Thankful Thursday: Speaking of Love...

If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul. -- Rabbi Harold Kushner

Love is missing someone whenever you're apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you're close in heart. ~Kay Knudsen

Disclaimer!!! all views presented beyond this point reflect one side of the many interpretations of the very vast understanding of "Love" i have...so it's by no means er..the summary of my opinion...now..

I'd say that most of all, Love is..giving a sh...ahem, Love is caring. It's that situation you find yourself in where you genuinely care about the wellbeing and happiness of another person. You want them to be well and healthy and happy and will do whatever is in your power to bring them this happiness...It's not about grand gestures and the purchase of gold plated Submarines, for instance...(This variety, i'll have to point out tends to feel like a slap to the face for me...like, heeeey, i really didn't and don't have time to think about what it is that you like, what would be special to you, but here, this seems shiny and expensive enough...no? That is cold...impersonal...not my idea of the point i'm trying to make)..It's the subconscious thing that goes on when you see, say...a stuffed toy and think of the smile it will put on your little sisters face, or going into advanced recipe research because you know such and such is his favourite food...lol will not even attempt to go into confession on that one....long story short, it's the itsy bitsy things that creep up on you and you realize...hey...i care. I care that they are okay, i care that they are not stressing out...teh..i've gone off on a rant...

Funny how i'm typing this in reverse..originally i started this in my journal working from consciousness/awareness and how that puts Love firmly on the list of Good Things...because see when you love/are in love? it sharpens your senses, it makes you aware of not just you and your feelings, but it makes you sensitive to another persons' and that is....that is quite the eye opening experience...to care about another person...ironic how it makes you grow...sebi they say the same about giving...when you give, you get given a whole lot more in return...dunno if i'm making sense anymore...

In summary though, at this point, the picture in my head looks somehow like so...Love=Very good thing, because it facilitates a heightened awareness and sensitivity and that=growth of you as an individual and basicallllllly...it's just bags of rewards for everyone involved...good cycle! :P...Loving someone deeply gives you strength; while being deeply loved gives you courage. -- Lao Tzu

And so...

I am thankful for Love!!!! for the above mentioned reasons, naturally, and for so many more...for His love, for the love of friends and family....it's amazing how the positive energy it creates keeps you going..

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart...Elizabeth Foley<<<>

I am thankful for God...I am thankful that i was able to be in a time and place where it was possible for me to know Him like i do...i am thankful that i didn't get trapped in a dogma world, but i am able to have a relationship with Him that i understand and am comfortable with....

I am thankful for His word...Psalms, Proverbs and dear ol James...gratitude, wisdom, and how to live...lol i do realize that the rest of it is important too, silly...but Chronicles, Lamentations and Job dey tire person..the thing is called Lamentations for crying out loud!!! :P

I am thankful for him...for the friendship we have going...it's the strangest thing, and sometimes i have to give myself a "no, you're not hallucinating" speech lol...i'm soooooo Thankful!!!

I am thankful for Prayer...what happens when you pray, meditate, focus on the conversation with Him, and with yourself...mindblowing things are liable to happening :P

I am thankful for Joss Stone...grrr! i wuv her voice!

I am thankful for that incredibly nice young man at the shoe store...one gets so used to snooty people that you learn to be apprehensive and on your guard...it's pleasant for things to be pleasant :D not to mention all the conspiratory discounts he pulled out of thin air....God should bless him and his lucky wife jor :P

I am thankful for shoes!!! aaaarrrrghhhhhh!! drool much? there is an indescribable happiness that the perfect heel can bring...blanked out all excuses and got some insane (ish? :P) heels...mmmm it's going to be a sexay summer :D

I am thankful for foood! grrrrrr...eat, drink, and be merry...uh HUH..cuz at the end of the day..it's all about food, admit it dammit! cooking it, ogling it, and then...*sigh* food is good :P

I am thankful for food blogs..such talent! such inspiration!...and the fact that food bloggers are the sweetest type of us out there...people that like food cannot be bad people. fact.

I am thankful for kindness.

I am thankful for being able to help when and with what i can...

I am thankful that people are all so different..imagine how utterly boring it would be if it was otherwise...I am thankful for people, individuals..getting to know them, getting to know all about them :P *The King and I, in case any one was wondering :P each person with their unique story, the little things that make them them....lovely!

I am thankful for old movies ^_^

I am thankful for when scenes and dialogues from movies, or lyrics from a song fit just perfect into your conversation or thought...:D cuz i'm cheesy like that

I am thankful for quotes! i think i might have discovered my elusive hobby...quote collecting! and i use them quite liberally too! not my fault that they are so spot on sometimes!!!

I am thankful for the way God sees me through what i fear to be overwhelming situations...i'm a tad paranoid sometimes, but i've learned to not panic and be comforted by the knowledge that He won't leave me hanging...and He hasn't...He has seen me through this week meyn! and the week before, and the month before, and every hour of everyday..i'm just megablessed meyn :D

I am thankful for His comfort...

I am thankful for His encouragement, which is often not so subtle..my bible always randomly opens to some super uplifting verse :D

I am thankful for my mother...she is totally my best friend, and my most favourite person in the whole wide world...like she says, how many friends can love you as genuinely as i do? and thats sooo true...she's the best! She's my first blessing in life...i am thankful for who she is, i am thanful for how she raised me, i am thankful for how she's so much cooler than me :P ..it's like i'm a gumpy old woman and she's the hippie-lets-have-fun-dammit person :D we go together like nutella and crepes! ha!

I am thankful for memories.....a memory, a melody, or just one vision..lately, i've been having a lot of those...they feel like little hugs..the flashbacks and the way memories of us pop up and leave me grinning...and feeling kinda empty and hollow and wanting to cry at the same time...*sigh* memories are good..they keep you going...

I am thankful for my daddy :D

I am thankful for my incredibly sweet sisters...the love they have for me humbles me...and they are soooooo smart, and and talented and and..i'm so proud of my babies! :D

I am thankful for my acquired family..hehe, i have so many brothers and sisters and inlaws and husbands and misters and wifes sef...i am thankful that i know people crazy enough to play along

I am thankful for our craZiness....seriously...you should hear our conversations ^_^..utterly delightful!

I am thankful for the way he inspires me...lol...i dunno what it is, but i go off on quite a bit of much appreciated thought tangents talking to him...or because of him or...arggh you grab jor! :P

I am thankful...that i got to at least see my grandmas cousin in my lifetime, and not just hear stories after he passed...R.I.P

I am thankful that my relationship with my grandma has improved sooooo much!!!, i am thankful for how much she loves me and cares about me and fusses over me...my prayer is that i appreciate her fully and never ever hurt her with insensitivity...okay...she's here now and seems to be going out of her way to press my buttons...Strength lord, strength!!!! ARGH! how can i not be sarcastic when she's begging for it? *breathe, breathe...she means well, she means well*..

I am thankful for my grandpas jokes!!! he is cool peoplez!

I am thankful that...that i threw away my super slims today...shouldn't have started in the first place...but...but.....it does require a bit of willpower to just chuck 'em, you know?

I am thankful that i got to see Ivi today...:( she moved Cities! and and...and i missed her silly

I am thankful for the tonZ of inside jokes we seem to generate as we go...

I am thankful for my bedsheets...no really...they are a shade of blue i'm not quite used to, with giant daisies...i look forward to going to bed ^_^

I am thankful for and yummy smelling body product ever made, and am extra thankful for the babies i have in my posession :D

I am thankful for writing....was reading my journal the other day and thinking...WHO wrote that?? it's really important to write...you figure out so much...*makes mental note to write more often

I am thankful for Ballet!...i already missed out on Don Quixote for this month...ah well...theres always next month..

I am thankful for the way He ALWAYS has a plan...a good one..so i don't even stress anymore and just let him guide me...didn't get on the bus? no problz...theres a reason why...no, no, i'm not a crazed fatalist..just happen to have a lot of Faith in God...

I am thankful for this week!...ahem, and even more for the fact that it's almost over...YAY!!! :D time be going by so quick..blink...and it's Summer!

I am thankful that my prayers get answered...sooner, later, but they do get answered...like how i always really liked travelling...and now i have so many options of what to do this summer that i'm really quite confused and absolutely lacking in time...three months is NOT enough time to contain His answers!!! :P

I am thankful for when He corrects my mistakes and saves me from dealing with the results of my foolishness...for this i can be only thankful

I am thankful for how He saves me from the wrong path each and every time....He pulls me out just in time, and reminds me that His plans for me a worth more than a few foolish decisions...like the Jacob and Esau reference that randomly opened one day..do not sell your birthright for a moments worth of pleasure....all too easy a trap to fall into.word. Asking yourself, "is this worth loosing out in the bigger picture?" and putting it up out there like that tends to help put things in perspective..

I'm thankful for this thing He's teaching me about replacing negativity with prayer...say you know some truly horrible person and could write a three volume encyclopedia on their faults...but pointing out the obvious does absolutely nothing except poison your mind and put your er...good deeds? account in the red....so next time you want to pass some righteous judgment, swallow your words and say a prayer addressing that problem instead for the person...sometimes, it's very difficult...but i'm trying Lord, i'm trying!!! :P

Have i mentioned how thankful i am that He quite often will physically uproot me from a bad situation? and will keep dragging me away until i see for myself why i don't need to be where i'm at....

I am thankful for His patience...

I am thankful for His persistence

I am thankful for the oranges and purples and golds and pinks and yellows of sunsets....omdaze i love sunsets!!! 5pm in PH always felt like a hug at my endz :)

I am thankful that i have more than one place to call home

I am thankful for languages....

I am thankful for jokes

I am thankful for laughs

I am thankful for watching movies online! ha!

I am thankful for getting homework done even if i, at some point think that they will be the death of me

I am thankful for hot showers

I am thankful for books!!!!

I am thankful for yet another day here...living, breathing, loving, seeing, feeling, smiling, crying....for being alive!!!

I am thankful, really truly thankful that i care about you, S....lol because when i think of it...i don't think i've ever really met Z...

I am thankfulllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!

Have a great er...weekend/next week....will attempt to do a non TT post within the week though.

Stay blessed, and embrace the love!!!