Archive for November, 2008
BEING THANKFUL!
Posted by | CommentsBy Betty Odak, Editor -Culled from the internet:
The First Thanksgiving!
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.
Historians have also recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged “Thanksgiving” to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record. Whether at
Plymouth, Berkeley Plantation, or throughout the
Americas, celebrations of thanks have held great meaning and importance over time. The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, have survived the centuries as people throughout the United States gather family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal.
Even though other countries do not celebrate Thanksgiving on a specific day as Americans do, we all have something to be thankful for. Thanksgiving everyone! Eat, be merry, thanksgiving comes but only once a year.
Who lives in your neighborhood?
Posted by | CommentsBy Dalen Garris, Dallas, TX
Where I grew up as a kid back East, everyone lived in neighborhoods. The people who lived on your street were part of the neighborhood, almost like an extended family. In a strange way, we were all connected by our neighborhood – it defined us, shaped us, and supported us in ways that exceeded even our families.I see Life in a similar way. We all live in a City of Life, and we have chosen to reside in certain social neighborhoods within that City. These neighborhoods are defined by their jobs and careers, their moral or immoral values, or by their hobbies and pastimes. Whatever it is in Life that really drives our hearts is what determines our social neighborhood. It is not the physical streets of brick and pavement, but the avenues of the heart where we really reside, and our neighborhoods are populated by those whose life’s pursuits are the same as ours.Just as in the physical world, there are a lot of reasons why we choose our spiritual neighborhoods. Some of us just settle for wherever we live, while most of us move around the City of Life until we find the group that we feel most comfortable in. And, of course, there are always the homeless that wander around with no home at all. Read More→
Stress from Divorce or Seperation:
Posted by | CommentsBetty Odak, Editor
The deterioration or ending of an intimate relationship is a potent stressor and a frequent reason why people seek psychological treatment. Divorce, though more generally accepted today, is still a tragic and usually stressful outcome to a once close and trusting relationship. Marital disruption is a major source of vulnerability to psychopathology: people who are recently divorced or separated are markedly overrepresented among people with psychological problems. Many factors make a divorce or separation unpleasant and stressful for everyone concerned:
- The acknowledgement of failure in a relationship important both personally and culturally;
- The necessity of explaining the failure to family and friends;
- The loss of valuable friendships that often accompanies the ruptures;
- The economic uncertainties and hardships that both partners frequently experience;
- and when children are involved, the problem of custody;
- Including court battles, living arrangements and so on.
After the divorce or separation, new problems typically emerge. The readjustment to a single life, perhaps after many years of marriage, can be a difficult experience. Since in many cases it seems that friends as well as assets have to divided, new friendships need to be made. New romantic relationship may require a great deal of personal change. Even when the separation has been relatively amicable, new strength to adapt and cope is needed. This it is not surprising that divorce may motivate the task-oriented coping response of seeking counseling after the breakup of a significant relationship. It is important to seek help before and after separation or divorce to avoid unnecessary psychological effect that could be long term and hard to treat in the future.
