November 21, 2012

Overflowing Thankfulness

Wheat Field

Wheat Field by Lauren Tucker Photography (on Flickr) – Click for info

I have walked this earth for 30 years, and, out of gratitude, want to leave some souvenir. – Vincent van Gogh

Tomorrow in the United States we are celebrating Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Food, food, and more food for starters. That’s already sounding pretty good, don’t you think?

Then there’s family, friends, and the open table. There isn’t a holiday more open to inviting a new person, a close friend, or a long lost relative around your table.

And then there’s its purpose: being thankful.

Being thankful is important in itself. Studies have shown that being conscious about the things you are grateful for positively affects your well being, mental health, and quality of life. Being thankful is good for body, for mind, and for spirit. Gratitude, positive outlook, thankful prayers — they can change us and give us more fulfilling lives.

But what do we do with our thankfulness? Does it just sit there?

This season we could each allow our thankfulness to be a force that overflows more gratitude into other people’s lives.

What could you offer to others out of your thankfulness?

  • Are you grateful for a comfortable home? How can you use your home this holiday season to truly help someone else feel at home?
  • Are you grateful for your creativity? Could you give a work of art to a charity you hold dear for them to hang in their lobby?
  • Are you grateful for your children or your nieces/nephews/grandchildren? Could you offer a creative service to a child for free for 6 months – a sewing lesson, a creative writing course, an introduction to martial arts class?
  • Are you thankful for your health? How could you brighten the life of someone who is not as healthy; maybe a person that is home-bound.

What are you thankful for, and how will you overflow with that thankfulness so that it pours out to others?

Happy Thanksgiving!

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November 15, 2012

Sounds of Sweet November

We are all individual and come into our own at different points in our lives. For some it happens early; others spend their lifetime waiting to feel comfortable in their own skin. For me it happened at sixteen, when I removed myself from this country, stepped out on my own, and started to see the world around me.

I had always listened to music, appreciated it, claimed to love it, but my love for it was not as deep as I had thought. It was in being removed from all I knew, in a foreign land, that I honed in on detail, and started delving deep into the songs I’d always claimed to love.

I had been a fan of Damien Rice, but I didn’t realize why until I was in a foreign country under a huge wooden handled umbrella. His voice can awaken your soul, but is also capable of pulling you into a deep sleep. His words are the kind that you feel, that attack your soul with all their might.

What he as an artist is able to feed us fulfills the soul and the different compartments it consists of. He somehow is able to attack the entire soul, instead of just a fraction of it, and I think that is what sets him apart.

When November 1 hit this year, I got into work a bit early, made myself a cup of peach ginger tea, got settled into my desk, and turned on Damien Rice. He always seems fitting this time of year when it’s cold, and the wind feels like it’s going right through you. But November is also about being thankful.

In listening to Damien Rice, I’m allowed to be thankful for who I was when I discovered his music, and who I have been through all of the years that I’ve let him create sound in my life.

So, if you do anything this month, be thankful for you, and the things that have gotten you right to where you are.

Tell me, what are those things?

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November 17, 2011

Acute How-To: Fall Garland

Thanksgiving is next week in the USA…so why not spruce up your holiday decor with a simple fall garland?

Garlands are easy to make and can come in so many forms.  They are pretty much my “go-to” decorating idea for the holidays.  For this one, I decided to make simple pompom flowers out of a fall color palette of felt circles.

What you will need:

  • felt {I chose three different colors – dark red, mustard yellow, and beige}
  • hot glue gun + glue
  • thick string or jute twine {about 6 feet long}
  • scissors

Step One:

Cut several circles of felt.  Depending on the length of your garland, this will vary.  I made 10 pompon flowers, each consisting of 6-10 circle petals, plus one circle as the base and one more as the back of the flower.

Step Two:

Heat your glue gun and, working with one pompom flower at a time, lay down a circle “base.”  Bend another circle in half, then in half again.  Place a dot of hot glue at the point the folded circle makes.  Glue the folded circle onto the base and push down.  Continue this with a few more circles until you have a full bloom.

Step Three:

Once you have all your flowers made, measure out a piece of string or twine.  I used a six foot long piece of jute twine.  Glue the pompom flowers along the length of the twine and place an additional circle across the back to hold everything into place.

Step Four:

Display your garland!  It would be perfect across a fireplace mantle or {if you make a longer one} along a staircase railing.  I have neither a mantle nor a staircase, so I chose to hang mine in the dining room.  With a few other decorations, it will look perfect for Thanksgiving!

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