Author: deerwoman
Subject: an interesting article about thankfulness
Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:41 am (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 62
I've only had moments at the computer in the last few months, so forgive me if this is somewhat off topic (is it?) But, I did get hold of the article I mentioned.
And as an aside, those who have heard that I was looking for a new place to live...I managed to find a northeastern style hogan that I could rent...and moved on just before the snow made it hard to hike in. I had a woodstove and a small propane tank for my lights and stove (which I rarely used because I cooked on the stove), which was lovely, but otherwise was off grid. The shelter felt like a continuation of the earth , as well as myself.
Here is the article:
'The Weekly Packet', Blue Hill, Maine
Awanadjo Almanack 11/21/07
by Rob McCall
November 16-23, 2007
First Quarter Beaver Moon
Be thankful for what you have; youll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you dont have, you will never, ever have enough.
Oprah Winfrey
Natural eventsGiving thanks is a natural event. It may be the oldest and most universal spiritual practice. Virtually every religion on earth has its thanksgiving prayers and meals. The so-called First Thanksgiving of the Plymouth colony was probably more like the ten millionth thanksgiving, though it may have been one of the first ecumenical religious exercises on this continent involving people of different religionsnative Americans and English Protestants. The practice of thanksgiving may extend even beyond the human realm into the kingdoms of the animals and plants. Uh-oh, I can hear someone saying, Here he goes again with the loopy anthropomorphic Bambi stuff again. Hear me out. When the sky begins to brighten before dawn on a summer morning and the robins start chanting cheerfully, or when the sun rises over the horizon on a cold winter dawn and the crows and the gulls raise their raucous shouts, are they complaining about their condition, or are they giving thanks? When the wolf or coyote howls at its kill, is it bewailing its state or giving thanks that it has food for itself and its young? Those who have ears to hear, let them hear. I remember one bitterly cold dawn at our camp on Cobscook Bay when a porcupine lumbered out from under the cabin, rose on its haunches facing the sun, and put its front paws together under its chin just as the new light bathed and warmed its cold body. It stood like a rough-robed monk at prayer for nearly a quarter of an hour. What sentiment do you suppose suffused this porkys dim awareness: grief or gratitude? How could any sensible soul doubt this creatures grateful feelings? As for the plant kingdom: what is the sensation of the sunflower or the daisy as it turns its blossom to follow the sun across the sky? It is grateful or ungrateful for the light that gives it life? Those who have eyes to see, let them see. If such creatures can give thanks, whose day-to-day lives are hard and uncertain and whose very existence is scorned by so many of us, then what reason can we find to not?
Rank opinionThe world is being caught up in gang warfare. Its like the Wild West all over again, only this time on an international stage. In those days, the sheriff who stopped the outlaws and brought law and order was a hero. Today, gangs like Al Quaeda, Fatah, Hamas, Blackwater, the Sunnis, the Shiites, and so many more are turning the world back into the mean streets of El Paso or Dodge City before the law came to town. They are outlaws because they refuse to accept the law and order passed on to us over the ages and represented today by international law, just war doctrine, the Geneva Conventions, and the World Court. These the outlaw gangs and their leaders ignore. Bin Laden, Musharraf, and, I fear, some of our leaders are outlaws. The innocent and the law-abiding are the ones who suffer most when the bloody law of tooth and claw prevails as it once did in the old Wild West and threatens to do now in the new Wild World. Wyatt Earp was an OK hero, I guess, but I like Atticus Finch a whole lot better. Why? Because ever since Moses and Buddha and Jesus came down from their mountains, the way to overcome the forces of lawlessness has not been by the force of more force, but by the force of more lawfulness. No leader and no nation can be allowed to stand above the law or we all will fall into lawlessness.
Critter of the weekThe thankful porcupine.
Seedpods to carry around with youFirst from Gautama, the Buddha: Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didnt learn a lot, we learned a little, and if we didnt learn a little, at least we didnt get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didnt die; so let us all be thankful.
And from Satchel Paige: Dont pray when it rains if you dont pray when the sun shines.
Thats the almanack for this quarter moon, but dont take it from me, go out and see for yourself, and bring the children.
_________________
It's another beautiful day, here on Planet Earth...
permalink
Subject: an interesting article about thankfulness
Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:41 am (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 62
I've only had moments at the computer in the last few months, so forgive me if this is somewhat off topic (is it?) But, I did get hold of the article I mentioned.
And as an aside, those who have heard that I was looking for a new place to live...I managed to find a northeastern style hogan that I could rent...and moved on just before the snow made it hard to hike in. I had a woodstove and a small propane tank for my lights and stove (which I rarely used because I cooked on the stove), which was lovely, but otherwise was off grid. The shelter felt like a continuation of the earth , as well as myself.
Here is the article:
'The Weekly Packet', Blue Hill, Maine
Awanadjo Almanack 11/21/07
by Rob McCall
November 16-23, 2007
First Quarter Beaver Moon
Be thankful for what you have; youll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you dont have, you will never, ever have enough.
Oprah Winfrey
Natural eventsGiving thanks is a natural event. It may be the oldest and most universal spiritual practice. Virtually every religion on earth has its thanksgiving prayers and meals. The so-called First Thanksgiving of the Plymouth colony was probably more like the ten millionth thanksgiving, though it may have been one of the first ecumenical religious exercises on this continent involving people of different religionsnative Americans and English Protestants. The practice of thanksgiving may extend even beyond the human realm into the kingdoms of the animals and plants. Uh-oh, I can hear someone saying, Here he goes again with the loopy anthropomorphic Bambi stuff again. Hear me out. When the sky begins to brighten before dawn on a summer morning and the robins start chanting cheerfully, or when the sun rises over the horizon on a cold winter dawn and the crows and the gulls raise their raucous shouts, are they complaining about their condition, or are they giving thanks? When the wolf or coyote howls at its kill, is it bewailing its state or giving thanks that it has food for itself and its young? Those who have ears to hear, let them hear. I remember one bitterly cold dawn at our camp on Cobscook Bay when a porcupine lumbered out from under the cabin, rose on its haunches facing the sun, and put its front paws together under its chin just as the new light bathed and warmed its cold body. It stood like a rough-robed monk at prayer for nearly a quarter of an hour. What sentiment do you suppose suffused this porkys dim awareness: grief or gratitude? How could any sensible soul doubt this creatures grateful feelings? As for the plant kingdom: what is the sensation of the sunflower or the daisy as it turns its blossom to follow the sun across the sky? It is grateful or ungrateful for the light that gives it life? Those who have eyes to see, let them see. If such creatures can give thanks, whose day-to-day lives are hard and uncertain and whose very existence is scorned by so many of us, then what reason can we find to not?
Rank opinionThe world is being caught up in gang warfare. Its like the Wild West all over again, only this time on an international stage. In those days, the sheriff who stopped the outlaws and brought law and order was a hero. Today, gangs like Al Quaeda, Fatah, Hamas, Blackwater, the Sunnis, the Shiites, and so many more are turning the world back into the mean streets of El Paso or Dodge City before the law came to town. They are outlaws because they refuse to accept the law and order passed on to us over the ages and represented today by international law, just war doctrine, the Geneva Conventions, and the World Court. These the outlaw gangs and their leaders ignore. Bin Laden, Musharraf, and, I fear, some of our leaders are outlaws. The innocent and the law-abiding are the ones who suffer most when the bloody law of tooth and claw prevails as it once did in the old Wild West and threatens to do now in the new Wild World. Wyatt Earp was an OK hero, I guess, but I like Atticus Finch a whole lot better. Why? Because ever since Moses and Buddha and Jesus came down from their mountains, the way to overcome the forces of lawlessness has not been by the force of more force, but by the force of more lawfulness. No leader and no nation can be allowed to stand above the law or we all will fall into lawlessness.
Critter of the weekThe thankful porcupine.
Seedpods to carry around with youFirst from Gautama, the Buddha: Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didnt learn a lot, we learned a little, and if we didnt learn a little, at least we didnt get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didnt die; so let us all be thankful.
And from Satchel Paige: Dont pray when it rains if you dont pray when the sun shines.
Thats the almanack for this quarter moon, but dont take it from me, go out and see for yourself, and bring the children.
_________________
It's another beautiful day, here on Planet Earth...
