A Thanksgiving Poem: Counting My Blessings!

Counting my Blessings!
a poem by Dr. Angi
(Angela Kowitz Orobko, Ed.D.)

I am blessed to be alive,
to have all ten fingers
and  to have all ten toes.

I am blessed to have
the gift of sight and
to smell wonderful fragrances
with my beautiful nose.

I am blessed to have
two sturdy, supporting limbs
that are attached
to my nearly perfect feet.

I am blessed to have
the gift of a caring heart
that is healthy and warm
and never skips a beat!

I am blessed to have
two strong arms
to hug and embrace
and carry a load.

I am blessed with
two wonderful hands
that allow me to wave,
to paint and to write this ode.

I am blessed with a great family:
supportive parents, a loving sister,
and an amazing husband.

I am blessed with all the people
in my life, from all over the world, the internet
and in my community whom I consider friends.

I can go on and on with an inexhaustible list.
But I know you get the idea that I FEEL so very, very blessed!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Grateful for Handwritten Notes and Letters (TY-29)

There is something special about receiving a hand-written note.
~ Dr. Angi K. Orobko

Hand-written notes and letters are such a gift! I feel that the person behind it took that extra special time to scribe it just for me. Handwriting is becoming a lost art as more and more of our children are learning keyboarding instead of handwriting. I am aware that many school system’s no longer require and/or include cursive writing in their lessons anymore. I feel that is quite a loss.

With the dawning of computers and hand-held digital devices, more and more of us are typing and text-messaging (texting). Our own language cannot even keep up with the new verbs we are creating as we type messages on our mobile phones and other electronic devices. Furthermore, our words have been reduced to acronyms. LOL (laugh out loud) Am I the only one finding it hard to keep up with all of this digital-techno-speak?

Oh, please do not misunderstand. I do appreciate the convenience of being able to communicate any time I like, 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week); but, it does seem just a tad bit less personal. Don’t you think? The internet is certainly an amazing source for information (and misinformation).

Most questions can be answered at the tip of our fingertips by doing a Google search. Has “google” become a verb? I googled it and Wikipedia states that the Oxford English and Merriam Webster Collegiate dictionaries have added it in 2006. Really? And yet, my spellchecker has it red-lined. Hmm!

Let me get back on the topic of hand-written notes. On the one side, I love receiving them. I deeply appreciate and I am grateful for the time and effort that went into a note or letter that has been handwritten. On the flip side, I love to write them. Why? When I hand-write a note, a letter, or a journal entry, it allows me to slow down and take time and reflect. It can be quite meditative.

One of my favorite gifts to give others especially around the holidays are hand-written messages (in their holiday cards). I believe these messages are deeply appreciated, even though many of my loved ones do not reciprocate this. I usually get a Merry Christmas and a signature. It saddens me to think that holiday card exchanges have been reduced down to a chore. This is a golden opportunity to scribe a special message to share how much we appreciate our family and friends with hand-written messages.

Consider taking the time to reflect and appreciate your loved ones this holiday season by sending a  hand-written message of love, appreciation and blessings. Why not make it a new Thanksgiving tradition to gather the family to hand-write notes and messages of gratitude to include with your holiday cards? I am certain these notes will be well received. That is what I intend to do this year.

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Grateful for Goodness (TY-25)

As we appreciate the goodness in the world and in people, we plant seeds, nurture these seeds and create roots for more goodness to grow in the world and develop in people. More and more, I am seeing some wonderfully kind deeds being done, large and small. This is the time of year, where there are so many opportunities to contribute time and resources to others. People tend to be just a bit more kinder this time of year as we approach Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas.

I know of many people who are finding ways to help. I have a friend in Utah, who is putting together a Christmas Tree to be auctioned to the highest bidder as a fundraiser for a Children’s Hospital. It will be covered in handmade art from contributing artists. I am honored to be one of the contributing artists. I have hand-painted 3 small canvases that will be hung on that Christmas Tree. I deeply appreciate every time I witness others helping others. I am grateful that people do know how to come together and contribute time and resources when others really need it. All this goodness is appreciated. Thank goodness!

P.S. I will post images of the art I made tomorrow; I made 3 canvases, which are almost complete. They just need to dry.

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Grateful for Kindness (TY-15)

We are blessed to be in a world where most people value kindness and compassion. I am extremely grateful for kindness and those who practice it daily. Witnessing kindness in action is one of the most uplifting events to observe.

I am grateful to be able to practice love and kindness daily in every aspect of my life. Love and kindness brings such value to my life and my purpose. I am an advocate of kindness and I delight in promoting love and kindness in everything I write, paint and do. Focusing on kindness, brings more kindness to myself and others. Kindness is the center of my being.   I profoundly appreciate kindness.

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Upcoming Long Weekend and Gratitude

Many countries in the Americas and Spain celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas, which happened on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday. The landing is celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, which will be observed Monday, October 14th this year (2013). It is also the Canadian Thanksgiving Day.

According to Wikipedia, Canadian Thanksgiving coincides with the U.S. observance of Columbus Day since the United States implemented the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1971 (most countries in the Western Hemisphere fix Columbus Day to October 12). As it is, U.S. towns with high amounts of Canadian tourism will often hold their fall festivals over Thanksgiving/Columbus Day weekend in part to draw and accommodate Canadian tourists.

This leads me to my next topic: gratitude. a state of being appreciative or thankful.

This is a wonderful time of the year to start counting blessings and expressing gratitude. After the long weekend, starting Tuesday, October 15, between Columbus Day and the U.S. Thanksgiving Day (November 28), I intend to write daily (Monday – Friday) about all the things for which I feel grateful. That is 32 blessings I will count, appreciate, and share with you between the 2 holidays.

This is my opportunity to publicly open my grateful heart and share with everyone the top 32 things I am most grateful, the blessings in my life I most appreciate. I hope you will join me by either keeping a private journal or publicly sharing on your blog, on Facebook, Twitter or in the comment section below. Let us be thankful together. And, as a bonus challenge, let us go out and say thank you to at least 32 different people in the next few weeks. And, please feel free to share your experiences.

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say “thank you?”  ~William A. Ward

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The Day Before Christmas

The Day Before Christmas

by: Dr. Angela Kowitz Orobko

It was the day before Christmas
and all through the land.
People trying to complete
their last-minute Christmas plans.

Goodwill is around us,
if you open your eyes;
See people acting kindly;
it is Jesus in disguise.

Smiles and laughter
will rule this day,
With Christmas carols
playing along the way.

However, keep in mind
that a few souls will be
Not as much into Christmas
celebration as you and me.

A hole in their heart from a past
event that brought them despair.
Let us create for them new memories
and fill them with love and tender care.

Appreciate and value every
person that crosses your way,
Know them or not, express love
and kindness; make their day.

Christmas can be a magnificent
and marvelous time to bring
A new season of compassion and love,
let every bell chime and every voice sing.

“Merry Christmas to all and to all Love and Thanksgiving!”

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Counting my Blessings!

Counting my Blessings!
a poem by Dr. Angi K. Orobko

I am blessed to be alive,
to have all ten fingers
and  to have all ten toes.

I am blessed to have
the gift of sight and
to smell wonderful fragrances
with my beautiful nose.

I am blessed to have
two sturdy, supporting limbs
that are attached
to my nearly perfect feet.

I am blessed to have
the gift of a caring heart
that is healthy and warm
and never skips a beat!

I am blessed to have
two strong arms
to hug and embrace
and carry a load.

I am blessed with
two wonderful hands
that allow me to wave,
to paint and to write this ode.

I am blessed with a great family:
supportive parents, a loving sister,
and an amazing husband.

I am blessed with all the people
in my life, from all over the world, the internet
and in my community whom I consider friends.

I can go on and on with an inexhaustible list.
But I know you get the idea that I FEEL so very, very blessed!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Are We All UNDER PRESSURE?

Okay, so it is less than 24 hours to Thanksgiving Day; and, soon after that the kick-off to the craziest shopping day of the year. But all the shopping and pressure is not what Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays of Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas and Kwanzaa are all about. The focus of these  holidays center around love, appreciation, hope, birth and rebirth.  We get to enjoy and love each other.

Yes, one of the ways we in the Western modern world express love and appreciation is through material gifts, which leads to “shopping,” but it does not have to be the focus of our holidays. The best expression of our love and appreciation can be the gift of time, the gift of loving words and actions, and the gift of enjoying each other’s company. Right? As the end of the song, “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie, expresses…

Can’t we give ourselves one more chance
Why can’t we give love that one more chance
Why can’t we give love give love give love give love
give love give love give love give love give love
‘Cause love’s such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And loves dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last chance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

Let us give ourselves that chance to be love for others during this holiday season. Let go of the stress and worry. No more pressure! Those you love and who love you will not be disappointed if all you give them is your love and time. In fact, you may be relieving them of pressure to give you material things. Now, that truly is a gift. Enjoy each other’s company! Love, appreciate and enjoy each other! Happy Thanksgiving!

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Use Words for Encouragement

Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Ephesians 4:29 NLT

Kind words that are spoken to others are not only good and helpful, but these words also lift the spirits of both the recipient and the speaker of those words. It is a double blessing as well as being an act of love and compassion.  In order to let everything we say be good and helpful, we are given the opportunity to take pause to reflect and think before we speak. We get to take time with others. We are afforded the chance to be deliberately mindful and kind. Then in turn, our words will be encouraging and may be even inspiring to those who hear them. Now, that is a beautiful gift.

One of my favorite quotes that reinforces today’s message that I never grow tired of hearing and expressing is from Mother Teresa: Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their
echoes are truly endless.

Also, making the rounds on the internet is the “Before You Speak…THINK” campaign. The campaign’s anagram uses THINK, which conveys the above bible quote beautifully: “Before you speak, THINK: Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?” I used these words to create the above image to go with today’s message. Feel free to share it as long as you keep my website information on it. May this inspire you over the holidays as we mingle with friends and family whom we have not seen in a while (for one reason or another). Be the change you wish to see in the world and in them. THINK. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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Grateful to be a Creative Life Coach

I am blessed and grateful that I am in a profession where I get to inspire people. Tonight I had the privilege to encourage Jane Sebastian during a fabulous creative life coaching session. Jane is working on some profound projects and goals as a Life Alchemist; and, each week we connect to evolve her creativity, which in turn facilitates her growth as a Life Alchemist and Entrepreneur. Jane had several doable goals for this upcoming short work week of Thanksgiving, where she needed some focus.

I am having her clear her work area of any distractions. She will set up only the tools she needs to complete her goals and an activity I assigned to focus and inspire her. It is a appreciation-creativity exercise that I fashioned called Gratitude Strips. Jane will start each work session by taking a strip of color printer paper that she will pre-cut into 1 inch by 11 inches rectangles. On that strip she will write, “I am grateful for the opportunity to …” and she will complete the sentence as it relates to her projects and goals. She is to take a moment to think and reflect about what she wrote on that gratitude slip. This activity will help Jane focus and spur a bit of inspiration and creativity into her work session.

Jane is totally excited and inspired. I am looking forward to our check-in session next week. She is doing phenomenal things with her goals and her dreams. And, you can, too!

I invite you to try Gratitude Strips with your upcoming goals for the week. When you do, I would love for you to share your experience with me. You can contact me (Dr. Angela K. Orobko) by visiting my website: www.HeartsThatCare.net and go to contact us.