The Thanksgiving experiance

Everybody has their own unique Thanksgiving rituals. Depending on what kind of family you come from it can be formal, dinning out, solo, or a part of a three ring dys-fun-ctional family get together.
I took this picture at the Portland Oregon Zoo. Even animals, have festive eating habits, sharing with loved ones. How fun is this..

Thankfully, yes..thankfully, I have the honor of being a part of a group of weird, wild and wonderful family and friends for a large tasty Thanksgiving dinner. Its a totally fun time had by all. Things never go as planned.... imagine that-right?!
 Because of the quirks of the day, it keeps us happily laughing, fun-hearted sarcasms are thrown around and starts of  conversations evolve into crazy stories about what really took place. We are a group of strange and hilarious humans who find a way to make every holiday a time to remember with the biggest smiles, warm hearts and crossed eyes. haha!
Hopefully, you too, can find something this holiday to talk about that brings a good laugh to your bellies. What a blessing that would be!
( Little miss, sharing some bird seed to her feathered friend. Share a meal with someone who is alone this Thanksgiving. Share a smile and some good laughs. Be a blessing to someone.)

I have lost my smile,
but don't worry,
my loved ones have it.
Sometimes we all feel this way. Myself included. I had a rough time last year. Ide lost two very important people in my life. My sweet sarcastic sister, who perished with breast cancer in my arms and my oldest sons father, who lead a self-distructive lifestyle. I think many of us have forgotten to live in the here and now. Its ok to hope and plan for the future, but what really matter is where you are and what your doing in this moment. ( by the way thank you for sharing this moment with me, I love you for that) Are you at peace? Are you smiling at least? Do you know you are the most important person to be in the space you are in? Do you realize that I may not know you personally, but you are precious to me? That said, what I really would like you to do is, again, go outside, be-it however cold it is, or warm depending where your reading this from, and do something fun. Take a picture of something you find funny...in your day. When you start to feel negative, look at the picture and remember life is filled with unusual and fun moments. Find your laughter, find your smile. Everyday is ever changing- moment to moment. If all else fails, reach out to a friend of family member...find your lost smile in them.
I'm going to share a simple experience I had a couple days ago to show you how to look at things in a different way. A little graphic, but what's in a word? Only what we make of it~
I went for a run when it was chilly and frosty outside. I could see my warm breath very clearly. I had to convince myself to go becuase as of lately I had been sitting too much doing some of my writing. Beautiful whispy clouds filled the half sunny skies as I pushed myself along my normal route near the pacific ocean. I almost always go with my headphones on and my Ipod blaring. This gives me a kind of extra super-powered energy lift. ( actually I think it makes me forget the pain of exercising my body to an extent!) I hit the only hill I have to conquer . I decide to go full throttle for my extra push of punishment. I finally hit the top, breathing in and out, hard, still smiling, enjoying the pain of each deep cold breath burning in my lungs. No, I don't like pain, I like the endorphins being released into my body. Its releasing a lot of pent up energy inside my brain. I stand there, bent over a bit with my hands on my knees, trying to recapture my normal rhythms, I feel incredibly elated. Hallelujah! It's so good for the heart.
 I also had to remember that an hour before-I took my blood pressure medication. (because of last years stress, we all have our life's speed bumps) so my vascular system was in a bit of a yin~yang situation...haha.. Nevertheless!
 Those moments were sweet.
This week, go nuts outside, feel the burn of wiping out the negative in your heart. Smile people, How wonderful are you!
Anything can be funny if you just look at it a different way~ Peace

Pain is life, misery is optional. Remember that through this season. We don't all have somewhere to go for the Thanksgiving holiday or people to hang out with to share stories or do activities with to pass the time. Sometimes, its the people we have to be around at those times that bring us unspoken dread or make us mindless little drones of how we should behave and act...prim and proper, dressed to the nines. It doesn't allow us to be who we are. Always on our guard. Having manners is a given. Its constitutes common sense. Why not, for the love of being yourselves, just be happy with who you are; who you were when you were younger and really had a fun loving spirit. Joke around a bit with the "adults" in your surroundings during the holiday. Call, reach out to old friends and family members that you haven't had a real relationship in years with, male and female. We are all human.
Talk, laugh, joke around, have some fun.
 There are quiet a few people I had the pleasure again of seeing at my 35th High School reunion. Some were close friends, BFFs that I hooked up with. We still visit and call and laugh at life until we cant breath and even cry and comfort each other. Its a wonderful awakening of the young bonds we had/have. There were some there who I new of~ but never hung out with. Even so, most had evolved into mature caring people who showed their care about me... that was warm and refreshing. And there were those who I had a casual friendship that were caring and polite..it was so nice to hug them and show them a smile because it meant something to me; hopefully to them. It however made me sad inside, because even though a few were smiling on the outside, the real genuine smile of being alive and happy and not buried down in life's conformities, was extinguished. Their genuine happy selves were mia. The true light in their eyes of who they were was gone. That's just it. The "light" in their eyes wasn't there. Even with the movement of their mouths mumbling, "life is good, everything is great", didn't match up with what was on their faces. I can see this in my minds eye. Maybe this is an unfortunate gift I have. Maybe its just a sort of empathy or strange enlightenment of compassion I've learned. I haven't figured that one out yet. I think they have given themselves up for the big lie the world tries to give us. Why drown in debt, overwork yourselves, obtain mass amounts of 'stuff',or be with someone just because its better than being alone. This type of living I believe is toxic to us. something to think about.
Your important. How you feel inside is important. Finding that 'light' inside your heart and eyes is important. I want to see you smile and feel it deep within yourself. Be funny on purpose. Be a little fun- crazy, remember yourself young and what made you happy and giggle. Maybe a little good hearted sarcasm will brighten your days. Start living for your happy. You can live maturely and stay young at heart. Its very healthy! Be positive, then reach out and spread a little on those you've lost touch with. You could be changing their light too. People are important. Your people are important....from the past and the present. Keep connected, reignite your light, be truly happy again.

Here's your sign~
Two blocks from our library at a main intersection...passing this always makes me laugh out loud. Is it just me, or is this hysterical in concept?
I realize there are a few who don't speak English and some who cant read....its still a bit of graphic via literary irony.
Welcome to my day!

thursday posts..

I'm going to try and post every Thursday. Pretty ambitious for me! But life is full of challenges and small opportunities, so here's to me and everyone who subscribes to living life with fortitude.
While working on some other writings I have in the works today, I was reliving some past memories that were a bit on the harsh side. I found myself laughing at what I went through and how I handled things at the time. Laughing....
While I thought this was a very strange reaction, it dawned on me that actually I had let all the negative vibs go. I no longer thought of things as a tragedy or felt like having a mini pity party. I find myself in a good place. I enjoy being able to see the comical aspects of trying to work my way out of rough situations. The flashback of " what was I thinking" and "did that really come out of my mouth" permeates my reflections. The situation usually seemed more dramatic than they actually were. I'll have to remember that next time I get myself in a fix. I think in general, if we find ourselves in a tough situation where we are wanting to overreact and temporary loose our composure; we need to take a cleansing deep breath, in through the nose and out the mouth...smile and force a small giggle..the people around us might think we've lost it, but deep inside our psyche our blood pressures will drop, we relax a bit and the problem wont seem so invasive. In turn, we are better off dealing in an effective positive way. This process sounds a bit silly, but it works. Give it a try. Make it a personal experiment. Peace~

When I cant write, I walk. There is something about the fall that captivates my brains activity. Its like I enter into a different realm..in a strange way. Thoughts and memories come flooding in. I can be caught quietly smiling and laughing to myself. How must that look to others as they pass me by?! Im hoping the fact that im wearing full headphones with my Ipod will give the illusion that im listening to something entertaining. Little do they know, I sometimes wear them so I dont get stoped and chatted up. I love talking to others, dont get me wrong; but there are times I just need my solace to meditate on my feet. It seems to work thus far. However, I still give a reciprocal head-nod smile or slight hand wave-peace sign to others who pass me by. Its a kind of thing us walker/runners do to each other. Kind of a 'club society protacol' implied act of respect. I was a part of that kind of group when I had my jeep cj7 for years..the salute wave when you passed other jeep owners, exclusivly. It made me feel a part of something cool. It was cool...I miss my jeep. My brain is flowing freely again! Back to work. Go out and find your path to open yourself up today. Find your smile, have a good laugh, find your peace.