Happy Thanksgiving (Or To One and To All, Thank You for Being Yourself)

Ahem.

Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Good night.

I want to take a moment to say something.

I have said it before, but I want to say it in a way that allows it to truly sink in.

I want to tell you something that you will never forget.

But first, let me tell you a story: a story about a boy and a girl.

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A little boy once stood on the bank of a creek and listened to the water rushing through the rocks. He marveled at the way the water turned and rippled and twisted among the woods and imagined how that little creek led out to a larger stream, then to a larger river, and eventually to the largest of oceans. He liked to imagine how small things can grow into large things, this little boy. He liked to picture himself as an insignificant little dot in the middle of the universe.

The little boy closed his eyes and listened to the water.

The water was telling him something.

So he listened.

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A little girl once stood by the ocean and listened to the waves crashing on the shore. She wondered at the way something so light, so refreshing, so calm, could come crashing down so hard onto the sand. She marveled at how large the ocean was. For all the staring and looking that she did toward the horizon, she could not see the end of the water. But she thought about the beginning of it. Starting as snow or rain in the mountains, the small creeks turning into larger streams, and ever larger rivers and building in size and strength and tumbling and boiling their way into the mighty ocean that stood before her. She liked to understand the beginnings and the endings of things, this little girl. She liked to picture herself as an insignificant little dot in the middle of the universe.

The little girl closed her eyes and listened to the water.

The water was telling her something.

So she listened.

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Be yourself.

Thank you.

Thank you for being you.

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Yes, I'm talking to you.

Thank you.

Not for what you have done for me, in the past or lately, but just for being you.

Every time I wonder how I can go on, you make me laugh.

The way you express yourself in the simplest of moments makes me smile, inside and out.

Sometimes things get you down. Sometimes things come up that bring down your energy and your happiness. But you know how to move on. You know how to deal with the situation effectively, and move on.

So thank you for being yourself.

I want to see more of who you are, all the time, whenever I can.

I want to stare into your soul and have you stare back into mine, and once we truly see each other, maybe we can find a way to join together.

Maybe we can find a way to become one, and flow like water.

Like the creek.

Like the streams.

Like the rivers.

Roiling and rolling and twisting and winding our way to the ocean.

Thank you for being you.

Thank you for being the person that you are.

Thank you for your laughter. 

Thank you for smiling.

Thank you for the beauty that you contain, both inside and out.

Be you, my love.

Let yourself flow.

And together we will make it, hand in hand, to the ocean.

Happy Thanksgiving.

What I Want Out of Life

I started this post a while ago, and it didn't quite seem like the time to post it just yet. Now is the time, I suppose.

This post states what I want out of life. 

First though, let me say that I already have a lot. 

I have a loving family, amazing kids, a wonderful wife, an amazing extended family, and generally speaking a whole lot of love. I have a great job, a career I can grow into, money to pay the bills, a wonderful home, and two cars that run like champs. 

I have more than I could ever ask for, to be honest. 

Maybe I don't need to write this post after all...

It's the season of Thanksgiving. I have a whole hell of a lot to be thankful for. 

Some of those things I am thankful for are listed above. Others are larger. Like the opportunity to wake up today. Others are smaller. Like the feeling I have when I take a deep breath of fresh air. And then there are all the things in between all the highlights and the low-lights of living life on this planet.

I am truly grateful for each moment I have the opportunity to be alive.

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So, I am truly grateful for everything.

Being grateful doesn't mean I cannot strive for more.

I have decided a few things lately. I have started to define what it is that I want from my life, that I don't already have.

They are simple but large things, and there are only four.

1. I want to make a living from my creative activity.

2. I want to be physically fit and healthy. 

3. I want to be completely debt free.

4. I want to own a beach house.

Those are the four things that I want out of life, that I don't already have. If I never accomplished any of them, I would still lead a good and satisfying life. But why not go for the gold? Why not try and get that which I may be able to attain? Why not set goals and work toward them?

In coming up with reasons for why I should improve myself, I still have only one: because I can. 

The only reason that I want to improve myself is because I can.

Eventually, I will need to have a more passionate and energetic reason behind self-improvement. But for now, just that one reason will suffice.

What are the things that you are grateful for?

What are the things that you are striving for?

My New Speed

I have reached a new, strange place in my life. I am no longer looking forward to anything. I am no longer interested in anything either. I have come to an almost complete standstill. And yet, I am still alive. I am still living and going through the motions of my life.

My mind is almost completely devoid of thought, and my body rarely takes action. I am floating in the ether of reality.

It is an interesting and new place to be.

It is always a new and interesting place to be. I am always growing and evolving and learning and expanding.

But right now, it merely seems that I am floating.

Free of tethers and all expectations.

Why am I this way?

I have slowed down considerably. I do things with a deliberateness that I used never to employ. I am careful. Not wary, but full of care.

Even my typing and writing have slowed considerably. I do not type at a mad man's speed anymore, I merely write the words as they come.

I enjoy listening to music. I enjoy creating music.

I have been trying to write a book for the last 35 years. I have been unsuccessful. I am either not ready yet to write my book, or not qualified to write any book. I have become accepting of both possible scenarios. Only time will tell which one is accurate.

So this is my new speed. Slow. Deliberate. Careful.

I don't understand all the factors that have contributed to my new style, and I don't really care to.

I don't really care to do anything.

This all sounds rather depressing, but I don't think that it is. It is just new, and it is just reality. Taking things at face value. Not applying any spin to anything.

How can the slowness of this pace, the glacial meandering and expanding of my life, be part of this rapidly changing and moving 21st century?

I am behind the times, but I left the times behind long ago.

I am at once ahead of, behind and with the steady growth and expansion of the universe.

Best to be with it.

Best to be part of it. Best to be enjoying myself.

Thank You

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." - Henry Van Dyke

This past Thanksgiving I was inspired by the idea of giving thanks throughout the year, and not just the one day set aside for being grateful. So I started a new blog that was just about thankfulness, thanksgiving and being grateful in general. Then I realized that I want to be keeping all my thoughts here at nobushel.blogspot.com instead. So below are all the posts that I posted to that other blog, and a big thank you for the clarity to focus my efforts all in one place. Maybe some of these thoughts of thanksgiving will resonate with you. Thanks for reading.

Thank you for the new year.

Thank you for new beginnings, the start of something new.

Thank you for old things.

Thank you for the transition between old and new.

Thank you for time to be alone and reflect.

Thank you for the fruits of reflection.

Thank you for the opportunity to be happy.

Thank you for the choice to be happy.

Thank you for the miracle of life and living.

Thank you for including me in plans I don't understand or know yet. 

Thank you for the design of the universe, unknown, yet being discovered.

Thank you for science.

Thank you for art.

Thank you for being and the lightness of being alive.

Thank you for amazing sunsets.

Thank you for quiet sunrises.

Thank you for making the earth so large the sun so far away, and humans so small that it appears as if the sun rises and sets every day for only me. 

A TED talk on the power of gratefulness.




Thank you for the lovely holiday decorations that light up the street and the night with their light.

Thank you for the opportunities I have had and continue to have.

Thank you for toothpaste that leaves my mouth feeling clean.

Thank you for lakes, teeming with water and life.

Thank you for the road that is smooth and paved and takes me where I need to go.

Thank you for family, and all the nuances of love contained therein.

Thank you for indoor plumbing.

Thank you for running water that is clean and safe to drink.

Thank you for the lovely holiday decorations that light up the street and the night with their light.

Thank you for the opportunities I have had and continue to have.

Thank you for toothpaste that leaves my mouth feeling clean.

Thank you for lakes, teeming with water and life.

Thank you for the road that is smooth and paved and takes me where I need to go.

Thank you for family, and all the nuances of love contained therein.

Thank you for indoor plumbing.

Thank you for running water that is clean and safe to drink.

Thank you for letting me know I need to be more grateful.

Thank you for allowing me to be more grateful.

Thank you for the time to accomplish and become what I want.

Thank you for the opportunity to accomplish and become what I want.

Thank you for the car I drive, for taking me where I want to go.

Thank you for the house I live in, the building I call home.

Thank you for the clothes I wear, that keep me warm.

Thank you for the wind that blows through the trees.

Thank you for the ocean and all its marvelous waves.

Thank you for the breeze that whispers nature's tune to me.

Thank you for letting me know I need to be more grateful.

Thank you for allowing me to be more grateful.

Thank you for the time to accomplish and become what I want.

Thank you for the opportunity to accomplish and become what I want.

Thank you for the car I drive, for taking me where I want to go.

Thank you for the house I live in, the building I call home.

Thank you for the clothes I wear, that keep me warm.

Thank you for the wind that blows through the trees.

Thank you for the ocean and all its marvelous waves.

Thank you for the breeze that whispers nature's tune to me.

Thank you for alarm clocks for waking me up on time.

Thank you for deep sleep that brings me dreams.

Thank you for dreams that take me to another world.

Thank you that the dream world is not really real.

Thank you for surrounding me with people I love.

Thank you for the opportunity to live my life as I see fit.

Thank you for fireworks that light up the night sky and my imagination.

Thank you to the men and women who serve our country and keep us safe.

Thank you for letting me be myself.

Thank you.

Thank you for the sun and all its radiant glory.

Thank you for the streams that whisper in the woods.

Thank you for the night that holds the moon in the sky.

Thank you for the wolves that howl to the moon in the night.

Thank you for the world, all the good and all the bad.

Thank you for the morning that rises every day.

Thank you for letting me rise every day as well.

Thank you for the power of love.

Thank you for the magic of gratitude.

Thank you for the wonder of the cosmos.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving. Giving thanks.

Thank you to my family for unending love and support.

Thank you to my father for teaching me how to sing.

Thank you to my mother for teaching me how to learn.

Thank you to my brothers for teaching me the meaning of brotherly love.

Thank you to my mother-in-law for picking me up when I was at my lowest point.

Thank you to my wife for loving me and growing old with me.

Thank you to my children for allowing me to raise them the best I can.

Thank you to the air for letting me breathe you.

Thank you to the land for allowing me to walk and travel upon you.

Thank you to my company for employing me and allowing me to house, clothe and feed my family.

Thank you to the sun for shining on me.

Thank you to the birds for singing their songs.

Thank you to the sky for being so unendingly large.

Thank you to the moon for allowing me to gaze upon you in wonder.

Thank you to the stars for making the night sky sing.

Thank you to the water for allowing me to drink my fill of you.

Thank you to the squirrels who eat my pumpkins, entertain me and make me laugh.

Thank you to my house for keeping me safe and warm.

Thank you to the churches for feeding the hungry.

Thank you to the laborers for working hard into the night.

Thank you to the tradesmen and women for building and making the things and services I use without thought.

Thank you to nature for being so beautifully complex.

Thank you to the flowers for being so simply beautiful.

Thank you to the artists for leading the way.

Thank you to the internet for bringing so many of us together in one place.

Thank you to books for all your knowledge and adventures.

Thank you to America for giving me freedom.

Thank you to the world for giving me life.

Thank you to the night for all your dark and mysterious pleasures.

Thank you to the day for all that you have in store.

Thank you to the food I eat for nourishment and energy.

Thank you to the friends I have for growing and laughing along with me.

Thank you to the universe for all you have shown me.

Thank you to life for embracing me and letting me live.

Thank you for being yourself.

Thank you.