Skip to main content

Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

Palo-Santo-Candles

Finding Grace in Hardship

Oct 31, 2024 09:27AM ● By Marlaina Donato
woman looking hopeful

adl21 from Getty Images Signature/CanvaPro

With the season of gratitude comes an annual flurry of festivities. Many of us feel obligated to show up at the table when we might prefer retreating into a corner of solitude. Finding a shred of gratitude may feel like an obligatory or even impossible feat if we are buckling beneath the weight of personal problems. Well-meaning loved ones might point out the blessings in our lives, and it is easy to be snared into feeling guilty if we cannot appreciate the good.

Being thankful for crumbs when we have been denied a feast might seem a task reserved for saints, but simply having faith in an hour of plenty that is yet to come can soften the sharp edge of our hunger. Feeling gratitude for bounty that has not yet arrived, and for all that is on its way to us in its rightful season, provides us with an opportunity to see the light beyond the shadow. According to the Buddhist proverb, “Enough is a feast.” 

Seeing “enough” on the table, in the mirror, in each other and in each day is a spiritual practice worth cultivating. Reaching beyond our comfort zone by loving others when we do not feel loved or supporting someone else when we feel less-than can bring us closer to all that is slightly out of reach. Taking time to observe nature’s complex patterns—fractals within flowers, textures of trees or the edible geometry of a cauliflower—reminds us that we, too, are part of the universal order.

Finding fragments of beauty along the wayside—a child’s pure laugh, the drop of sweet honey left on the spoon or a bird’s wing reflecting the morning light—invites us to look beyond the chaotic, current chapter to see the bigger story. Choosing to remember that all chapters come to a close can help us decide what we want to write in the next one.

Marlaina Donato is an author, composer and painter. Connect at WildflowersandWoodsmoke.com


Related Articles:

pAugust de Richelieu from PexelsCanvaProbrp

The Magic of Hugs

Through the ages, various substances and lifestyle changes have been touted as panaceas, but even in our modern world there is one unexpected soul-elixir that might rival the others—the h... Read More » 

 

pGround Pictureshutterstockcombrp

A Pebble of Kindness in the Stagnant Pond

From kindergarten classrooms to inspired blogs, kindness is a practice that is encouraged throughout society. Read More » 

 

pTijanaAdobeStockcombrp

Transforming Our World: Working Together for Meaningful Change

In these turbulent times when all the old boundaries are unravelling and all the old certainties are dissolving, there is a possibility for creative transformation if we work together. Read More » 

 


Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

Follow Us On Facebook