~ . Giving Thanks . ~

A Brief List Of
Things To Be Grateful For

- Family
- Friends
- Love poems
- People who make you laugh
- Autumn walks with cold air and warm sun
- Winter car rides with Christmas music
- The first warm days of Spring
- Late Summer nights
- Music

- Food:

- Fresh Baguette
- Sourdough toast
- Cheeses
- Watermelon
- Mango
- Humus
- Falafel
- Good Pizza
- Chips & Salsa

- Beverages:
- Wine
- Cranberry Juice
- Water
- Spiced Cider
- Lemonade
- Iced tea
- McDonald's orange drink

- Art Supplies:
- Adhesives
- Fabrics
- Clay
- Paint
- Paper
- X-acto knives

So many other things, but these are coming to mind right now... I love Thanksgiving! It's a reason to celebrate without retailers pushing products (I guess ag. farmers and grocers get their time to shine) and without religious affiliation. What a tremendous way to trumpet the beginning of Christmas! I can't wait to start my own family and build my own traditions!

p.b. It is amusing/ ironic that I value the fact that Thanksgiving doesn't have a religious affiliation then plaudit its trumpeting of the beginning of Christmas.

~ . Picture Pictorialism . ~

Let's, you and I, go
for a walk by the moonlit
pond in the forest.

Edward Steichen
1904

~ . All I Have To Bring . ~

IT ’S all I have to bring to-day,
This, and my heart beside,
This, and my heart, and all the fields,
And all the meadows wide.
Be sure you count, should I forget,—
Some one the sum could tell,—
This, and my heart, and all the bees
Which in the clover dwell.

Emily Dickinson

~ . Abraham . ~

The day before the election.
The quiet before the storm.
Who will we elect to get us out of this place?

I just read a wonderful article by Russell Bishop on the Huffington Post betitled, "Election Anxiety: Advice from Abraham Lincoln." The article takes quotes from Abraham Lincoln and applies them to the current political environment. The application is alright, but the quotations are true gems that encouraged thinking about life and values. Here are my takes on a few of my favorite quotations.

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?

Humans have an inate fascination with conflict: we love competition; we love sporting events; we love war. Why do some watch reality shows for hours? Conflicts between others keep us captivated - we get entangled in the dynamics and seek the relief of resolution. We like having different sides and seeing who the winner is. Sometimes people carry this conflict mentality into their personal lives, which is dangerous.

Competition is good and - indeed - a necesity in some cases. I am rediculously competitive by nature, but sometimes the line that separates competition from conflict becomes blurred. A competitor can easily become an enemy. Many, including me, are guilty of this. It is a destructive process to have and maintain an enemy while it is a constructive process to have a competitor. A competitor encourages us to be better, an enemy forces us to become more violent.

To Conclude:
enemy/conflict/ destructive
competitor/ competition/ constructive

Wouldn't it be wonderful to destroy an enemy by making the world better rather than destroying it? Life is much more fluid and multidimensional than two forces on one field trying to beat eachother; there will never be an unequivical winner, so why have enemies in the first place?

"I don't like that man. I must get to know him better. "

This is what I must try to do. Too often I pass judgements on limited information and completely dismiss people. Everyone can teach you something about life if you're willing to listen.

"He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help."

Criticism should also be constructive. If you grade a poorly written paper it is good to tell them how many mistakes they made - it is wrong to tell them their mistakes in a degrading and belittling manor. He who does not have a heart to help does not have the right to criticize.

I am too critical of people sometimes, as I think everyone is of others at times. It's important to be critical of people, but only if you are critical for the right reasons.

Well, I was going to rave about the brilliance of the subjunctive tense, but I was distracted by the article and found these thoughts more pressing. The subjunctive will have a post all of its own... how wonderful it is!

P.B. (post blog)
How wonderful is the name Abraham?! Commanding yet soft. Outmoded yet somehow timeless. I would like to have a friend named Abraham.

P.B. ad J. (post blog adjunct)
I love the p.b. idea and had to find something to function as a secondary addendum to the post that would be p.b. & j sounding.