~Reflections on "THANKS" & "GIVING"~

I made the mistake of going to the grocery store on a Sunday_a Sunday before the Thanksgiving Celebration! I watched the carts filled to the brim, people with list longer than Santa's_full of Saturated & Trans Fats (yum), folks fussing/cussing about what they would or would NOT eat, overheard one Grandmotherly type say in a mean tone_"Not in My House", every soul NOT pushing a cart was_Texting or on the cellphone,twenty something girls with their "T"underwear showing "a full-moon harvest of sorts", pushing & shoving for the best looking TURKEY & a host of other malfunctions @ that junction_ too many to mention here! I went deep,deep,deep inside "MY ZEN ZONE" and vowed to myself.. REALLY! practice PATIENCE..right here,right now!

Afterwards,I pondered the "real" meaning of Thanksgiving.It was a time when Americans and Natives
celebrated the harvest cycles by giving thanks and rejoicing after much hard work with members of the community...what, no grocery stores/carts & mutual effort in the community? It is a tradition that both the USA & Canada celebrate in North America. The dates varied in both areas.In the United States the date was decided by individual states until the 1863 Presidential Proclamation. It was an effort to foster a sense of "American Unity" between the Northern and Southern states that President Lincoln proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November.So,148 years later we still struggle for "American Unity"..how sad is that.You would have thought we'd learned a thing or two by now.

With that wee bit of history in mind,I wondered about our present day "Harvest". All over the world there is confusion about so many issues in life.Everyone is busy,talking on cellphones,texting,and (yes)writing Blogs & chasing that never-ending dream of MORE,I need...! Surely,we can find something to give THANKS for...and GIVING a SMILE to another human being is an act of thanksgiving. So,in my quest to remain in " MY ZEN ZONE" throughout that Mass Confusion of crowded lanes,noise,carts moving at lightening speed,folks cussing/fussing...mind you this is an UPSCALE grocery store_I gave everyone a Smile..not a word came from my mouth because it would have been *!@#$~%^&^&*()+>>... LETHAL!

              "Happy Thanksgiving To Y'All,Be Kind"