November is the month of Thanksgiving.  For most people in the United States, it is a time of family gatherings around a table of a traditional meal of Turkey, potatoes, and other massive amounts of food including home-baked Pumpkin Pie. It used to signal the day after as the day to begin Christmas gift shopping – but that tradition has now begun earlier in the year – I have even heard women discussing their great ‘finds’ back in July! I no longer celebrate Thanksgiving on the traditional fourth Thursday of November because I have a tradition of my own, which I began two years ago.  I write on a small slip of paper each night before I go to sleep beginning with the date, day, and the words:  “I am happy and grateful for ….” writing one thing I am happy and grateful for that day.  I made a container from an empty coffee can and taped positive sayings and affirmations from old magazines glued all around the exterior surface and cut a slot in the plastic top where I deposit each slip each night. On New Year’s Eve each year, I empty my Gratitude Container and read each slip to remind myself all of that I am happy and grateful for over the past year. This practice has allowed me to focus on how very blessed I have been every single day of the previous year. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a holiday whereby we gather with friends and family to be thankful for their presence in our lives and for all our individual blessings over the past year.  Instead, it has become an excuse to overeat, shop, and overindulge ourselves. Did you know that Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are two of the times a year when heart attacks are rampant?  Do you know why?  Many doctors and nurses, and I, believe the source of these heart attacks are caused by massively overeating! When the winter holiday season begins, as the days become shorter, the leaves begin to turn red, gold and brown before they fall down, we forget that winter is a time to rest, relax, and retreat. Instead, there is a flurry of activities mixed with holiday shopping, parties, and a frenzy of shopping activity. How many Thanksgiving decorations do we need to set the mood?  How much more stuff can we stuff ourselves with on this holiday?  Why is stuffing called stuffing? This reminds me of the late, great comedian, George Carlin, and his rave about ‘stuff’: “A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.”  ~ George Carlin I am not adverse to holidays or celebrations, but I have become a believer in less ‘stuff’, probably because I no longer need to fill the holes in my soul with ‘stuff’. And again, I laugh aloud at another part of Carlin’s ‘stuff’. “That’s all your house is, a pile of stuff with a cover on it.”  ~ George Carlin You get the idea.  At some point in our lives – or maybe never, we realize we have too much ‘stuff’!  Over the years, I have helped survivors of those that have died to assist them with going through the ‘stuff’.  I have kept my thoughts to myself, but I have often asked myself, “Why would anyone think this STUFF would be important?  Why would anyone keep decade’s old magazines?  Why would anyone keep clothing that was practically rotting on the hangers?  Going through the cupboards discovering multiple sets of dishes, glasses, with the cupboards and drawers stuffed so the items practically tumble out left me shaking my head.  These experiences also caused me to resolve that I would eliminate duplicates or no longer necessary items before my own passing. Then, my resolve weakens, and I am so certain that as soon as I throw or donate an item, I will definitely need and regret eliminating it. We all have the same quandary!  What to keep, and what to discard? It all has to do with your definition of freedom – or is it self-esteem.  Does having more and better ‘stuff’ make you a better or more successful person?  Who made that rule? We can reap wonderful rewards any season, but most especially during the holiday season and challenging our previous beliefs associated with the purpose of ‘stuff’ and the role these things play in our lives.  It is another opportunity to grow in consciousness and transform our lives into clearer focus of what truly has meaning and fulfills us with joy and happiness. There are many paths to enlightenment; each of us has to make choices.  Many of the wise beings over the ages have urged and abided in less is more. You might want to visualize your life as how you would live without so much ‘stuff.’  Without so many mundane tasks that require you to care for the things in your life.  Consider your home, your belongings, the car payments along with the maintenance and cost of insurance.  If you own your own home, how often do you worry about your mortgage payments and property taxes, replacing the furnace, refrigerator, roof or other major repairs? I only ask you these questions because these are the same questions I have pondered over the years. I have been editing my memoirs originally written over five decades ago!  Rereading my own words written so long ago caused me to once again examine my own lifestyle. The most recent memoir, Journey of a Soul – Part IV -The Land Beyond Goodbye, written in the 1980s, is subject matter mostly about my travels fleeting relationships, including my drastically diverse lifestyles and career changes. These five memoirs made me realize that when I was the happiest, I had the least amount of belongings!  The more ‘stuff’ I had, the more of a burden.  What a revelation! Instead of accumulating things – I gathered memories and experiences.  I enjoyed people from many different walks-of-life, and I was fascinated by their diverse lifestyles. I realize that things did not make me happy.  Interacting with people and pursuing my creative talents in a variety of ways filled me with joy.  My soul celebrated without the burdens of things! Views:]]>