You cannot be grateful without possessing a past. That is why children are incapable of gratitude and why night prayers and dinner graces are lost on them. “Gobbles Mommy, Gobbles Grandpa …” George races through it. She has no reference points. As I get older the past widens and accumulates, all sloppy landlessness like a river, and as a result I have more clearly demarcated areas of gratitude. Things like ice cream or scenery or one good kiss become objects of a huge soulful thanks. Nothing is gobbled. This is a sign of getting old.
~ Lorrie Moore, from “Anagrams”
Notes: Quote – Thank you Beth @ Alive on All Channels. Photo: Korean froyo. by Jennifer Nguyen
Live & Learn 
That is one big ass ice cream cone! Yes, the older we get the more we have to be thankful for. My list is getting very long.
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Laughing. It is!
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Actually, that is one teeny-weeny cone with a big-ass ice-cream topping!!
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Sure is!
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simple pleasures.
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Yes.
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Reminds me of
Learn to like what doesn’t cost much. Learn to like reading, conversation, music. Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking. Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills. Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different…different from you. Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction doing your job as well as it can be done. Learn to like the song of birds, the companionship of dogs. Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things. Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day. Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.
~ Lowell C. Bennion, from Memoirs of James K. Lyon (Lulu.com, Jun 12, 2018)
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i love every word of this
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AMEN to Lowell C Bennion….. This.Is.It.
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It.is.!
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Yes, yes, yes. Love and like the “little” things
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Yes!
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Where I once gobbled, now I savor….
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Ah yes. Well packaged.
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Spot on Lori.
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That ‚Gobbels‘ made me howl with joy….. I had a ‚similar‘ misunderstood child‘s song/prayer (in Swiss German of course). Still amuses me – but this one is even better as it really is PERFECT for a prayer at the table 🙂
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It is…
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My misconception (one of many…..) of a Sunday School Song went like this: Gott ist die Liebe, Er liebt auch mich. (God is love, He also loves me) Which I craftily changed to: Gott ist die Liebe, er Lippenstift (God is love, He lip stick)….. And from there it all went downhills LOL
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Funny!
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That ‚alive on all channels‘ is AMAZING…. How on earth do you know about all of these goodies. I could lose all days to ‚channel‘ these links !
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Yes. Beth and Beth’s blog: Amazing.
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Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Indeed … ‘Truth. Taste it. No, savor it.’ Yummy …
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It makes so much sense. How can you be grateful with no life experience? How can you fully appreciate joy without having known sadness?
I’m with Lori, savouring each good thing that crosses my path…
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Yes. Deep!
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…remembering back we do appreciate but we’re so much in the moment–love the authenticity of children’s joy and laughter–it’s all still there inside us. Yes?
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Yes!
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Generally, I’ve reached the savouring age, but this size of ice cream cone demands gobbling, unless you want it to melt.
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Ha. True!
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I haven’t settled on the flavors of the twisted yogurt (maybe rose and lime or pineapple and guava ) probably way better than the spoonful of peach sorbet I ate a few days ago- I looked at the photo source and the photo was taken in Seoul , said it was yogurt. My sister in law was stationed in Seoul wonder if she happened upon that treat shop…/// “That is why children are incapable of gratitude” – I do not agree with the statement”
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Indeed…as the words from ‘Oh La La’ by Faces repeats in my head
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?
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Laughing. WP snag. Comments all jumbled. Sorry Mimi!
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Love!!
This reminds me, my new summer tradition, established last year. I get up early, coffee up, pack a cooler and leave for the beach @ Lake Michigan (about 40 mins drive). I set up my beach chair, books and cooler around 9:54 or perhaps 10:03 on the sand, with my chair angled towards the sun but where I can still see the waves. As the day progresses, the chair turns. Books are read, snacks are enjoyed, trips up the beach to the bathroom here & there. I pack up and leave when the crowds start to fill up the sand ~ around 2pm. On my way out of town, I stop at the “Tasty Treat” for a vanilla/chocolate soft serve and enjoy it all the way home………… Gobble gobble indeed!
Someday summer will come again, until then we are facing a “bomb cyclone … ” of snow and ice and other delights … https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/02/22/bomb-cyclone-2019-michigan/2951747002/?fbclid=IwAR3CylLD286NkzAWAfEK0aSW4x39qZmibjMOB9_OvaJliSdCjCbbtEGfVBk
Cheers! MJ
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Amazing summer tradition MJ. Thanks for sharing. As to bomb cyclone, had no idea what these were until you shared. Stay warm!
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Those who travel down the progressive path strive to ignore the past. Sadly, in doing so, all to often, leave the best of what we are behind and doom us to repeat the worst.
-Alan
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I’m hoping for a different outcome this time (not to repeat the worst)
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Amen!
-Alan
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This is a brilliant excerpt chock-full of wisdom in this one sentence, “You cannot be grateful without possessing a past. That is why children are incapable of gratitude…”
I am a huge fan of gratitude, and am often bewildered at the nonchalance of those receiving others’ offerings (often young adults, these days, referred to by many as ‘entitled.’) Further and larger, those who whine about life not giving them what they wish really must not realize that being grateful for everything, and I do mean everything, alters perceptions of giving and receiving so profoundly that one is simply gobsmacked with abundance on a moment-to-moment basis.
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Gobsmacked with abundance on a moment-to-moment basis. BOOM!
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😬
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