Today's Gratitude

An Opportunity to Give and Receive Help

Last November I created an entry in my blog called Gratitude in the Morning in which I shared thanks I give for specific things that enrich both my life and the life of others. Then it seemed easiest to put these statements on the Support4Change website rather than the blog so that you can read all of the Things for Which I Am Grateful (though I don't write down my thanks every day)

This is what I gave thanks for today, March 11, 2007:

I give thanks for life.

I give thanks for the opportunity to have my friend use our spare bedroom until she finds a place of her own.

I give thanks for her excellent assistance in editing and problem-solving my projects.

. . . and more.

Use the contact us page to share your thanks with me and to let me know if I can share your gratitude with others.

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A Book for Children and Grandchildren

Flight of the Golden Plover: The Amazing Migration Between Hawaii and Alaska

BY DEBBIE MILLER

Although we may tell children that birds fly great distances each spring and fall, in this beautifully illustrated book they get an in-depth look at how the Pacific Golden Plover each year makes its way from the warm islands of Hawaii to the remote wind-swept tundra of Alaska. Rather than offering a cursory look at migration, a child (and his parents) can develop admiration for the courage of birds that make one of the greatest annual transoceanic migrations on earth and, in the process, learn about two very different climates.

If you want to instill in your children or grandchildren a love of nature, you would do well to get them Flight of the Golden Plover: The Amazing Migration Between Hawaii and Alaska.

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Before reading The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More, I didn't even know what a long tail meant. But I was interested in the book when I read on the back cover a testimonial by Reed Hasting, CEO of Netflix.

He said: "The Long Tail is a book for the Head-- provocative and insightful. It belongs on your shelf between The Tipping Point and Freakonomics, offering great insight into the next generation of Internet revoluton and opportunity." Since I already have both those books, I wanted to see what this would add.

The author, Chris Anderson, is the editor of Wired Magazine, a publication for anyone interested in what is happening in the world of the Internet and media technology. I recommend it to you if you want to understand how business has changed dramatically because of the Internet.

In the early days of any good relationship, we feel completely understood and appreciated by the other person, at least we should feel that way. As Leonard Felder, Ph.D., observes, it is as though we are "passionate co-conspirators facing the obstacles and challenges of life together." Then busy lives and the distraction of jobs and children turns one or both of us into mediocure listeners and before we know it, our marriage is in trouble, though we may not suspect a thing until it is too late.

Wake Up or Break Up: 8 Crucial Steps to Strengthening Your Relationship contains many ideas for observing what can go wrong, what has gone wrong, and what can be done to correct it. To get an idea of the book, read an excerpt called The Loving Gift of Being Fully Present and more of a review.

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Comments From the Blog:

From How Politicians Think to How We're Getting Recruits for the Military

If you haven't checked into my blog for periodic entries, here are a few in which you might be interested.

Liberals, Conservatives and Thinking Through What Happens Next

When I read an article by the conservative Dennis Praegar saying that the problem with liberals is that they don't think through to what will happen next, I couldn't help but comment that "not thinking far enough ahead" can be a problem for both liberals and conservatives.

Is This How a "Few Bad Apples" Got Into Abu Graib Prison?

An ex-police officer was charged with 197 counts of computer tampering, harassment and stalking because he hacked into his ex-girl-friend’s online dating account and made dates for her with men she didn't know, some of whom showed up at her house. When he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of unauthorized use of a computer, he avoided jail and probation by agreeing to join the military, which he says he had planned to do all along.

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Getting a Different Perspective:

Solving Problems Along the Arroyo

Continuing the special feature I began last month, Stepping Into Pictures, today I bring you another painting, Along the Arroyo (a place I've often walked with my husband and children)from Lynne Fearman. You can click on the picture to see an enlarged size to show her talent as a fine artist. You can also see other pictures of hers in her gallery of pictures see the paintins of other artists in the Segil Art Gallery website. [If it is temporarily out of order, return to see works by excellent artists.]

What I suggest you do with this picture to is imagine you can use the scene to help resolve a conflict with someone in your life. For example, right now imagine you and another person are standing on or walking down the path in this picture titled of the Santa Fe Dam from her gallery of pictures. What would you say? What would the other person say? How might the place in which you find yourself contribute to greater understanding?

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