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                                     Have A Very Merry Thanksgiving

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A Very Merry Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, the time of year when we open our hearts in our homes to loved ones and friends.  Sharing a bountiful feast and showing we care.  You might have turkey, ham, or maybe if you are very oldfashioned a goose might grace your table. Or like the Whos down in Whoville.maybe you will have a great “Roast Beast.” Whatever your tradition holds for this time of year my heart's desire is that you can be thankful for the past year and all the good things that have come your way.

      I am a traditional sort of girl.  I love pumpkin pie and dressing and cranberry sauce.  Yet I am sure that there are some fantastic ethnic Thanksgiving dinners that don't even include a turkey.  Maybe you have a vegetarian feast and it really doesn't matter.  It is and it should be a time of giving thanks.  Sharing what you have with others and opening your heart to the merriest seasons of all.  From Thanksgiving to Christmas we deck the halls, hang the lights and find a special place for the mistletoe. But whatever your family traditions are for this time of year we must think.  And be thankful for every blessing and every memory that we hold so dear.

       It might just be that beginning this final season of the year with Thanksgiving that we pave the road to the new year to be greater than this past year has been. Loving more, caring more, and giving just a little bit more consideration for those who may be having a harder time than we.  I simply love this time of year that is meant for giving.  It is sad to think that sometimes we spend just a little bit too much time thinking about what we want and what we have,  and too little thinking on the needs of others.  Simple gestures of kindness can mean so much to the hopeless.

       Sure this time of year is sentimental as we hang heirloom ornaments on our trees and hum Good King Wenceslas as we bake Christmas cookies.  We think ahead to pull out the tissue box before we start the movie “It's an incredible life,” We fill up our quota of Hallmark movies,  nostalgia,  and great heaps of calories.  it is the last big hurrah before New Year's.  We know those New Year's resolutions come hard and fast. Before long we're back at work and punching time cards. Again we'll be focusing on the gym and health foods,  not the Christmas displays at the mall.

       So many emotions are packed into this one month of the year.  In my mind, It's the one reconciliation for a whole year we have spent budgeting, dieting, and meticulously organizing our lives.  So for once let's not feel guilty.  Let's go into this holiday season with not only Thanksgiving but a joyful heart. Let's purpose to make it a very merry holiday Season.  For me, it is the joyous season of Christmas and yes I still wonder over the birth of the beautiful Christ child.

       But some people have so many hurt feelings about Christmases past so like Ebenezer Scrooge they're haunted by Christmases past present and future. So if tinsel and Holly is not your thing then make this holiday season your own. Decorate your way, your fashion, and your style. But let it be a merry heart and joyful giving that blesses all those around you.  Spread some cheer and give some love this holiday season 2018.  

                                                               Yours Truly, Georgiana Harper

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Personal Freedom

 One of my favorite movie phrases was in “Forrest Gump”, as his mother spoke to him on her deathbed she said, “Forest, life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're going to get.” I have found that to be true in my life. About the time you think you have got it all figured out suddenly, “kaboom”  the unexpected happens. Something comes from out of the blue and catches you completely off-guard.  That is the way of human life. It's not fun and it can be very difficult. But the unexpected can also add a great deal of interest to life. If everything was perfect and the same day after day how boring that would be.

    I'm not one to particularly take chances.   I'd like to think that in most cases I at least make an educated guess.  Yet through life, I have come upon an assortment of tactical ways of avoiding as many of those out-of-the-blue gut punches as possible. It doesn't make unpleasant surprises avoidable but it makes them slightly less frequent. I try to abide by Any Given rules that may apply where I'm at in life at the time.   I try to avoid feeling like I'm headed to the principal's office.  Secondly, I try to avoid making enemies.  Sometimes that means avoiding people that you notice have a completely negative attitude from the very beginning. It is easier to avoid acquaintances with negativity issues then it is to rid your life of negative influence after it has been embedded.  Thirdly, being true to yourself is the finest idea since the Declaration of Independence.   In fact, it is, in short, a personal Declaration of Independence.

       But alas one of the most common weaknesses among mankind is the failure to truly know ourselves. How can we be true to ourselves if we don't know who we are?    I think this is a concept that is supposed to be grasped in junior high school. but as an adult, I am finding that this has escaped many of us.  Or maybe it's just that as we pass through phases of life we really do change. I know that I am nothing like the young 13-year-old girl who was so easily led in the wrong direction and found it so hard to fit in.  

      Making our way through the Maze of life can be daunting, terrifying, and we find ourselves lost more times than not.   But we should not be dissuaded, For we shall find ourselves if we seek diligently.  And when we do Then we can also begin to cultivate a friendship with ourselves.  A relationship with yours truly,  built on trust and confidence.   I think it's possible to be your own best friend.  Knowing the reasons why we do any particular thing is really important.  Are we doing something simply to please others?   Or is it because we are simply doing what is expected of us.  Both of those are very valid reasons for doing something in particular.  But in whatever we do we should seek first to be our individual selves.

      When we are true to ourselves we can be free of intimidation.   Enabling us to step out of the box that we may help others.   We can have the freedom to think our own thoughts and choose much of our own path.   Freedom does not allow you the right to run roughshod over others or to dictate to them your expectations.  But it does allow you the freedom to enjoy your personal opinions, and all your favorite things.   Freedom allows you to do what feels best to you, that is no harm to others.  Finding your true self also allows you to set others free,   Realizing that you have the power within you to declare freedom on all those who you engage with.   Being a wife, mother, Sister, son, daughter, friend or companion, without undue expectations, manipulations or harsh judgments.  I think Freedom begets freedom.  if you want the freedom to be your true self then Grant freedom to someone else to do the same.  I think it can be like a fresh wind to which we can all breathe just a little bit easier. Yours truly,

                                                                                      Georgiana Harper