Daily Ramblings – Update – Bonus Content

Tags

Adapt, Arizona, Brother, Chaos, Close the Year, creativity, December, Disruption, Improvise, Set Goals, Thanksgiving, Unexpected, Wife

I’ve been offline for a few days. My brother came out to visit for Thanksgiving, and we had a terrific time. I took a few days off from everything, to maximize my time with him.

I’ve also been busy helping my wife, who is in Arizona with some things, that took a lot of time.

Well, folks. Here we are in December. This is the month I use to begin preparing my goals for the new year, assessing where I ended up with my goals this year, and continuing to make adjustments to life and my daily rituals, in light of the unpredictable actions of our government in Michigan.

Like most states, everyone is freaking out about the second outbreak of COVID-19. What is the solution to all of this? It’s simple. Do not react to things you have ZERO control over. Can we do all the things we used to do? No. Can we go to the library, our gym, our coffee house, a sit-down restaurant? No. What can we do. We can follow the guidance we are given, be good citizens, protect ourselves, and continue to push forward with our goals.

It looks like going to the gym is going to be a hit or miss in 2021, so I invested in a professional set of exercise bands to use in my home. Daily exercise–check! Social activities are going to be on hold for the distant future, so now it’s all about digital social activities, whether they are ZOOM calls, phone calls, or various websites that allow one to interact with other people. Be flexible, folks.

So this year, knowing what we now know, will involve some creativity and improvisation to achieve what we set our sights on. Don’t fight reality. Accept it. COVID is not going away, and the likelihood of getting a vaccine is even more remote, since they only have about 40 million vaccines, which will likely go to government officials and their families, and those with underlying conditions and other folks with more susceptibility to COVID than others. Personally, I think everyone in a retirement or senior living facility should be given priority, followed by anyone with underlying conditions that COVID tends to kill, before the rest of us are given anything. I would then move to first-responders and teachers. I don’t know how the U.S. government will respond to this, but if 2020 was any indication, they’ll muck the whole thing up.

Plan on lockdowns in 2021. Plan on more disruptions in 2021. Plan on more unpredictability in 2021. All these things are now our reality. If you plan accordingly, you’ll succeed at selecting goals to shoot for that cannot be disrupted. That’s going to be my focus for December.

Well, that’s all I got today. Tomorrow, we’ll be back on track with postings. Have a great Tuesday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Happy Thanksgiving

Tags

Celebration, family, Friends, Good Food, Gratitude, Holidays, Lydia Maria Child, poets.org, Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day

by

Lydia Maria Child

Over the river, and through the wood,
  To grandfather’s house we go;
       The horse knows the way
       To carry the sleigh
  Through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river, and through the wood—
  Oh, how the wind does blow!
       It stings the toes
       And bites the nose
  As over the ground we go.

Over the river, and through the wood,
  To have a first-rate play.
       Hear the bells ring
       “Ting-a-ling-ding”,
  Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river, and through the wood
  Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
       Spring over the ground,
       Like a hunting-hound!
  For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood,
  And straight through the barn-yard gate.
       We seem to go
       Extremely slow,—
  It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the wood—
  Now grandmother’s cap I spy!
       Hurrah for the fun!
       Is the pudding done?
  Hurrah for the pumpkin-pie!

Credit: https://poets.org/poem/thanksgiving-day

For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I love this holiday and look forward to the big meal we’ll be eating later today.

Have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Week of November 23, 2020.

Tags

Friends, Holidays, lockdowns, motivation, Thanksgiving, Virus

2020 is zipping by. We are approaching Thanksgiving in the U.S. in a few days, and before you know it, 2020 will be a memory. For some, this was a tough year. For others, it was filled primarily with boredom, as one lockdown followed another.

I am neutral on the year. I’ve gotten plenty of things done the virus failed to impact. I got in a lot of reading. I also worked on me this year. Not just physical things, but mental things, spiritual things, social things. I consider myself a continuous work-in-progress. There is always one more thing to improve.

We are fast approaching the final month of the year. What will you do with these last few weeks? I’m continuing to push ahead. Many of my goals were hit a month or so ago, but I also missed quite a few, and I can’t use the virus as an excuse. I just changed priorities, adjusted to the lockdowns of the year, and adapted as best I could. This year made me realize nothing is invulnerable to change. It also taught me how nice it is to make new friends across miles and miles of distance—right here on WordPress.

We’ve only got a few weeks left folks. Stay with it! You can still get a lot done this year. Push through to the end.

Have a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – The Year of Thanksgiving

Tags

Awareness, consciousness, Experience, family, Friends, Karma, spiritual growth, Thankful, Thanksgiving

My religion labels every year with a theme that runs in 12-year cycles. This year’s theme is The Year of Thanksgiving. We place special emphasis on being grateful for the gifts of God. These gifts are awareness, consciousness, and spiritual freedom.

My gratitude is boundless for the blessings of this life. The people I have met, those that took the time to teach me something, and especially for those that called me friend. I’m grateful for my family, friends, and every person who has given me some of their time.

I’m also grateful for every win and loss. They are both necessary for growth. We grow when we lose. We grow when we struggle. We grow when we have to search for answers to our problems.

I’m also grateful to be an ECKist. The spiritual insights I have gained have been wondrous. It’s hard to put these things in words. It is the knowingness that is most precious.

For these things I am grateful. Life is a gift. Life is precious. Life is a privilege.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – New Year

Tags

Eckankar, ECKist, free access, Gratitude, Spiritual New Year, Thanksgiving, worldwide seminar, Year of Thanksgiving

For ECKists like myself, the 22nd of October is our New Year. Each year has a spiritual meaning within a 12-year cycle. This year is the Year of Thanksgiving.

What does the year of Thanksgiving? It is a year-long celebration being thankful for the gifts of spirit. Each year, starting on the 23rd of October, we have our worldwide seminar. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our worldwide this year is virtual. For those of you who are interested, you can participate in this seminar for free.

Here’s the link: https://www.ecksouladventure.org/

At the bottom of the page, you’ll click on the yellow register button. It’s simple. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be sent a password for the seminar. Then you can return to view talks, workshops, and see Sri Harold Klemp, the spiritual leader of ECKANKAR. My family and I watched some talks today. They were terrific!

You will not be bugged about joining ECKANKAR. No one will keep your email address on file and enter you into any email lists. We offer access to this seminar to the world, but do not proselytize. This is ECKANKAR’s gift to the world.

Have a great Saturday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Fall

Tags

Autumn, Cakes, Coffee, Cookies, Cool weather, Fall, Gentle Breezes, Halloween, Holidays, Leaves, Pies, Soup, Stew, Thanksgiving

Today, I’m grateful for the fall. The cooler temperatures, the wind, and the trees, with their multi-colored leaves falling to the ground and decorating our lawn and driveway. Wow!

I also enjoy the fall because it is heading toward my birthday, the Thanksgiving holiday, and Christmas and New Year’s! Let’s not forget Halloween. What a great time of year!

This is the season for chili, stew, and all kinds of great soups that warm the tummy. It’s the season of cookies, pies, and cakes. It’s the season of warm bread coming out of the oven. Let’s not forget the great times ahead when families get together and celebrate.

This year has been a strange one. We’ve got COVID, we’ve got the entire Western United States on fire, we’ve got a crazy Presidential election, and we’ve had some civil unrest in a few places. I just sit back and watch the show. What else can you do?

Another glorious thing about the fall is coffee!! I began a new habit of drinking cooler things during the summer months. But now that we are getting chillier, I’ll be back at the Raven, the Exquisite Corpse, Starbucks, and Dunkin’ Donuts for my favorite coffees. We still can’t go inside the coffee houses and enjoy some coffee with others, but they are serving and I’m buying.

Well, that’s all I got for today, folks. Here’s to the fall. May we all have many more!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Thanksgiving Dinner

Tags

Creamed Peas, family, Friends, Good times, Holiday, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Thanksgiving, Turkey

Here’s a shot of my Dad (left), Mom, Sister, and her boyfriend. In the picture on the right is yours truly on the far left. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, creamed sweet peas, stuffing, and mom’s homemade cranberry sauce, which goes really well with breast meat.

Later we’ll dive into pumpkin pie.

For those of you that celebrate, I wish you and yours a great Thanksgiving!

Until next time..

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Happy Thanksgiving – Thank you Readers!

Tags

Cakes, Cookies, Cranberry Sauce, Football, Holiday, Lincoln, Mashed Potatoes, Parades, Pies, Stuffing, Thanksgiving, Turkey

Well, it’s a day early, but I wanted to take the time to express my thanks for all of my readers. We have family coming up later today, and I won’t be posting until after the holiday.

For those of you outside the U.S., we celebrate Thanksgiving by giving thanks for all the blessings in our lives, like family, good fortune, and good health. Thanksgiving was a tradition brought to the United States by Europeans (Pilgrims and Puritans) and was declared a national holiday by President Lincoln in 1863 or thereabouts.

Although we call it Thanksgiving, there are many such holidays in most countries around the world. Each one celebrates the bounty of life and cherish one another.

So with that, I bid you a Happy Thanksgiving. Oh! And for those of you who are getting out there bright and early on Black Friday to take advantage of all the sales out there. Be safe. Thing tend to get crazy. I, for one, will take part in Cyber Monday. It’s much more safe and I get to sleep in.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Holiday Season

Tags

Christmas, Eating out, Exchanging Gifts, family, Friends, Good Food, Holidays, Movies, New Years, Thanksgiving

Today, I’m grateful for the holiday season that is fast approaching. My family celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas. I used to be a big New Year’s Day fan, but frankly, my religious New Year occurs on the 23rd of October, so other than watching the ball drop on TV if I remember, it’s not that big of a deal.

 

I think the best part of the holiday season for me is the ability to just do whatever on these days, eat what I want (think potatoes, cranberry sauce, pies, cakes, and cookies), and hang out with family that comes to town.

This year, my Brother is coming to visit for Christmas. Mom and Dad are obviously excited about their middle son coming home, but so am I and my sister who is also going to be coming up to hang out with us. It’ll be a grand time!

During the times family comes home we gather in our home theater and watch movies, hang out in our living room over coffee in the morning, and go out to dinner once or twice during their stay to give Mom a break from cooking. If my brother comes, it guarantees us to get in some time on the Xbox.

What is so interesting about this venue is the ability to interact with so many people around the globe. What are the holidays you celebrate in your part of the world, and what do you do?

 

Post these in the comments below!

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Happy Thanksgiving

Tags

Cranberry Sauce, family, Friends, Gratitude, Parades, Pie, Stuffing, Thanksgiving, Turkey

Today, we’ll be bypassing Thinking Thursday for a Thanksgiving Day Post. Today, in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It is the start of our holiday season in the U.S. and is always a nice time of year. Today, there will be parades, big meals, and football.

Thanksgiving is a day we Americans take the time to think about what we are grateful for. I believe Thanksgiving is a daily affair because it makes me feel good to isolate those things that I am grateful for daily.

Here is my list:

I am grateful for my family.

I am grateful for my friends.

I am grateful for God’s love.

I am grateful for the abilities I have.

I am grateful for my health.

I am grateful for the family dogs.

I am grateful for this life.

For those of you that celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy some time off with your friends and family, eat some great food, and share some well-deserved time off. Take a moment today to write down or think about the things you are grateful for–it is a great exercise and you’ll feel terrific.

Until next time…

Dave