Carol A. Hand
Reasons To Be Thankful – I

*
I know I’m not what you were looking for
to ease the loneliness and sadness of loss
I’m too little and the wrong gender
but I really am meant to be your friend
I promise to make you laugh
and touch your heart with my cuteness
I’ll raise my head in song
*
*
and trot down the sidewalk
with my waving tail held high
I’ll lick your feet
even though you don’t like it
just to remind you I care
Please be kind and take me with you
to a new forever home
I promise you that you won’t regret it
*

*
I know you love me but, oh, the indignity
of this cobbled-together winter suit you make me wear.
***
Reasons To Be Thankful – II
Endings are often exciting new beginnings. So it was last evening as my colleague and I listened to the students we have been working with during the past semester share their final research and community practice presentations.
This past semester, we focused on the connections between access to clean water and community health. The assignments involved exploring prior research, proposing and conducting a small study, and planning a community event to raise awareness about issues surrounding their community’s drinking water and waterways.
*

*
Although final classes often mean saying goodbye to people one has learned to care about, there is also a sense of gratitude for the chance to encourage others to celebrate the wonders of life. Learning how to “do research” can help us remember the wonder and curiosity we felt about life and the world around us as children.
There is no way of predicting what the future effects of these lessons will be, but my colleague and I have done what we can to open hearts and minds to possibilities.
“I didn’t realize how much I learned until I looked back at where I started.”
“I never thought about the importance of water before.”
“Doing this study helped me learn so much more about the issues in my community.”
We ended our final class by sharing part of the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address:
“We give thanks to all of the waters of the world for quenching our thirst, for providing strength and nurturing life for all beings. We know its power in many forms – waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans, snow and ice. We are grateful that the waters are still here meeting their responsibility to the rest of Creation. Can we agree that water is important in our lives and bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to the Water? Now our minds are one.” (as cited in Kimmerer, 2013, p. 108).
I am truly grateful for the opportunity to teach in partnership with a dear colleague who has worked hard to create a liberatory space and to our students who give me hope for the future.
“In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught” (Baba Dioum)
Some links to explore for more information about the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address:
- https://americanindian.si.edu/environment/pdf/01_02_Thanksgiving_Address.pdf
- http://www.nylearns.org/module/content/search/item/5114/viewdetail.ashx#sthash.msMZcLSZ.dpbs
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr6IoJ9iA0c (how to pronounce Haudenosaunee)
Source Cited:
Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions.
To our amazing canine companion rescues. And clean water! This is a lovely share and message, Carol.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comments, Eric. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great, dear Carol. My congratulations! And have a nice holiday time!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you for your lovely comments and blessings, Maria. May your holidays be filled with warmth, love, and laughter. ❤
LikeLiked by 2 people
🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for sharing an excerpt from the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address. A beautiful expression of appreciation to the gift of water (life).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments, Bette. (The full Thanksgiving Address is beautiful and can be accessed on one of the the links listed above. )
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful. Happy Holidays Carol.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Dear Kathy, hearing from you is such a gift! Thank you for your lovely comments and blessings. I hope all is well and send my best wishes to you and your family. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
What an adorable pup – he has character! So glad you get a break from teaching now, Carol. We will chat soon!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much for your kind words, Trace. Pinto is adorable and a delightful companion. I do look forward to chatting! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is a good looking pup. And a good singer. She would be running Willow in a second. I’m glad to hear the classes went so well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Bob. Hearing from you is always a gift. ❤
LikeLike
Beautiful! Wishing you a happy and blessed holiday Carol 🙂 ❤
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much for your lovely comments and blessings, Takami. May your holidays be filled with joy, warmth, and wonder. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a delightful dog perspective, made me smile. But the one that really moved me was the wonderful piece about connecting and thanksgiving – two rich things we desperately need in our world right now.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Paul, thank you once again for your always thoughtful, lovely comments. It has been a gift to see and be grateful for our connections to nature and each other more intensely in order to have something of value to share with my grandchildren and students. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, how wonderful and whole, the relationship of all that is.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your little companion is so sweet, Carol. I went back and read the stories. The video is so funny. I think I could recognize the flower duet even if the ‘background’ version was muted 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much, Inese, for your delightful comments. You have an amazing ear for music! It is, indeed, the Flower Duet. It is Pinto’s favorite song. Although he does sing along with others, he can’t resist lifting his head to join in whenever he hears the Flower Duet and it never fails to make me smile or laugh because he is so serious and adorable when he sings. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can tell that he has had many rehearsals. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 ❤
LikeLike
These are definitely reasons to be thankful. My dog sings too but he does it to accompany his squeaky ball while yours does it to opera – I think you have a higher class of dog 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much for your delightful comments, Andrea. (My dog only runs away from his squeaky toys. 🙂 )
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you for putting a very big smile on my face with this heart warming post of your pet, so so so adorable!!! I also take the opportunity to send my warmest wishes for the seasons festivities ❤ 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comments, Saadia. Hearing from you is always a gift. 🙂 Sending you my best wishes to you. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
gratitude for this
ceremony of teaching
truth 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hearing from you is always a gift, David. Thank you for your continuing kindness. Sending my best wishes to you. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the lovely holiday blessings, Superduque. My your holidays and new year be filled with love, laughter and joy. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
LikeLiked by 1 person
❤
LikeLike
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Superduque. Wishing you a happy new year, too. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy New Year, my friend! How wonderful you could see the sparks of passion and learning in your students over a topic that needs more attention in this society. Your poem made me smile, especially with the winter suit–my mom’s got winter coat and boots for her dog, and he utterly loathes them. 🙂 xxxxx
LikeLiked by 2 people