Behold the Women Volume 1 Number 4 September 2022

A Celebration of Giving Thanks and Gratitude

Yet another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I find myself hankering for ways to keep my heart open and to nurture the attitude of gratitude that the holiday evokes for me. As I think about giving thanks and remembering to be grateful, it occurs to me that being is a verb. Thanks and gratitude require action. They are not mere emotions (although, honestly, emotions are not mere anything, emotions can be pretty powerful). But back to being. I think being grateful and thankful is not enough. I think we should really be talking about doing gratitude and thankfulness. Gratitude and thankfulness can be a way of life, of meeting life even with all of its daunting challenges.

Think about it.

We could embody gratitude and thankfulness as our approach to reality, to align with the goodness in the world, as a pathway to developing the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference. Seems to me our world could use a bit more of that these days.

And if that’s not enough, then remember, gratitude is a generous and relaxed posture that helps us be fully engaged with life. It is trusting, a quality that is often lacking in our social space. Because of that relaxed trust, work and love are easier and more enjoyable. We only live a short time. Gratitude helps our time on earth be one of joy.

So. . . you know I set off to find some words of wisdom about thankfulness and gratitude. Here is a poem and four books to enjoy with some hot chocolate. (And, here is a bit of a confession. This month I’ve included 2 books not written by women, ‘cause the books are just that good and spot on. Hope you enjoy them all!)

On Aging by Maya Angelou

Ah, I am SO grateful to always have Maya Angelou to turn to for wisdom and a smile.

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

Yes, a classic. Yes, a perennial favorite. And that just means it’s time to read it again with a fresh eye and an open heart! What’s not to love about a sprawling, heartwarming tale that follows the four young March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy—into adulthood as they confront hardship and tragedy in Civil War-era Massachusetts under the loving guidance of their mother.

Talented tomboy and author-to-be Jo, tragically frail Beth, beautiful Meg, and romantic, spoiled Amy, united in their devotion to each other and their struggles to survive in New England during the Civil War.

It is no secret that Alcott based Little Women on her own early life. While her father, the freethinking reformer and abolitionist Bronson Alcott, hobnobbed with such eminent male authors as Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne, Louisa supported herself and her sisters with "woman’s work,” including sewing, doing laundry, and acting as a domestic servant. But she soon discovered she could make more money writing. Little Women brought her lasting fame and fortune, and far from being the "girl’s book” her publisher requested, it explores such timeless themes as love and death, war and peace, the conflict between personal ambition and family responsibilities, and the clash of cultures between Europe and America.

Enjoy this wonderful story of sisterhood, selflessness, friendship, and love.

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle

"It was a dark and stormy night." So famously begins Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 classic sci-fi adventure and Newberry Medal-winning novel. Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure—one that will threaten their lives and our universe. The Meg and her two companions travel through space and time (and battles the forces of darkness along the way) to find her father, a scientist who's mysteriously disappeared. Meg is a plucky protagonist for the ages, and though her journey is beset with terrors, her family has armed her with the one thing that has the power to triumph over evil: love.

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss

This is a classic Dr. Seuss story about a boy called Duckie who feels quite unlucky, and an old man who goes on to recount all the other people who are in far more precarious a situation than he. It's a story of optimism, of looking on the bright side of things, and above all, a story about being grateful for one's place without losing the inertia to improve it.

The good Dr. Seuss shared some serious real-world wisdom in his books for kids, but at least he cushioned the blow with whimsical rhymes. In this book the lesson is: Stop complaining. Be grateful. Tons of people have it worse than you. Of course, because it’s Dr. Seuss, his example of who has it worse isn’t, say, a person suffering from a dire illness, but the crumple-horn, web-footed, green-bearded Schlottz, whose tail is entailed with un-solvable knots.

The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living, by Meik Wiking

It’s a silly little word rich with meaning. You know that warm, fuzzy feeling when you light a new candle? When you curl up on the couch with a fresh cup of tea? When you snuggle with your favorite person in all the world? That’s hygge (pronounced Hoo-ga), and it may well be the secret to Danish happiness. Hygge loosely translates into a sense of well-being, coziness, togetherness and contentment. The book has lots of easy tips for achieving hygge (like eating more sweets). But perhaps the most important is feeling gratitude for the little things in the here and now.

Denmark is often said to be the happiest country in the world. That's down to one thing: hygge. 'Hygge has been translated as everything from the art of creating intimacy to cosiness of the soul to taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things. My personal favourite is cocoa by candlelight...' You know hygge when you feel it. It is when you are cuddled up on a sofa with a loved one or sharing comfort food with your closest friends. It is those crisp blue mornings when the light through your window is just right. Who better than Meik Wiking to be your guide to all things hygge? Meik is CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen and has spent years studying the magic of Danish life. In this beautiful, inspiring book he will help you be more hygge: from picking the right lighting and planning a dinner party through to creating an emergency hygge kit and even how to dress.

So, read on my good friends. Read on.

(And if you are still looking for something to read, there is always my novel, Letters from Eleanor Roosevelt, available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNQKYBX7/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= )

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