Gratitude and Thanksgiving

[dillon]

On the matter of gratitude:

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shot ... -heart-too

I am grateful for this circle of friends who have made me understand that my "oddness" is by my own imagined standards, and that I am not alone on this journey. Thank you all!

[Uncle Al]

Dillon,
Fantastic article, which I plan on sharing with several people

Uncle Al

[dillon]

I am not sure how to articulate this, Al, but I think part of gratitude means that your focus in daily existence is not on yourself exclusively. You are keeping others on your mind, and submitting, in a way, to cosmic authority greater than yourself. In a way, it's like going with the cosmic flow, acknowledging and appreciating that your life is not yours alone, nor is the life of anyone else. I think for me, and perhaps others on this site, making meaningful human connections is not an easy matter; so for my part, I have to remind myself of the importance of others to my life. It is too easy to become an actor on a stage in life, especially when you don't feel that others are able to understand you. So when you have those in life to whom you can relate, before whom you can put down your walls, you need to be thankful for them. That definitely has emotional rewards, and it couldn't help but manifest in your physical wellbeing, just as stress manifests itself negatively.

[crfriend]

[...] I think part of gratitude means that your focus in daily existence is not on yourself exclusively. You are keeping others on your mind, and submitting, in a way, to cosmic authority greater than yourself.

The way I look at it is to be aware that you're a part of something vastly larger than yourself, to actively appreciate those around you, to assist those around one when one can, and to graciously thank those who do the same for you.

I'm usually on the giving end of things, mainly because I take sufficient care of myself and my skills that I can use them at almost any time, but these past few months have really made me aware that I'm not in a vacuum at all. The outpouring of support over the Sapphire-induced nightmare took me completely by surprise, and I am very grateful -- thankful -- for that as it made the situation at least bearable and endurable where it otherwise might not have been. My inner circle of friends immediately came to my aid unbidden and circled the wagons as tight as possible as a "show of force" -- and then wisely backed off just a little bit to give me the leeway and running-room I need to operate. It turns out I have more "middle-circle" friends that I'd ever imagined, and I am now very appreciative of them -- and more simple acquaintances than I can count who were baffled by the news and offered moral support.

As an example of "being of assistance" (as I sometimes call it), when I arrived home last night I found my landlord and her partner working at clearing leaves from the length of driveway leading to the garage I use. Instead of parking elsewhere and ignoring the matter (as I could have), I put my car in another spot, and assisted in the task -- which made it easier on everybody, gave us all a chance to chat, and wound up with he and I using my knowledge of optics, lighting, and sensors to rearrange some of the automatically-operated external lights to better help the woman who lives in the apartment next to me. It's silly little bits like that by which relationships are formed, cost nothing, and make everybody happy.

Note that none of that involves religious exiles, dead birds, or overindulgence of any kind.

It's a much bigger world than "Me". Those who don't get that miss out on so much.