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Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanks Giving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

Holidays are always difficult for me to write about, even one as positive as Thanksgiving which celebrates giving as well as gratitude. It is a time of harvest, a recognition of what our harvest has been. It is celebrated at a different time in Canada and not by the same name other places, but almost everyone has a celebration of the harvest.

Thanksgiving morning happens to be a new moon at 8:56 AM PST. If you combine the concept of new moon with thanksgiving, you have a time for a small, personal ritual to recognize what has been good about this year or what we might need to eliminate to make the coming year better. New moons are considered to be times for planting intentions.

By being grateful and stopping to think about what we have in our life for which to be grateful, we are dwelling on the positive. When we think what we wish to draw to ourselves, we enhance that power. What is getting our attention is often what will grow-- positive or negative.

This year with the economic uncertainty worldwide, it's harder than usual for many who are suffering with job losses, investment disappointments, deteriorating home values, health problems, financial as well as environmental concerns, and then where will terrorists strike next?

How can we not ask where are we heading? If even the experts don't know, it's not hard to understand how this could be a difficult Thanksgiving. It is hard to be positive when we have no idea why any of this is happening.

An example: the price of gasoline skyrocketed then dropped like a stone. None of it had anything to do with supply and demand, but rather an investment world that has no regulation and no clue what it's doing. For those who cheer when the prices drop, think about the instability that suggests nobody has been in control; or if they have had control, they must be those who profit from chaos.

My Thanksgiving will be with family and for that I am grateful. I am though thinking about the year ahead and entering a bit of a hunker down and be ready for whatever comes mood. I know it's not good to spend less, as that costs jobs, but how can one not think that this holiday season should have some personal control as to spending? How can one not wonder what is coming?

Are we heading for a full depression? What about global warming, the thousand pound gorilla in this unstable situation? Will jobs be helped by Obama's plan or will that be more money sent out like say in fixing New Orleans that goes to the same old same old and the infrastructure doesn't get rebuilt at all while somebody sucks up the profits? I know it's a new president, but it's the same Congress and the same business climate. What will it take to change it?

It's hard to have faith in any government after the last eight years. One person wrote that we in the United States are like a people who are being liberated and there is some sense of that-- unless you were among those who liked what was happening under Bush and then you are heading into even more uncertain times.

So my personal goals for the coming year are to be grateful for what I have, make the most of whatever opportunities come my way, be frugal, watch what is happening around me, stay out of debt, be loving, and give wherever it can make a difference. Throwing money at problems is not in that category.

(The petroglyph from Moab, Utah is a reminder of how people have always tried to understand their environment, their world, tried to make the most of their situation. There is a strong sense of power in this place. I have been there twice.

The rock is called birthing rock. The mythology is that perhaps women went there when they wanted to become pregnant or were going to have a baby since the figure is birthing something but what is it? Perhaps the symbolism goes beyond pregnancy to what most of us desire to birth-- a better world for all.)

10 comments:

robin andrea said...

A very thoughtful and interesting Thanksgiving post, rain. Much to think about on this Thanksgiving day, and a hope that yours is a very fine one.

Sylvia K said...

A very happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. There is indeed a lot to think about this holiday season.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Amen, Amen, Rain....!
I love those pictures and your take on what it can mean to us as a country.

May your Thanksgiving be filled with all GOOD things. Famill, Food, Friends and a bit of Fun, too!
Frugal can wait till tomorrow...(lol)!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

That should read: FAMILY....One finger typing leaves a lot to be desired when one is hurrying...lol.

Kay Dennison said...

Happy Thanksgiving, Rain!!! As always, a wonderful post!!!!!!

Ingineer66 said...

Happy Thanksgiving. I have much to be thankful for this year.
That is an interesting petrographic. The Hawaiian ones that I have seen are much more like stick people. That is interesting that it looks like the woman is birthing something without human features. Wonder what it was supposed to mean.

Diane Widler Wenzel said...

Hi,
I am very optamistic about what is coming - as I am sure the petroglyph makers must have been or they would not have worked so hard to created them to last. They must have had an important truth to share for all time.
Last night I watched the Barbara Walter's interview of the Obamas. Some points were clarified. First. Obama believes in a time of crisis we need people of experience to guide us. So the change in Washington is himself as leader. Second he has faith in God and people. Having faith in the goodness of people is going to brifng the best of all people he works with. Keeping our most experienced leadership makes sense to me. (Don't throw the baby out with the dirty bath water) Third, there is nothing so basic as the family. Their actions as a family speak louder than words. The Obamas are going to lead by example. They are setting boundaries for their daughters. They must do chores and scoup the poop of their dog. Obama didn't seem particularly interested in Barbara Walter's suggestion that her lap dog breed would be suitable. Obama made me think he wanted a dog that would make him happy as well as the women in the family. I visualize the family with a dog that can really run fast on the White House lawn and play. I see a lean and light weight dog with short hair.
Last but not least, I am charmed by Meliah sp? who was happy to find the house will be a place that is comfortable and not a place where there is no touching. She requested and is promised the permission to sit at Lincoln's desk when she is writing. Meliha thinks some of Lincoln's presence will bring her great ideas there.

Fran aka Redondowriter said...

Rain, did you get to see Barbara Walters last night interviewing the Obamas. I thought it was such a warm and natural interview. God, I hope things change with him and his team.

That petroglyph is amazing. And the Mumbai tragedy is weighing heavy on all our hearts, I think. I'm kind of hunkering down myself as I do this time of year. Hope you had a nice thanksgiving with family.

Anonymous said...

How do we know that those petroglyphs weren't considered grafitti and the carvers punished?
Is spray-painting "Native Pride" on the rocks on the res here in Washington state considered cultural artifacts?

Rain Trueax said...

Hi Rick, well we can't know for sure, except by the People who are in the area still and give their interpretations. In the case of Moab, they might be petroglyphs from Anasazi, Sinagua or even other earlier peoples and nobody is there today from cultures that have long since gone on or died off.

The Pueblo and Hopi have gone to some of these sites and said what the symbols would mean for today. It's all speculation though and they might've been artists of their time, shaman or as you suggested.

When you go somewhere and you feel a spiritual energy there, you think maybe that's why chose that place, but then again maybe it's just where the wind didn't blow the wrong way or water erode them away. Often they look like hunting bragging or maybe a hope for good hunting. I've been to them in many states and always like them but part of what makes them good is not knowing.

In the area around Sedona, they can tell by the type of design and the method whether they were older or more recent and one will be over the other or in the same place; so a Sinagua people in say the 1200s (just a possible example not real dating) and Apache later.

Whenever I can, I visit such sites and treat them with respect by not damaging them or doing anything to detract from their continuing there. I am also always interested in photos by others who have seen different ones and some definitely can be very different...