GIVING THANKS

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” - William Arthur Ward

The USA and Australia are on very friendly terms and the two countries have a special relationship as far as international affairs go. I guess this is understandable as we share many common things: A British colonial origin, a pioneering past, a chequered history of indigenous peoples relations, a country built on migrant stock (many of common ancestry – English, Irish, Scottish, and other Europeans, Chinese), gold rushes, eventual independence from colonial rule, a democratic system of government, similar values and culture, etc, etc. However, don’t get me wrong, I am the first to acknowledge that there are striking differences also.

The influence of American culture on Australia is quite marked and an American who visits Australia will find many things to remind him/her of home. Not the least of which is the adoption of many American holidays and customs: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s and Father’s Day, Halloween, many Christmas and New Year’s Eve traditions. This makes sense as the capitalist economies of both countries thrive on the financial benefits and increased consumer spending that accompany these ‘adopted’ celebrations and traditions.

One American holiday that quite regrettably has not been transplanted across the Pacific is Thanksgiving. I always admired this holiday, and especially so after celebrating it with American friends when visiting their country some time ago. Call me old-fashioned and sentimental, but I really enjoyed the spirit of this celebration that is all about families getting together around a celebratory meal. The giving of thanks for all the good things that have happened and that one should be grateful for in the past year, and the giving of thanks for a bountiful harvest struck me as a wonderful cause for celebration.

It is not surprising perhaps that Thanksgiving has not been adopted more widely around the world. It does not lend itself to as much consumer spending as say, Valentine’s Day or Christmas (when billions are spent on decorations, presents and public celebration). In addition, Thanksgiving seems a trifle anachronistic and cheesily old-fashioned. To celebrate the blessings of the past year with one’s family and give thanks for a plentiful harvest doesn’t seem to hold much appeal to “modern”, urban dwellers who have originated from nuclear families and perhaps are happily single or in “alternative” types of relationships. The religious overtones of Thanksgiving (having an origin in church services of gratitude) are also something that may rankle the sensibilities of the secular and hedonistic yuppies out there.

Even more importantly, I think, as we “progress” and “advance” in this country we are forgetting to give thanks, acknowledge the good things that happen to us. In our quest for increasing numbers of consumer goods, new technological gadgets, bigger houses, flashier, shinier cars and the latest fashion fads, we are forgetting something about what makes us special as humans – our innate humanity and our interdependence with other people and the special relationships that we share with them. When was the last time you hugged a special person in your life and thanked them for being there for you? When did you sit and talk with a member of your family to reminisce and express your gratitude for their presence in your life? When was the last time when you acknowledged the special contribution that your friends and acquaintances have made to your life?

Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, 1,412 kilometres directly east of mainland Australia's Evans Head, and about 900 kilometres from Lord Howe Island. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia. Together with two neighbouring islands, it forms one of Australia’s external territories. It has 2,300 inhabitants living on a total area of about 35 km2. Its capital is Kingston. Although Thanksgiving is not celebrated on mainland Australia, on Norfolk Island, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Wednesday of November, similar to the pre-World War II American observance on the last Thursday of the month. This means the Norfolk Island observance is the day before or six days after the United States’ observance. The holiday was brought to the island by visiting American whaling ships. What a wonderful custom to have picked up from these visitors!

It may be time for mainland Australians to pick up this American holiday and adopt it in a way that will enrich our lives. Thanskgiving and expressing gratitude is something that we should be doing more of. Ingratitude is a vile quality and the mark of a base, selfish and uncultured individual who does not truly appreciate what he has earnt or has been given. We should be thankful for our countless blessings and be quite vocal about it. A formal day when we reflect on this and show our thanks to those around us is a wonderful opportunity.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends who read this blog and thank you to all the special people in my life – you are appreciated and loved.

JULIE ANDREWS, EPICURUS & GRATITUDE

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” - Epicurus

Remember Julie Andrews in “Sound of Music” as she burst into full song and listed some of “her favourite things” – things that made her happy? She certainly got the von Trapp children out of their melancholy mood… Isn’t that a wonderful idea, I thought, reflecting on all of those warm and fuzzy things, happy occasions that we experience… We sometimes appreciate them for what they are, but at other times ignore them, or miss them as they pass us by fleetingly, or even worse, we take them for granted. Reflecting on happy experiences makes us appreciate them all the more when they occur, but also they are the stuff of joyous memories, a storehouse of pleasure that we can resort to when we are feeling unhappy.

Epicurus (born 341 BC, Samos, Greece - died 270, Athens) was a Greek philosopher, author of an ethical philosophy of simple pleasure, friendship, and retreat. He founded schools of philosophy that survived directly from the 4th century BC until the 4th century AD. Very often his common sense, humanist views are misunderstood and his name has been perversely associated with the word “epicure” now signifying a person who takes particular pleasure in fine food and drink – a mere gourmet!

This is a gross simplification and distortion of his philosophy. Epicurus stated that pleasures of the mind, as opposed to the coarse pleasures of the body, are the ones to pursue. He taught that the highest pleasure obtainable is the pleasure of tranquillity, which is to be obtained by the removal of unsatisfied wants. The way to do this is to eliminate all but the simplest wants; these are then easily satisfied even by those who are not wealthy. There is difference between eating a simple meal to satisfy one’s hunger and indulging in the finest food and drink in a sumptuous banquet that will jade one’s palate, if carried to excess. What in fact Epicurus said about eating was that it’s not important what we dine on, what is most important is whom we share our meal with…

I am an epicurean at heart, and by that I mean that I embrace Epicurus’ philosophy: I pursue things that are “good”. How do we know if something is good? Epicurus enjoins us to ask if it increases pleasure or if it reduces pain. If it does this, it is good as a means; if it does not, it is not good at all. Thus, for example, to be just is good but is merely useful as it prevents mutual harm. Would we commit an injustice if we could get away with it? No, Epicurus says, because the constant fear of discovery will cause a painful anxiety – not good! Epicurus also glorified friendship, and the Epicureans were famous for the warmth of their personal relationships; but, again, they proclaimed that friendship is good only because of its tendency to create pleasure.

“Freedom from pain in the body and from trouble in the mind” is the ultimate aim of a happy life, Epicurus states. In addition, the wise man must also provide himself with security. This he achieves in two ways: By reducing his needs to a minimum and withdrawing, far from human competition and from the noise of the world, to “live a hidden life”; and by adding the private compact of friendship to the public compact from which laws arise. Epicurus established his philosophical school in his own garden, and he saw his students and friends there, in his home. Even when old and ill, he was still occupied in writing letters of reprimand, guidance, and comfort - announcing his teachings of peace, and (under the name of pleasure), inviting to love one’s fellow human beings.

Epicureanism was adopted by Lucretius who flourished in the first century BC. His name in full was Titus Lucretius Carus. He was a Latin poet and philosopher known for his single, long poem, De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things). The poem is the fullest extant statement of the physical theory of the Epicurus, but it also alludes to his ethical and logical doctrines. A useful book to read if you want to know more of Epicureanism is: “The Philosophy of Epicurus: Letters, Doctrines, and Parallel Passages from Lucretius”, translated by George K. Strodach (1963).

Now, having set the stage, let me populate it with the players in the form of my ten favourite, things that happened to me last week, things that gave me happiness and pleasure, and for which I am deeply grateful:

1. Seeing my eyes reflected in the eyes of my beloved as we held hands and listened to some quiet music, while rain fell outside.

2. Receiving a letter from my sponsored child in India and seeing his smile in the accompanying picture.

3. Coming back home safely after a long drive at night on congested roads and walking into the warm glow of a peaceful house after braving the cold, wet darkness outside, feeling grateful that all had gone well.

4. Enjoying a simple impromptu meal with friends after they called in unexpectedly. Compatible company, pleasant conversation, soft music in the background while we had a crisp garden salad and some freshly-baked savoury scones.

5. Feeling good - not having a health problem, appreciating my wellness of body, spirit and mind.

6. Appreciating my family, around me. Knowing that they are there for me when I need them and vice-versa.

7. Having a useful occupation. Furthermore, an occupation that I enjoy doing and feeling that I am helping a little bit to make the world a better place through my job.

8. Rejoicing in our garden, watching it through the window and appreciating the growth of flowers, vegetables and greenery in it, knowing that I am in the lucky minority around the world, in having one.

9. Receiving an unexpected card in the mail from an ex-student, saying she remembered me now that she is practicing her profession and thanking me for all she learnt with me as it is helping her much now.

10. Receiving some wonderful messages from my friends here on my blog.

What are your 10 favourite happy things that happened to you last week?

THANKSGIVING 2014

“Dear Lord, we beg but one boon more: Peace in the hearts of all men living, peace in the whole world this Thanksgiving.” - Joseph Auslander

Living in Australia where we celebrate no Thanksgiving holiday, I have had to educate myself regarding this American tradition. My lessons in history had certainly made me aware of the reasons why this holiday was celebrated and its special significance to the US, especially, but I must confess that I did not know much about this tradition until I read about it in detail.

The first Thanksgiving in America was celebrated in 1621 in the Plymouth Colony by the Puritans who came from England. Governor of the colony, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to celebrate a good harvest after a particularly harsh growing year in the colony. The celebration was based on traditional English harvest festivals that were still fresh in the minds and hearts of the colonists. The local Wampanoag Indians were invited to this feast as a gesture of goodwill for their friendly attitude towards the colonists.

The colonists did not call their holiday a Thanksgiving but rather a harvest festival. Thanksgiving to their minds was a religious observance where one went to church to thank God for a victory in battle, for example. The first Thanksgiving was not celebrated every year afterwards, so it was not a tradition that too root immediately in the lives of the people. The original harvest feast took place sometime between September 21 and November 11, the English harvest festivals traditionally celebrated around the 29th of September. In the Plymouth Colony, in 1623 a day of fasting and prayer during a period of drought was changed to one of thanksgiving because the rain came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailed in New England of annually celebrating Thanksgiving after the harvest.

During the American Revolution an annual day of national Thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress. In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as a recurrent annual holiday, and by the middle of the 19th century many other states had done the same. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a day of thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November. Since then, each president issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the date for Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November in 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941).

What was on the menu of the first harvest feast of Thanksgiving? It’s almost certain that pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes weren’t on the menu. Venison and wild fowl are mentioned by contemporary writers and these are a certainty. Edward Winslow in 1621 writes in ‘A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth’:
"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

It is quite probable that various fish, lobster, seal and swan were also on the menu.  Most food was spit-roasted or boiled on an open fire as ovens weren’t at all commonplace. Vegetables were in short supply and the only ways to preserve food was by drying, smoking or pickling it. Salt was commonplace as a condiment, but pepper and spices were scarce and expensive. People had no forks and ate with their hands, spoons and knives. Seniority and social standing determined what you ate. As soon as the food was prepared, it was put on platters and placed on the table, the choicest being most accessible to the most important people. People tended to eat what was closest at hand and someone who was very low on the pecking order often had to make do with scraps and bones. Servants and children waited on the adults and then ate afterwards whatever left-overs they could get.

Pilgrims didn’t eat meals in courses as is done nowadays. All the foods were placed on the table concurrently and people ate in any order they chose. Sometimes there were two courses, but each of them would contain both meat dishes, puddings, and sweets. Sweets were a luxury item as sugar was in short supply and expensive. Spices such as cinnamon, ginger, pepper, nutmeg were used, but they were also expensive.

Some recipes have been handed down to us, and it appears that the 17th century cook was more reliant on improvisation, taste and experience rather than the following of a recipe. Many of the common people could neither read nor write, in any case! The biggest meal of the day for was eaten at noon and it was called noonmeat or dinner. Housewives would spend the better part of their morning cooking that meal. Supper was a smaller meal that they had at the end of the day. Breakfast tended to be leftovers from the previous day's noonmeat. The colonists and Wampanoag Indians ate very similar foods, but their eating patterns were different. While the colonists had set eating patterns, the Wampanoags tended to eat when they were hungry and had pots cooking throughout the day.

Here are a couple of 17th century recipes for Thanksgiving:
The Ancient New England standing dish.
But the Housewives manner is to slice them (pumpkin) when ripe, and cut them into dice, and so fill a pot with them of two or three Gallons, and stew them upon a gentle fire a whole day, and as they sink, they fill again with fresh Pompions, not putting any liquor to them; and when it is stew'd enough, it will look like bak'd Apples; this they Dish, putting Butter to it, and a little Vinegar, (with some Spice, as Ginger, &c.) which makes it tart like an Apple, and so serve it up to be eaten with Fish or Flesh: It provokes Urine extreamly and is very windy.

Here is the modern interpretation:
Mashed Pumpkin
4 cups of cooked (boiled, steamed or baked) pumpkin, roughly mashed
3 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 or 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a saucepan over medium heat, stir and heat all the ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to taste, and serve hot.

Sauce for a Turkie
Take faire water and set it over the fire, then slice good store of Onions and put into it, and also Pepper and Salt, and good store of the gravy that comes from the Turkie, and boyle them very well together: then put to it a few fine crummes of grated bread to thicken it; a very little Sugar and some Vinegar, and so serve it up with the Turkey.

Gervase Markham , The English Huswife, 1623

Modern Interpretation:
Onion Sauce for Turkey
6 medium onions, sliced thinly
2 cups of water
2 teaspoons of coarsely ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (optional)
Follow your favourite recipe for roast turkey. Remove the turkey to a platter reserving the pan juices. Place thinly sliced onions in a pot with water and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook until the onions are tender but not mushy. A good deal of the water should have boiled away. Set aside for a moment. Place the roasting pan over medium heat and stir to loosen any brown bits. Stir in the onion sauce, sugar, vinegar and breadcrumbs if desired. Add pepper to taste and adjust seasonings. To serve, pour over sliced turkey or serve alongside in a separate dish.

To all American friends, Happy Thanksgiving! May you have a peaceful and enjoyable day together with your family and friends. May you be thankful for all the good things in life and appreciate mostly each other on this special holiday.

FOOD FRIDAY - GRILLED TURKEY BREASTS

“The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.” - William Blake

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia, but I think this is a great North American tradition that could well be imported into our country. It certainly is more deserving of import rather than say, Valentine’s Day or Halloween – both of which have been well and truly ingrained themselves into Australian society, especially so with the younger generations.

Here is a rather non-traditional Thanksgiving recipe that we shall be having at home, simply because we like it! I also think that it is worthwhile stopping every now and then and taking stock of all the things we have and we take for granted, and being thankful for them…

Grilled Turkey Breast Fillets
Ingredients
120 g unsalted butter
4 shallots, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
240 mL white vinegar
480 mL chicken stock
Cracked black peppercorns, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 kg turkey breast, cut into 10 cm pieces and pounded into ½ cm thick medallions
40 mL olive oil

Method
Make the sauce:  Melt half of the butter in a 30 cm skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped shallots and salt; cook until golden. Add vinegar and bring to a boil; reduce by half. Add the stock and cook until liquid is reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining butter and cracked peppercorns until butter is melted; set sauce aside and keep warm.

Prepare Turkey:  Heat a charcoal grill. Brush turkey with oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grill, flipping once, until browned and cooked through, 3–4 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with some of the sauce; serve with remaining sauce on the side. Accompany the turkey with mashed potato, roast pumpkin, roast parsnip, mushy peas, steamed green beans and a fresh seasonal salad.

Do you celebrate Thanksgiving or any other similar tradition? What are some of your favourite recipes for the occasion? Use the Mr Linky tool to share your recipes:

OUR GLOBAL VILLAGE

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.” - Les Brown

If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:

• 58 Asians
• 21 Europeans
• 17 Africans
• 4 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
• 52 would be female
• 48 would be male
• 70 would be non-white
• 30 would be white
• 71 would be non-Christian
• 29 would be Christian
• 98 would be heterosexual
• 2 would be homosexual
• 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from USA
• 80 would live in substandard housing 
• 70 would be unable to read 
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition
• 1 would be near death
• 1 would be near birth
• 1 would have a university education
• 1 would own a computer...

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent. The following is also something to ponder...

• If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week. 
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ...you are ahead of 500 million people in the world. 
• If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death ...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world. 
• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep ...you are richer than 75% of this world. 
• If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy. 
• If your parents are still alive and still married ... you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.
• If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all. 

Consider donating some money to charity, because you are able to and because there are millions upon millions of people on earth who need support in order to survive just another day…

SOUTHERN SPRING EQUINOX, 2014

“I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.” - Henry David Thoreau

I woke up early today to a beautiful sunrise. The sun came up through the scant clouds on the East and was a warm yellow orange. As I drew the curtain the rays caressed the walls leaving a trail of optimism on the wallpaper. I tip-toed down the stairs and went out into the garden. One of the glories of Spring in the garden is the onslaught of fragrances from the blooming flowers. As much as possible we try and plant perfumed flowers in our garden. An aromatic mixture of jasmine, pittosporum, freesia, bluebells, late blooming hyacinths, lilacs and the freshness of the early morning as the sun rises cannot help but make one feel good.

The floral smells were soon replaced by that of freshly brewing coffee in the kitchen, and that most delicious and homely of smells, bread toasting. Breakfast is a good time, a time when one can prepare for the world outside the protection of one's home. A time when one can take energy for the demands of the day ahead. A time when one may exchange pleasant words, soft smiles and revel in the intimacy that will be lacking in the next few hours.

Breakfast is also another of the times when the soft strains of classical music resonate through the house. We usually listen to ABC Classic FM and the breakfast program is usually light and fluffy, with a wealth of short pieces by a variety of composers, from the Renaissance through to the Romantics, but always a fair slew of Baroque music - just the sort of thing to listen to during breakfast.

It turned out to be a brilliant, very warm, sunshine-filled Spring day. We enjoyed the sun and birdsong, the flowers and the warmth. The windows of the house were open, the heaters well and truly turned off and even dinner was seasonally adjusted with asparagus quiche, fresh garden salad and lemon sorbet for dessert. A delightful day that left us thankful for life and its bounty, which good fortune has allowed us to enjoy.

I realise that as we enjoy Spring and its delights, many of my friends in the Northern hemisphere are embarking on the more sombre voyage of Autumn. However, one must take delight in whatever each season metes out, for there are many pleasures that are specific to each one. On this day of the Spring Equinox (or Autumn Equinox, if you live up North!), enjoy the natural delights of your season…

POETRY JAM - TRIBUTE

“Death is better than slavery.” - Harriet Ann Jacobs
 
Poetry Jam this week has invited participants to write a tribute poem to honour someone, famous or not, who is nevertheless admired and is worthy of praise. The poem below was written after I watched a documentary on serf labourers, so common in many rural situations in Europe until the late 19th century. These people were no better than slaves and their life was long struggle for survival under cruel circumstances where the bondsmen had no rights and no avenue to appeal against whatever ill-treatment they received.
 
Most of us have family trees that are of fairly ordinary wood and which include ancestors who are common people of no other distinction than a will to survive in adverse circumstances. My poem is a tribute to those forebears who have lived and survived and whose issue we are.
 
With Eyes Closed
 
With eyes closed firmly, I sit and ponder,
Thinking of you, my distant forebear;
My thoughts unhindered run and wander
Through all the common history we share.
 
Your name, your fate and date of death
Is all I know; but that for me is ample
To give your picture life and breath,
So that I draw strength from your example.
 
You had a dream, you lived your life
Battling with dragons, just to survive;
Your children to protect, your wife –
And proof of your success, is that I thrive.
 
A yellowed photograph, your tattered bible,
The names of my ancestors written there;
A wooden statuette – memories ancient, tribal,
Enough to make me offer thankful prayer…
 
I have you in my heart, and give respect,
And through the ages we touch souls, connect;
Your blood flows in my veins and I bear fruits
Proud of your struggle, my heritage, my roots.

POETRY JAM - GRATITUDE LISTS

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” - John F. Kennedy
 
For Poetry Jam this week, Laurie would like participants to make a gratitude list with at least 12 items. Then the list should be used to create a poem. The catch is that any form of the words “grateful, gratitude, thankful or thankfulness” cannot be used in the piece composed.

I have recently have had to be especially grateful to all my family for their support and love – especially so to my mother, who has always been my rock and my support in all of the vicissitudes of my life. My list of twelve things to be grateful for are:

1)    Mother

2)    Partner

3)    Family

4)    Home

5)    Work

6)    Country

7)    Education

8)    Affluence

9)    Friends

10) Music

11) Books

12) Nature

My Mother
 
My mother is what I am made of –
Her blood has nourished me,
Her breath awakened mine.
My mother is the soil I have sprung from –
Her flesh begat my own,
Her heart still beats in syntony with mine.
 
Mother, I speak your tongue,
I think in ways that you have taught me,
I love as you have loved,
I speak with words I’ve heard you using.
 
My mother wanes that I may wax,
Her gentle quietude, my own advantage;
Her touch forever light, caressing.
My mother loves, most constantly
Her thoughts to me ever running,
Her words a song, a sweet consoling.
 
Mother, I take all you give,
I cherish all your caring,
I accept your nurture kindly,
I rejoice in your constant presence.
 
The painting above, 'Hawaiian Mother and Child' 1920, is by Charles W. Bartlett, (watercolour and pastel on art board).
 

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it!

CHARITY

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” - Melody Beattie
 
I am fortunate that I live in a country where I can lead a comfortable life, have a good job and where rights of the individual are not only respected, but assured. Looking at the news items from all over the world that are reported on a daily basis, I can only be grateful for my lot. Although I have to work hard and spend long hours doing my job both at work and at home I take heart when I consider that in many places, the unemployment rate is above 20% and many people have been jobless for years.
 
Looking at a world where war is still raging, terrorist actions abound and where many millions are refugees, I am thankful that I have a home to go to every night and that my life is peaceful. When I hear people complaining about their life here, in Australia I get rather annoyed. What they usually grumble about is inconsequential little details that have nothing to do with survival, petty matters that cause trifling annoyances – rich people’s problems…
 
I am appreciative of my early morning walks, every day. Although I live in big city of nearly five million people, there are many parks and parklands where from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. every day I can go for a walk and enjoy the serenity of a little time alone with my thoughts and have the bonus of the physical activity that I need so much, considering I spend the better part of my working day sitting at a desk.
 
There is always fresh, wholesome food on my table and a person to share it with that smiles and talks with me. I can turn on the tap and enjoy safe, clean drinking water and if it’s cold I can turn the heater on. A comfortable bed awaits me at night and the sheets are freshly laundered. How many people see all of these things as luxuries and even their daily bread and water is not assured them?
 
One does not have to go far to find misfortune. Even here in Australia, we have poverty and homelessness. There are people living on the street and they have to beg to eat and sleep out in the open. Fortunately, these are a minority. Nevertheless, they are needy and their circumstances in many cases are not self-inflicted. I have a lot of time for the charity organisations that do wonders in assisting these people. The Salvation Army, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, The Smith Family, Villa Maria, St John’s Youth Services are but a few of these organisations, which though donations and the hard work of volunteers do a lot to relieve the misery felt by many people in our community.
 
Further afield, Australian charity organisations do a lot for aid and development of third world countries and many Australians sponsor children through World Vision, UNICEF, Save the Children Fund, Compassion Australia and many more. If you are comfortably off, consider helping others. You can volunteer some of your time, you can provide know-how, resources or help that is always needed. You can donate some money and this web site is a good source and has contact details of most of the major charities.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices and gives thanks for those things which he has.” – Epictetus
 

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists (in what was to subsequently become the USA), and the indigenous Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first celebrations in the colonies that was the antecedent of Thanksgiving. These celebrations were a continuation of the tradition of harvest festivals that were imported from the “old country”, but more importantly for the colonists it was a way of marking their survival for yet another year in what was often a harsh and inimical land.
 

Unfortunately, the peace between the Native Americans and the European settlers lasted for only a generation. The Wampanoag people do not share in the popular reverence for the traditional New England Thanksgiving. For them, the holiday is a reminder of betrayal and bloodshed. Since 1970, many native people have gathered at the statue of Massasoit in Plymouth, Massachusetts each Thanksgiving Day to remember their ancestors and the strength of the Wampanoag.
 

For more than two centuries, days of Thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. In 1846, Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of a magazine called Godley’s Lady’s Book, campaigned for an annual national thanksgiving holiday after a passage about the harvest gathering of 1621 was discovered and incorrectly labeled as the first Thanksgiving. In her 74th year, Hale wrote to President Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the “…day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.” She explained: “You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution.”
 

President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale’s request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book. Thus advised, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November in 1863.
 

The original proclamation is set out below, which is well worth reading. According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln’s secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.
 

By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward, Secretary of State
 

To all my American readers, best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving. It is a wonderful holiday and it is a grand thing to be able to have day formally set aside to give thanks for all the things that we usually take for granted. It should be a day of rest and for family get-togethers, a day for bountiful feasts and joy in the home where all the family members gather, but also it should be a day of reflection and gratitude. A day of giving thanks where thanks are due.

A RESTFUL DAY

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a spring day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” - John Lubbock

Each little routine of a Saturday morning at home, how delightful it is! Each blessed chore, each morning ritual, each ordinary moment, how grateful we should be for them all… The smell of cooking in the kitchen, the sun shining through the clouds, the violets blooming in the garden and the people whom we love and who love us just being around us. Days of peace, noontime rest, freshly baked bread, the small homely comforts, how beautiful they are…

As the evening falls, the lights come on, it is a night of calm and serenity. As the moon rises, and as it plays hide and seek with the clouds, how wonderful it all is. The touch of a soft hand, the kiss of the one we love, how special it is. How little do we sit and think about it all, how little do we appreciate each of these small perfect moments that we enjoy freely and which are denied to so many around the world…

A beautiful Saturday, a perfect day!

DON'T COMPLAIN!

“You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses” - Ziggy (Single panel comic strip created by Tom Wilson) 

I am an early bird and get in at work at about 7:00 am. As I was walking into work this morning it was dark, windy, cold and showery. I mumbled something you don’t want to know about as I walked resolutely on, and grumbled quite a bit. However, I immediately bit my tongue and chided myself as I thought about where I live and how lucky I am to live my life the way I do. A quick reckoning of the pros and cons quickly convinced me that I am indeed very fortunate to enjoy the quality of life I do. A cold, late autumn early morning is a minor inconvenience – a useful and interesting punctuation mark perhaps in an otherwise peaceful, pleasant and quite wonderful existence.

I live in what I think is a very beautiful city: Melbourne is a lovely clean, safe city, blessed with many magnificent public buildings, great facilities for entertainment, education, leisure, public gatherings, theatre, arts, sport. It is a city that is easy to get around in, has a good standard of living, nice people (mostly :-) and has a good climate – not too hot during the summer not too cold during the winter. It is a hub of culture, the arts, sport and has a good, year-round selection of fresh produce available in its many markets. There is a wealth of interesting cafés and restaurants that are of very high quality and the cost of living is not excessively high by world standards.

I am lucky enough to have a rewarding, satisfying job, good friends and loving family and a stable, comfortable life that offers me what many people around the world can only dream about. It is churlish to sit and think that my life is unpleasant or beset by problems and countless issues. In evaluating all I have the only feeling I can muster is gratitude. I am indeed blessed with a life that is wonderful.

It is a good thing to stop and do this little evaluation whenever we feel down, displeased with our lot, angry or exasperated. Bringing to mind the millions of people around the world that have much more pressing, or even life-threatening problems to cope with every moment of the day is enough to make one a little more circumspect about complaining and grumbling about non-issues, relatively speaking…

INTERNATIONAL THANK YOU DAY 2012

“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls” – Aesop

January 11^th is International Thank You Day. It is the day when we should all make special efforts to thank those that deserve our gratitude. While most of us mechanically and subconsciously mouth the words “thank you” more or less regularly in our everyday interactions, the purpose of today is to get us to think actively and deliberately about the act of giving heartfelt thanks to those around us that especially deserve our appreciation.

Ingratitude is one of the basest qualities of a human being. If you show kindness to someone and help them, non-appreciation of this aid and benevolence rankles. Some ungrateful people add injury to insult by not only not appreciating kindness, but repaying it with malevolence, spite and offence. A wise person appreciates the good things that occur in their life, recognise their benefactors and are grateful to them. We should actively express our appreciation and gratitude by some return of kindness, not only to the people who have helped us, but to everyone around us. Having such an attitude certainly makes the world a better place.

Looking around us, our family should be the first recipient of our thanks. We often take for granted all the things that those closest to us do for us every day. Stopping and thinking about it and saying “thanks”, giving a hug and doing something unexpected for them drives home the point that we love them and appreciate them. You get appreciation by giving it. When you are kind and grateful to others, they are kind and grateful back. By saying thank you we acknowledge how much we value all those things that we are given as a token of love towards us and we reaffirm our love back.

Our friends are those that deserve our gratitude next, as it they whom we have chosen to bring close to us, and it they who have chosen us to be close to them. We accept their friendship, their esteem, their rapport and support, their sympathy and affection in our every interaction with them, why not acknowledge it by thanking them consciously and intentionally?

Our colleagues, our acquaintances our associates are also deserving of our thanks today. It is they perhaps who are the recipients of the most mechanical and casual of thanks under normal circumstances. Simple politesse can erode the true meaning of a word of appreciation. “Thanks” can be uttered as a verbal reflex or muttered under one’s breath; it can mark annoyance, and how often is it said ironically or even sarcastically? Considering our interactions with those people that are most peripheral to us can alert us to the little things that they do to make our life easier, better, more pleasant. For this we should thank them.

And perhaps even more so today, we should spend a little time to be grateful to a kindness that may be shown to us by a complete stranger. Rather than rush by, stop, look at the person and thank them heartily. Wish them a good day, and show them appreciation for their little kindness. We humans are social animals and most of us are basically good. We can make the world a better place by exteriorising as much as possible that goodness within us.

And lastly, you, reader of this blog I thank for reading it and allowing me to share my thoughts with you!