GOLDEN SCALES, GRATITUDE AND THANKSGIVING

A few weeks ago I received an invitation to a party. It was a special 'Blog' party hosted by Al Diaz, you might know him as Father Dragon. It was a little bit mysterious, but I was informed that I and a whole list of other bloggers were invited to his his special guest on November 24th. Never one to pass up a party, I marked it on my calendar and planned to attend.

Now, let me tell you a little about what has been running through my head the past few months. I've seriously been thinking about closing down my blog. I often feel as though I'm shouting into the wind. I've felt particularly unfunny, 'dumb', and even more grammatically challenged than normal. My comments have fallen off and I have not had the time, energy, or enthusiasm to visit some of the blogs I have been highly entertained by in the past. Add to all of this ongoing computer glitches, and I've had a hard time planting my butt in the chair at my desk. Frankly, if I had not gotten so into the bi-monthly Battle of the Bands contest, I would have been long gone.

Anyway...yesterday I did attend Father Dragon's blog party. You can check it out , if you like at The Dragon Cave This was to celebrate his one year anniversary in blog land, and to do that he decided to celebrate his friends. It was a wonderful experience. I quite literally had tears running down my face reading the post and that was even before he mentioned anyone, including me, in particular. Al said some really nice things about everyone invited. The things he said about me, made me stop and think that maybe, at lease for one or two small seconds, I'm not just shouting into the wind. Maybe every so often although I might not be very smart, funny, articulate or even very interesting, I blab on enough that I say something that touches someone else's heart. Can you really ask for anything more than that? I can't.

Here's the award Al gave to me along with all of his other blog friends and what he has to say about it:

"I offer you, my Guests of Honor, the Golden Scale Award. An honorable promise is required in order to take it, though.  Displaying the Golden Scale Award on your blogs implies that you've promised to become your own hero. It means you won't wait for any special thing to happen so you can be happy (i.e. when I get this or that I'll be happy; when I no longer suffer this or that, I'll be happy).

The Golden Scale Award is not for the things you did, but for the things you'll be doing to be happy on daily basis. It's for the courage you promise to show when facing adversity. The determination you promise to have when standing for your dreams and for what you believe in. It's the wisdom of knowing life is sometimes way too difficult but overcoming those difficulties is the only way to grow into a better person and to learn something. We face our fears to find ourselves and our own worth.

There is no wisdom without experience, and knowledge is empty without wisdom. Accepting this award means you are willing to work hard to start working miracles in your own life. I want to make clear I am not suggesting you stop believing on a High Power. I believe too. I am just inviting you to take responsibility of your life, like I did, and release all your true potential.

This promise I ask of you is not to me, but to yourselves. I won't know if you keep it or not. I will go on with my life and fight my own battles, seeking to win my personal wars. But if there is any kind of Father Dragon's essence I can give you, this is it. It's up to you to take it or leave it."

I'm a big believer in personal responsibility. I do believe that LIFE IS FAIR, but sometimes you have to wait around for a while until the good things come to you (sometimes it isn't even in this lifetime). I don't always like them, but I do accept the consequences of my actions. So, Father Dragon with extreme gratitude I accept this award and the challenge that goes along with it.

I do want to take this time to say that I have many special blog friends, some who are very dear to me (You know who you are!)and have seen me through a lot and continue to do so. Many of them know just what an ornery curmudgeon I can be, and don't give me awards, dedications, or publicly say all those flowery things, but please know that I appreciate you just as much if not more, and only hope that I have made even the smallest difference (in a good way, of course) in your lives.

As Thanksgiving approaches I realize just how much I have to be thankful for.