harvesting grace

For me, one of the most enchanting Italian customs is how guests are often introduced to the kitchen staff, cooks and servers who are parents, siblings, nephews, aunts, uncles, etc. It an embracing gesture of family pride, honor and respect where guests can't help but feel welcome and appreciated. 

And then... there are the family photographs on the walls. Photos of ancestors.

Oh my. 

I love these more than I can say.

Often they are not even in a frame. Just tacked up.

 Simply and sincerely.

 Lovingly and respectfully... 

Displaying the photos serves as a blessing, a tradition, a connection to the past.  

But they are also a physical symbol of the loving energy present in that space.

 ("Energy" as in the 7th grade science definition: "that which can neither be created nor destroyed"). One that is not only seen, but felt. 

A tangible energy born out of passion, honor and integrity,

 and a grand example of how all of us have the power to choose

 the energy we extend to the world each day, 

and in each moment.

Wishing you the blessings of family and friends on this day of thanks!

"You can only sing what you are. 

You can only paint what you are.

You must be what your experiences, 

your environment, 

and your heredity have made you...

For better or worse, 

you must play your own little instrument in the orchestra of life."

~Dale Carnegie~