5:59 am. Inspired. (And Thankful)

Here are my selections for the inspiring posts of the week, this Thanksgiving week:

Jeffrey Foltice @ Photo Nature Blog with his photo above titled Morning Sunburst: the sunrise is near Hudsonville, Michigan. Check out Jeff’s other amazing work here.

Greg @ Sippican Cottage with his post Thanksgiving 2013: “…I think the worst condition of man is loneliness. It is a terrible thing to be lonely, or worse, truly alone. No one goes crazy in general population. It’s solitary that eats at your mind. Even the craziest of men, immured in stone, unable to get even a glimpse of the bright, blue tent of the sky, scratch at the walls to leave a message; to tell another that they were there… I am not alone in this world, which is good, because I have a melancholy nature. I am married, and I have children to throw rolls over the table at one another. They are my name, scratched on the unyielding wall of the world, telling anyone that will bother to notice that I was here. My family makes me calm about many things…People don’t often appreciate things that come readily to hand. I’m a person… We will have enough to eat, and sit in a warm room, laugh and wonder at the dogeared cards we have been dealt, and I’ll try mightily to shed the light that is my true function, to make me more fit for my work. We will all pray over our plate like children. Thanksgiving is the only kind of prayer that you can be sure will work, because it faces backwards. I tap on the wall of the Intertunnel, too. I often feel disconnected from my fellow passengers on this spinning rock, moreso each day. I wonder if some other inmate, some fellow traveler, might hear my tapping, and be braced by the thought of a fellow internee. I often hear tapping in return, and it refreshes me to carry on.” Amazing post.  More here. 

Ed Batista with his post Things to Be Thankful For: “While I can certainly get caught up in my mini-tragedies, I’m well aware of all the things I have to be thankful for on this day, which include…Waking up without intense pain, a gift I never appreciated until it was taken away from me and, six months later, restored. The full (if imperfect) use of four limbs, two eyes, two ears. My knees, my sight and a shoulder are fading, but they still get me through the day. A childhood that instilled me with self-confidence and self-compassion…. More here.

Rob @ The Hammock Papers with his share of a Henry David Thoreau quote: “I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite – only a sense of existence.

Sundog with her share of an amazing photograph of a Norwegian sunset below.

I offer my Thanks to all of my  followers – – those that wake up with me each morning and each day – – those that take the time to share their thoughts, laughs and friendship – – in addition to those that follow silently along – – all joining me on this incredible ride.  Thank you.  And Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.