christian to know you have gifts and talents, or passions in life that call to you.

I think it's part of human psychology, deep-rooted in our social-animal nature, to want our lives to make a difference in the world. We find our reason for being in what we perceive to be our life's purpose.

Conversely, I don't think I've ever met any more unhappy kind of person than those who don't think they have any particular purpose, no reason to exist. They swell the ranks of the suicidal, because they really don't believe they matter--even when they very much DO.

My faith-tradition tells me that I was uniquely created by God, and placed here in this moment and location for specific reasons--with tasks set before me, which I was specifically crafted to do well. It is part of my faith-walk to seek out my callings (we all come with several), and fulfill them as faithfully as I can.

That means I must know myself, in as much honesty and fullness as I can. I must look at myself critically, and evaluate my strengths and weaknesses to the best of my ability, nakedly before God (God already knows, of course; there's no fooling, or faking God out).

What am I drawn to do? Where do my skills, talents, and natural abilities lie? If I was created by God to fulfill certain callings as faithfully as I can, then I must also believe that God has attuned my heart to them (why else would they be identified as callings, after all?). When I am fulfilling the best uses I can find for the callings I feel most passionate about, then I believe I am operating at the heart of God's will for me.

I don't know any other way to faithfully answer my calling. Some things--some causes, some works--resonate more deeply for me. Throughout my life, it has been the same: Writing; artwork; teaching; giving; nurturing the animals and people entrusted into my hands. God and I have pretty much reached an understanding, six-plus decades on. I do the work as I understand it; God provides the way to sustain it.

So far, that's working for me. I hope you've found your own path--the one that works for you. Blessings come, along your calling's paths. Follow your passion, when you think you've lost your way.

IMAGES: The "Seven Days of Gratitude" design is my own creation, for well or ill. If for some reason You'd like to use it, please feel free to do so, but I request attribution and a link back to this post.  Many thanks to Chellyepic on Instagram, for the "things that excite you" quote image; to Heart and Soul Coaching for the Mark Twain quote image; to The Soul Purpose Project, for the Picasso quote image; and to Awesome Quotes on Tumblr for the "purpose and passion" quote image. I deeply appreciate all of you!

For Peace

Day Three: Grateful for Peace

Peace is a slipperier concept than you might at first think. For starters, what kind of peace am I grateful for?

Do I mean inner peace? Yes. Do I mean domestic peace? Yes. Do I mean peace in my community? Yes. Do I mean peace in the world? Yes. I am grateful for whatever moments, or fragments, or aspirational visions of peace I can grasp.

It seems ironic to me that everyone seems to want peace, or at least they say they do--but still there actually is so little of it to be encountered in the world. If we really want it so badly, why don't we have it? Lots of reasons, I think. There are many forces working against peace, no matter whether we are talking about personal, inner harmony, or our larger communities. We live in a perpetual state of seeking a balance.

Forces such as a struggle to survive, to thrive, and to control aspects of one's life are not necessarily bad, in and of themselves, but there are times when they produce strife. Forces such as greed, hatred, and intolerance normally are looked upon as evil or sinful--in others. We tend to give ourselves a "pass" when they crop up in our own mental landscapes.

Is competition good, or does it stir up divisiveness? The answer to both is: it can be/can. Is self-interest essential to individual survival? Yes. Can it also lead to destructive selfishness? Absolutely.

I think the first step for any of us is to find a way within our own selves to cultivate peace. As Anne Frank said:

The imperative need to act lovingly toward others is affirmed in many faith traditions, but you do not have to be Christian, or Muslim, or Buddhist, or a follower of any religion at all, to see the sense in this. If we treat others with love and respect, it is much easier for them to respond in kind.

But it is the "love and respect for others" part where so many of our peace initiatives break down. If we go into a situation believing that the "other" is angry or hostile, it is harder to display peacefulness.

If we start with the assumption that the "other" is stupid, evil, or automatically wrong, we have already decided not to respect them. Granted, there are a lot of people whose opinion we find it hard to respect! But we don't have to like what they say to agree that every person deserves a foundational level of respect, if we seek for peaceful relations with them.

I think respect is the essential difference between the peacekeeper and the peacemaker, no matter what the setting or the scope of the dispute.

In our lives, our local communities, our social media, our national discourse, and our international relations, I think the people we need most are peacemakers. Blessings upon them! How can we find ways to be them? The road is deceptively simple. Kind of like the idea of peace itself.

IMAGES: The "Seven Days of Gratitude" design is my own creation, for well or ill. If for some reason You'd like to use it, please feel free to do so, but I request attribution and a link back to this post. The "You cannot find peace" quote image is from The Things We Say; the Anne Frank quote image is from Affirm Your Life; the Tabarani 6067 quote image is from e Islamic Quotes; the Angie Lichtenstein quote image is from Pixteller. I profoundly thank each one!