All the World’s a Stage – At West End Gallery
I can pass days
Stretch’d in the shade of those old cedar trees,
Watching the sunshine like a blessing fall,–
The breeze like music wandering o’er the boughs,
Each tree a natural harp,–each different leaf
A different note, blent in one vast thanksgiving.
–Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802-1838)
Day before Thanksgiving, that single day we set aside to express our gratitude. One day doesn’t seem enough, does it?
The verse above says it all. Just lazing in the woods, taking in the sights and sounds of the beauty and grace that surrounds us always, makes that one day seem woefully insufficient.
I guess it comes down to us– as does everything, actually– to spread our thanks more broadly throughout the year.
That’s it. That’s today’s message. Be thankful I didn’t go on and on. Now go out and spend some time with some trees.
FYI: Letitia Elizabeth Landon was an English poet and novelist who was a great influence on the generation of writers that followed her. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, Robert Browning, and Tennyson are noted as being influenced by her. In her time, Landon was sometimes referred to as the female Byron. Her story is interesting and tragic, but I am not going to go into here in great detail except to say that she was forgotten or overlooked for many decades due to the misinformation and rumors of immorality that were leveled at her.
Here’s a song for this morning that goes somewhat with the subject of appreciating the bou nty of nature. It’s a favorite of mine, Nature Boy. I’ve shared the story of this song and the man who wrote and originally performed it, eden ahbez, several times here in the past. Another interesting story. If you know this song it is probably from the magical version of Nat King Cole. Certainly my favorite. But today I am sharing a performance from from the Swedish a cappella group, The Real Group. I shaed it here a couple of years back and really love the way their voices blend on this gracefully simple song.
Redtree Times 