Sunday, November 18, 2018

Words, Kindness and a Blessed Thanksgiving

Any time I can play outside on the farm, is a great day

I write for a living.  The words I put down on paper in my work life world are well, nothing short of boring….. but they document important actions taken and are referenced for years to come.    What I really love is writing for Home and Harvest Magazine and blogging.   Life has been good and full, but so many distractions pop up that I find myself writing blogs in my mind…. and usually the words rarely make it onto paper.  My passion is to share real life as I see and feel it. For example, this morning I walked outside and smelled the scent of wood smoke which in my mind is a comfort smell that “says home”.  Then the earthy smell of leaves floated up and I felt the warmth of the sun as it radiates not only on my face, but as it seeped into my soul.  I see the clouds resting on the tops of the pines trees and can see the freshly turned soil in the farm fields around me.  Nature has such a calming effect. And if you can’t experience it for yourself, then maybe my words can re-create the scene in your mind’s eye.   These simple things in nature help keep me grounded and sane in an often crazy and chaotic world.
 
Oh the beauty of  a frosty morning
As I navigate in my own world, I am keenly aware of how words spoken and actions taken are mental records that will live on in the memories of other’s that I come into contact with.  As hard as I try, I know I fail and sometimes I am not as gracious as I could be. But I think I have a fairly high success rate in relaying kindness to other too.  When you go through a difficult time that is when you see who your true friends are.  They are your special earth angels.  They are the ones whose actions are the balm to a wounded soul and they offer kind words of solace.  From going through my own difficulties, I know who those people are, they are the ones who daily, weekly or even monthly reached out to me, and they still do six years later.  They are my champions, as I am theirs and our friendship and love have no bounds.  From them I learned to ensure that your good intentions of reaching out to others doesn’t get put aside.   I have learned the difference between true friends and those who are the “fluff kind” of friends, where there really isn’t any substance and their words are empty.    After seeing what true friends look like, I take my role of being a good friend very seriously.  As my oldest daughter and I were talking just  the other day and we both feel we are “works in progress”…..  Ever continuing to improve, while never perfect, we make strides each day to create a better version of who we are.  When you are a healthy version of you, then you have the ability to be able to help others.

And I know that I am truly blessed.  I am thankful for good health, a wonderful man in my life, the love of my family and a few really good friends.  And the other day I came across this saying and have it posted on my work bulletin board to remind me to show compassion when I get weighed down by life….
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Today is a blessing from Almighty God
Today will never come again
BE A FRIEND. BE AN INSPIRATION
Encourage someone
Be a Blessing to others
Take time to care
Let the words you speak bring healing and not pain or hurting

And as Maya Angelou said “people may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel”  ~  
 
Simple pleasures in life with someone you love, can it get any better?
Each day we have the opportunity to reach out to family, friends and even strangers and show kindness and caring.  This will be recorded in a person’s mind forever.  Do what you can for them, but remember to take of you as well.

Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving.  All my best, Gayle

P.S. A special thank you to those who take the time to comment on my blog, you are a special blessing to me and thank you for taking the time to reach out =) swheatfarmlife@gmail.com