Great Thanks Challenge

One of Webster’s official definitions of thanksgiving is: “a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness.”

The truly thankful person is a truly peaceful person. They have made a habit no matter what to notice, pause, and choose. Noticing something for which to be thankful no matter what circumstance they’re in.

Pausing to acknowledge this something as a reminder of God’s presence.
Choosing to focus on God’s presence until His powerful peace is unleashed.

How will you celebrate God’s divine goodness today.

2011 Giving Thanks Challenge~Wild Turkeys

This is my third year to participate in the 2011 Giving Thanks Challenge. It is graciously hosted by Leah at http://leah%20at%20south%20breeze%20farm/. It's a good time to set my priorities in order and to give thanks for things in my life. I always feel renewed and refreshed after reading the other post. I come away more grateful and less selfish, less self-involved. I thank Leah for reminding us what is important in our daily lives.

I don't know if any of you watch PBS, in particular, a story on wild turkeys? I love PBS and I enjoy watching Nature. View the story here... http://nature~%20wild%20turkeys/ http://http//www.org/wnet/nature/episodes/my-life-as-a-turkey/introduction/7268/ This naturalist raised wild turkey from eggs. He became a turkey parent to these little hatchling. He viewed the World through the eyes of a turkey. I know, I can hear you saying "What in the World are you talking about?"

My husband and I enjoy nature and especially PBS. Excited to share, I ran into the other room to tell him about this show. Not sure if he would watch it, at least I told him about it. It's funny how things affect me differently from him. Sure the story sounded sort of corny, but it touched my heart. Hubs reaction was different from mine. I quizzed him about the show to see if he watched it. He likes to give me grief about my emotions sometimes. Of course, he is just as emotional as I am. The show reminded me about the time we raised mocking bird babies, and the time we raised orphaned squirrels.

While the show was most enjoyable, what I came away from this show was how important it is to live in the present. An animal that has to live in the wild without protection and has predators, instinctively knows how to live in the moment. In fact, that is all that really matters. Interesting point. A wild turkey doesn't live in the past nor the future. It survives in the moment.

Living from the perspective of a wild turkey opened this man's eye to a view that one rarely catches. Walking in the Florida woods with the turkeys, he became one with nature. The author states that he rarely saw snakes or other wild animals before his walk with nature. Maybe it was his awareness or lack there of, or perhaps, traveling with the wild turkeys opened his eyes. Other animals had no fear of the birds or the man. It was fun to see the joyful interaction between between squirrels and fawns and these big birds. Nature always teaches things, a hightened sense of alert for dangereous creatures like snakes and a predatory hunt for grasshoppers and crickets.

Any way the point I am trying to make is this...is there something we could learn from animals? I think it's obvious. Wild animals don't bother other creatures. They co-exist with one another. While they do interact, they don't go out of their way to harm others. Everything has a reason, an order, a purpose. I imagine a World where there is more tolerence in the human race.

We could learn a valuable lesson in life. Live outside of yourself. Don't worry about the past or the future. Be ever present in the moment.