Life felt snail-paced there in my rural home town, before computer technology moved into the neighborhood. Cable television took up the late evenings with sit-coms and westerns on three available networks, but the daylight hours were filled with authentic social connections through school, church or other community activities. Natural scenery was the backdrop for every life experience. The winters, long and grey, draped our community in white during November, then melted to slush, followed by another white blanket on the hills, followed by slush, repeat, until April. But even winter had warm spots: the floor grate where furnace heat entered the house, the kitchen where Mom worked culinary magic for family and friends; the sofa where we cuddled with each other, hot chocolate and Gunsmoke; the blankets in the living room where we watched colored lights twinkle on the Christmas tree with Bing Crosby crooning in the background.
Dogwood blooms and daffodils ushered in Easter and white shoes. School began to wind down near the end of May when Memorial Day was celebrated with a parade and extended family. June brought fireflies, charcoal grills, a family breakfast cooked over a campfire in the park, long walks with the neighbors, Vacation Bible School, front porch swings, and pony rides. Summer was in full bloom as the Fourth of July family reunion began the month and brought us to hide-n-seek at dusk, swimming, hiking, soaring temperatures, iced tea and lemonade, road trips, cranking the handle on the ice cream maker, and shucking corn beneath the shade trees.
As summer waned we sadly counted down the days until those school house doors opened, but buying school supplies gave a sense of fresh hope for the looming drudgery. Labor day divided summer and fall, white shoes from dark, freedom from confinement. The county fair brought more excitement to town, and more diversity to consciousness, than any other event all year. Brilliant fall foliage replaced lush green treetops. Large grasshoppers and chilly breezes swayed tall brown grass in uncut fields. Empty gardens, early morning treks to school, new friends and harder assignments, trick-or-treat candy piles sorted on the table top--these were autumn's tangible proofs.
As I reminisce it becomes clear why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Not only is thankfulness deserved for overwhelming gifts, but also, it is a healthy exercise to turn attention away from hardships and focus on what is pleasant, wholesome, and rich in our experiences. In fact, gratitude has become an intervention in the counseling field. In an article published in Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, C.C. Lin explains that people with higher levels of gratitude tend to experience more positive emotions, that gratitude influences emotional well-being directly (here-and-now), while cultivation of a gratitude habit can build upon itself as a preventative technique to help individuals enhance their well-being in the future.
Perhaps this is why the Bible, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 instructs, "In everything, give thanks." (KJV)
Reference
Lin, C.-C. (2015). Impact of gratitude on resource development and emotional well-being. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 43(3), 493+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA419268192&v=2.1&u=avl_faulkneru&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=495139cbb33d2286fb1b2502ae507cef
Dogwood blooms and daffodils ushered in Easter and white shoes. School began to wind down near the end of May when Memorial Day was celebrated with a parade and extended family. June brought fireflies, charcoal grills, a family breakfast cooked over a campfire in the park, long walks with the neighbors, Vacation Bible School, front porch swings, and pony rides. Summer was in full bloom as the Fourth of July family reunion began the month and brought us to hide-n-seek at dusk, swimming, hiking, soaring temperatures, iced tea and lemonade, road trips, cranking the handle on the ice cream maker, and shucking corn beneath the shade trees.
As summer waned we sadly counted down the days until those school house doors opened, but buying school supplies gave a sense of fresh hope for the looming drudgery. Labor day divided summer and fall, white shoes from dark, freedom from confinement. The county fair brought more excitement to town, and more diversity to consciousness, than any other event all year. Brilliant fall foliage replaced lush green treetops. Large grasshoppers and chilly breezes swayed tall brown grass in uncut fields. Empty gardens, early morning treks to school, new friends and harder assignments, trick-or-treat candy piles sorted on the table top--these were autumn's tangible proofs.
As I reminisce it becomes clear why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Not only is thankfulness deserved for overwhelming gifts, but also, it is a healthy exercise to turn attention away from hardships and focus on what is pleasant, wholesome, and rich in our experiences. In fact, gratitude has become an intervention in the counseling field. In an article published in Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, C.C. Lin explains that people with higher levels of gratitude tend to experience more positive emotions, that gratitude influences emotional well-being directly (here-and-now), while cultivation of a gratitude habit can build upon itself as a preventative technique to help individuals enhance their well-being in the future.
Perhaps this is why the Bible, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 instructs, "In everything, give thanks." (KJV)
Reference
Lin, C.-C. (2015). Impact of gratitude on resource development and emotional well-being. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 43(3), 493+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA419268192&v=2.1&u=avl_faulkneru&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=495139cbb33d2286fb1b2502ae507cef