A time of grief…a time of courage…a time of thankfulness.
Fall, according to ancient Eastern teachings, is a time of grief and courage. Makes sense to me. A poignant sadness as we watch the trees turn color and lose their leaves. Courage as we face the deprivation of the winter ahead. Of course, what that’s really about is the grief we feel that comes with change…the ability to let go of what was and the courage to accept what is and what will be. Even as the dogwood tree loses its leaves, the flowers of next spring are already buds on its bare branches. But so much for metaphors and ancient Eastern teachings. Fast forward to today in America when fall is election season, a time that seems to bring out the worst in us. Which could bring me back to the grief and courage notion, but that’s not where I’m going because fall is also the time for our collective “thanksgiving” – a time when we stop all the craziness for just a few hours and focus on all that we’re grateful for. We used to do this face to face at the dinner table, but things being what they are, this year, I’m sure it will be conveyed via Facebook, tweets and other social media that don’t really seem all that social to me. Perhaps we’ll even crowdsource the top 10 reasons to be thankful…
Since I am fascinated with history, I used to stop at this time of year and think about the Pilgrims and all they had been through to survive to that first Thanksgiving. But after seeing a recent PBS show about how we treated native American Indians, I’m staying clear of Pilgrims, Puritans and all our other early European forefathers and mothers. If you are lucky, current fathers and mothers – the steadfast love and support of your entire family -- are a better focus. And for that, I am grateful. But it is the kindness of strangers that continually surprises and delights me, adding a special richness to any day when I am so blessed. A landscape designer who I’ve just met gifts me with a rare plant…a neighbor I barely know finds my mother’s collarless, runaway dog that I am taking care of and walks him back to my house. A woman I stop and talk with at a tag sale invites me into her incredible secret garden. From out of nowhere someone who worked for me over ten years ago emails from California to say how special the time was when we worked together.
On a macro scale, humankind can be distressing. We seem to be caught in eternal conflicts, doing horrible things to each other in the name of god, greed, patriotism and who knows what else. But it is those one-on-one interactions that counter all that for me…that make me still want to get out of bed in the morning and see what each day will bring. In the end, we are all somewhat like the Pilgrims, moving forward into virgin territory with nothing but our faith every minute of every day. And I sincerely hope that my own kindnesses to strangers are paying back what has been given to me – because, after all, it is about the giving as much as the getting.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Vicki
Vicki Wray lives in North Stamford, and until recently spent most of her waking hours in New York City as a corporate communications executive. Working for companies like Pfizer, Revlon and AOL Time Warner has allowed her to meet wonderful colleagues and a slew of interesting personalities including the president of the United States, supermodels and star athletes, famous artists and a Justice of the Supreme Court. She is a natural observer, type A personality, and a life-long "spa junkie". Vicki firmly believes in the health benefits of being kind to oneself; taking a moment to breath, relax and finding simple joy in our every day existence.
Her column, Kind (self) Regards, will be a regular feature of the Aetheria Spa blog. If you enjoy her point of view, or would like to share your ideas, please contact her at vicki@aetheriaspa.com.
1 comment:
Lovely - and true!
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