To my readers:
May the good things of life be yours in abundance not only at Thanksgiving, but also throughout the coming year, and may you enjoy a bountiful Thanksgiving, a joyous holiday season and healthful. Family and friends are a wonderful part of the Thanksgiving Holiday! I pray that your Thanksgiving is filled with Peace, Love, and Harmony!
Tomorrow is a busy day for me. I will be cooking up a storm and trying to get my entire Thanksgiving dinner ready, so that I can relax and enjoy family on the holiday because to me that is what it is all about being able to have a good time with family. I love cooking on the holidays for family and friends. I take pleasure in making sure that the food is seasoned and cooked just right.
On holidays I cook as if I am cooking for an army, because most of the time, not only will family come, but also unexpected guest as well as invited guest show up. Y’all know black folk’s families do not leave without taking a plate home with them too. Trust me, before the day is over I will be lucky if I have a bone and crumbs left. However, I do not mind though because that lets me know that the food was good.
Some people may not realize it, but we have so much to be thankful for, waking up every morning to see a brand new day, a roof over our head, clothes on our backs, and food in our stomachs, family, and friends. Many people do not have those things. My prayer is that those who are without be blessed with a good hot meal, warm shelter, love, and compassion. The older you get you become more thankful for the little things in life.
Love Granny
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18 comments:
Well said, GSFT. And I wish you will also have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
Thank you Ted, and same to you and your loved ones.
Wishing the same blessings on you and yours.
Amen and thank you for such a beautiful prayer!
May you have many,many blessings as well and the most wonderful time bonding and strengthening ties with your family. Thank you.
Awesome
"The older you get you become more thankful for the little things in life."
So true, Granny. I wish the Koch brothers would get on board. It seems that the older they get, the more they believe that "the little things in life," like clean air and clean water, would deprive them of an extra billion or two.
When we transition, we take nothing material with us--not our house, our car, or the money we have in the bank.
That in itself should inform us as to what's valuable, and what should be prized during our earthly journey.
But, alas, we spend our days pursuing that which "moth and rust does corrupt, and where thieves [can] break through and steal."
My prayer is your prayer: "My prayer is that those who are without be blessed with a good hot meal, warm shelter, love, and compassion."
I pray that your Thanksgiving was filled with all the good things that this earth has to offer, and a cornucopia of blessings not of this earth--blessings which come to us from above.
Black Diaspora
Diaspora, "When we transition, we take nothing material with us--not our house, our car, or the money we have in the bank.
That in itself should inform us as to what's valuable, and what should be prized during our earthly journey."
That's only IF you believe in an afterlife. What makes you so sure there is one?
@Anonnie: "That's only IF you believe in an afterlife. What makes you so sure there is one?"
If you've died thousands of times, as I have, accepting the existence of an "afterlife" isn't all that hard.
My question to you: What makes you so sure there isn't one?
BD, "My question to you: What makes you so sure there isn't one?"
There are two very good reasons:
1. No one has come back to tell anyone there is an afterlife.
2. The scientific mind knows nothing about an afterlife and therefore, does not there is. It is nonsensical.
But go ahead and convince yourself if it will make you feel better and handle your death better.
3.
@Anonnie: "1. No one has come back to tell anyone there is an afterlife."
That would make things simpler for you, wouldn't it? As long as you believe this, "that no one has come back," you can continue to live your life as you always have, without regard for consequences, or an honest appraisal of your beliefs, and the actions that stem from them.
Let me burst your first bubble: People come back all the time, and tell people about an afterlife. These experiences are called NDE's or Near Death Experiences.
One of the most celebrated cases of this phenomenon comes from one Dannion Brinkley, but he's only one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, who died for a time, was revived, and lived to tell the world about what he discovered about what's on the other side of life.
You can find him here, if you're curious as to what he has to say.
http://www.dannion.com/
But it's my guess that I'm wasting my time: If you were to believe Dannion, you'd have to turn your world upside down, and undergo a vast restructuring of a reality you may not wish to part with, or have altered in any way.
"2. The scientific mind knows nothing about an afterlife and therefore, does not there is. It is nonsensical."
Your so-called "scientific mind" knows very little about a universe of things. Human knowledge is smaller than a grain of sand when compared with the mountainous immensity of what it doesn't know.
There was a time when the best minds among us believe that the earth was the center of the universe. Copernicus changed all of that. Until he did, to think otherwise, that the sun was the center of the solar system, was considered to be "nonsensical."
"But go ahead and convince yourself if it will make you feel better...."
I don't need to feel better. I feel just fine.
I can tell, however, that you're conflicted, and haven't resolve the question of life and death to your own satisfaction. Moreover, you appear to be struggling with some trepidation about it.
For my part: I've "handled" death just fine, thank you. You should read my earlier statement again. It's blatantly obvious that you missed something I said.
BD, "Let me burst your first bubble: People come back all the time, and tell people about an afterlife. These experiences are called NDE's or Near Death Experiences.
One of the most celebrated cases of this phenomenon comes from one Dannion Brinkley, but he's only one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, who died for a time, was revived, and lived to tell the world about what he discovered about what's on the other side of life.
You can find him here, if you're curious as to what he has to say."
Now, now BD. I don't ever recall the media celebrating those hundreds or thousands of folks who claimed to have come back from the dead.
I do recall, however, Rev Oral Roberts on TV asking for millions from his followers and others or God was going to call him home. At the time, I thought most pastors would be glad to go home to God. But Oral Roberts was a nut and I wrote him off.
Then a strange thing happened: he got the millions he asked for! You see, everybody is afraid of death because they 'really' don't believe there is an afterlife.
I am all too willing to change my mind about the after-life, but again, who 'really' believe there is one? All the folks on this blog and FN blog don't even believe in religion, let alone an afterlife. Isn't that the big elephant in the living room of the black race? Sure it is.
@Anonnie: "Now, now BD. I don't ever recall the media celebrating those hundreds or thousands of folks who claimed to have come back from the dead."
Now, now, Annonie, to celebrate those who were clinically dead, but were revived--bursting with fantastical stories about an "afterlife"--would expose the media to derision, pretty much like the derision in which you're indulging.
Besides, the media avoid a number of topics that don't fit in with the commonly accepted belief system--that someone can die and return to talk about it--for fear that they won't be taken seriously by viewers or readers.
"I thought most pastors would be glad to go home to God. But Oral Roberts was a nut and I wrote him off."
What does your beef with Roberts have to do with an afterlife? The two of you perhaps share one thing in common: He probably doesn't believe in an afterlife either, which accounts for his willingness to defraud his flock, and to do so without conscience.
Had he believed in God, he wouldn't have made such a ridiculous claim, and then attribute it to God.
"You see, everybody is afraid of death because they 'really' don't believe there is an afterlife."
What they "believe" is inconsequential: An afterlife exists with or without their belief in one.
Yet, your premise is flawed: If people truly believed that nothing existed after this life, what is there to fear?
Most likely, people are afraid, because they do believe that life continues, but fear the unknown, or entering that afterlife having done things for which they believe they'll be punished.
"I am all too willing to change my mind about the after-life, but again, who 'really' believe there is one?"
Are you sure? Did you visit Dannion's blog?
Let me clarify: I don't "believe" in an afterlife, I know that there's one--that's the difference.
When you've been to the other side, as you might visit Paris, and then return home, people won't ask if you "believe" in Paris, they'll say, instead, where did you go while you were there, and whether you visited the Eiffel Tower during your stay.
"All the folks on this blog and FN blog don't even believe in religion, let alone an afterlife."
You're speaking for an awful lot of people, don't you think? Have you canvassed the people who frequent this blog for what they believe?
"Isn't that the big elephant in the living room of the black race? Sure it is."
And we were getting along so well until that last statement. It's ludicrousness on the surface, and may very well be the catalyst to end this conversation. I can't abide statements fraught with foolishness, and cheap digs.
Let me return the favor:
"Isn't that the big elephant in the living room of the white race? Sure it is."
"Yet, your premise is flawed: If people truly believed that nothing existed after this life, what is there to fear?"
The fear of annihilation.
Btw, brother BD, I am Black, not White. Are you biased about this matter? Does color have anything to do with the afterlife you believe, or know about?
@Anony: "The fear of annihilation."
Here's a modicum of wisdom:
"Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God"
You cannot "fear" that which does not exist, unless you conjure boogeymen with which to frighten yourself and others. Your human existence is pure mythology--the stuff of illusions.
Of course it seems real, but that's because you have little or no recollection of the "real."
Yet, here's a caveat: To believe that the ego (the self), upon your death, will be "annihilated" is to place yourself in suspended animation (a deep sleep) once you depart your physical body.
As the tree falleth so will it lie.
As you fall asleep, so will you awaken--but, for you, that awakening will result in a sleep, a sleep that may last eons.
Here's the good news: No one sleeps forever.
"Btw, brother BD, I am Black, not White."
Your energy says otherwise. It's not your physical color that determines whether you're black or white (which are merely states of consciousness), but the energy that you radiate.
"Are you biased about this matter?"
For me, the question has no relevance. I exist outside of color and race. Or to state it more precisely, but perhaps more enigmatically: I'm all colors, all ethnicities, all races.
"Does color have anything to do with the afterlife you believe, or know about?"
In truth, "color" has nothing to do with this life, but that we have made it so. In the afterlife, all human considerations are seen for what they are: illusions that have allowed us to experience who we truly are.
Beyond that, human existence has taken some bizarre turns, "a vine has been planted without the Father."
In due time, it will be uprooted.
During the Middle Ages, it wasn't uncommon for knights to set out upon quests to prove their mettle.
I would urge you to do the same. Don't take my word for anything; it's natural to be skeptical--to believe your own eyes, to trust your own ears, and to accept what your own hands have handled.
Take a quest within, and don't stop searching until you find. Meditate. You'd be amazed what's lurking inside of you, waiting patiently to be discovered.
Don't know how to mediate. Google it. There are thousands of sites with insights on the subject.
BD-"In truth, "color" has nothing to do with this life, but that we have made it so. In the afterlife, all human considerations are seen for what they are: illusions that have allowed us to experience who we truly are."
Color has nothing to do with this life? BILLIONS of people think otherwise. How can that many people be wrong?
BD-"Beyond that, human existence has taken some bizarre turns, "a vine has been planted without the Father."
In due time, it will be uprooted."
Who is the Father? How can anything be planted without his knowledge? And why do you know this Father and billions of others don't?
@Anony: "Color has nothing to do with this life? BILLIONS of people think otherwise. How can that many people be wrong."
Not "wrong," just mistaken. As I said, they have "made it so," that is, more relevant than it is.
Color is only relevant, because we've made it relevant. Remove the relevancy, and "color" becomes incidental, not paramount.
"Who is the Father? How can anything be planted without his knowledge?"
The "Father" is He from which all things have sprung, and continue to spring--that is, All Real Things. He's not the Father of illusions. We're the ones who can take the bow for them, not Him.
Our Declaration of Independence refers to the Father as Creator (and so He is) in these immortal lines: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
What did they know that you don't?
I said that the "vine" was planted "without Him," that is, without His direct creative input.
"And why do you know this Father and billions of others don't?"
We all know the Father. Not to know Him is impossible--yes, even for you: The Father is Life, that which courses through your being, and is the source of your existence.
You really should become an honorary knight, and begin your journey of discovery--the Ultimate Quest, which is to know yourself.
BD, "Our Declaration of Independence refers to the Father as Creator (and so He is) in these immortal lines: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
What did they know that you don't?"
Well, they obviously didn't believe what they said they believed because slavery did not match their words.
BD-"We all know the Father. Not to know Him is impossible--yes, even for you: The Father is Life, that which courses through your being, and is the source of your existence."
When you put it that way, the Father makes sense and is identifiable.
BD-"You really should become an honorary knight, and begin your journey of discovery--the Ultimate Quest, which is to know yourself."
I've often wondered who I am. I still don't know and not sure if I ever will.
@Anony: "Well, they obviously didn't believe what they said they believed because slavery did not match their words."
Haven't you noticed: We live in a world where one's supposed beliefs aren't necessarily translated into one's action.
It's called hypocrisy.
Nevertheless, Jefferson was on to something when he penned those words.
"I've often wondered who I am. I still don't know and not sure if I ever will."
"Ever will" is a long time, but it's not forever.
I'm going to do you a favor and tell you who you are: You agree that you're Life. That's who you are. You're not just living, you're Life itself.
Now if you can imagine that that Life is eternal, you'll edge closer to a full knowing of who you are.
Take the time to contemplate what that mean, what meaning can be extrapolated from that fact, what understanding can be gleaned from a realization that Life is who you are, and what the Creator is.
If you can do that, you will have taken your first steps toward a journey within.
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