Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/94909
Thursday, November 22, 2012 – Daily News FEATURES A Thanksgiving Prayer reprinted Our special thanks to those readers who are spending the day volunteering at shelters and soup kitchens. Bless you for your kind hearts and generosity of spirit. Dear Annie: A few times in the past, you have printed a Thanksgiv- ing Prayer. The first time I saw it, I cut it out of the paper and read it at our Thanksgiving table. It perfectly expressed what I wanted to say. Unfortunately, I misplaced the poem last year. With all of the chaos after the big meal, I think it was accidentally thrown out. Would you please print it again? This time I will be sure to put it in a very spe- cial place so I can have it to read every year. — Grateful in Arizona Dear Grateful: With pleasure. Here it is: Thanksgiving Prayer We come to this table today, O Lord, humble and thankful and glad. Thanksgiving to one and all! We hope you are fortu- nate enough to be spending the holiday with family and friends. We also hope you remembered those who are alone today and would love to be part of your family on this occasion. If it's too late to include them this year, please make a note on your calendar to invite them next year. Dear Readers: Happy We thank Thee first for the great Umpqua Bank cele- brates the spirit of the hol- iday season with the launch of its Joy of Giv- ing campaign on Face- book. Starting Tuesday, Nov. 20, fans are encour- aged to post about their favorite nonprofits, and Umpqua Bank will ran- domly select organiza- tions to share in grants totaling $50,000. The Joy of Giving campaign will run miracle of life, for the exal- tation of being human, for the capacity to love. We thank Thee for joys both great and simple — For wonder, dreams and hope; For the newness of each Annie's Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar stranger; For the arching of the earth and trees and heavens and the fruit of all three; For the wisdom of the old; For the courage of the young; For the promise of the child; For the strength that comes when day; For laughter and song and a merry heart; For compassion waiting within to be kindled; For the forbearance of friends and the smile of a but I fought the temptation with all of my might. Tossing and turning with antici- pation, the thought of a snack became infatuation. So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door potatoes, and gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore. I gobbled up turkey and buttered pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes. ground. till all of a sudden, I rose off the I felt myself swelling so plump and so round, I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky with a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie. needed; For this family united here today. Of those to whom much is given, much is required. May we and our children remember this. Amen. Dear Readers: Here's one more poem, on the lighthearted side, sent in by a longtime reader. We hope you enjoy it: Twas the Night of Thanksgiving, author unknown Twas the night of Thanksgiving, But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees... Happy Eating to all! Pass the cranberries, please! Annie's Snippet for Thanksgiv- ing (credit Dick Gregory): ''One of the things I keep learning is that the secret of being happy is doing things for other people.'' Annie's Mailbox is written by but I just couldn't sleep. I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep. The leftovers beckoned — the dark meat and white, through Sunday, Dec. 16, at www.facebook.com/ump quabank. "Every day, our com- munities are enriched by the dedication and contri- butions of nonprofit orga- nizations that provide a great service to our com- munities," said Ray Davis, president and CEO of Umpqua Bank. "Like Umpqua, our customers and neighbors are pas- The Area Board 2 is a State of Cal- ifornia agency, attached to the State Council on Developmental Disabili- ties. The board advocates and pro- tects the legal, civil, and service rights of people with developmental disabil- ities. vides volunteer members with a unique opportunity to improve policy, practice and services for people with developmental disabilities and their families in Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity counties. Serving on the Area Board 2 pro- Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. Bank to hold $50,000 Facebook giveaway sionate about the nonprof- its in our communities and we wanted to provide an opportunity for them to join with us in celebrating these organizations – and giving back in a meaning- ful way." To participate in the Joy of Giving, individuals simply visit www.face- book.com/umpquabank and post about a favorite nonprofit organization. Posts should include the The Board has 14 volunteer members; nine are appointed by the Board of Supervisors and the nine- county region (one from each coun- ty), and five are appointed by the governor. Individuals interested in serving as a board member should demonstrate an interest in human service activi- ties, including advocating for individ- uals and policies affecting positive outcomes for people with develop- mental disabilities. The board welcomes applications from all interested individuals, name of the nonprofit, its location and a brief expla- nation of why it's valued. Nominated nonprofits must be located within Umpqua Bank's four- state territory http://www.umpqua- bank.com/locator/new/ and will be selected ran- domly to receive a portion of Joy of Giving grant monies. Umpqua Bank will announce winners throughout the campaign. Become a volunteer member of the Area Board 2 including people representative of California's diverse populations and people with disabilities. However, to prevent potential con- flicts of interest, no member of the board shall be employed as providers of service to people with develop- mental disabilities, or be members of the governing board of any entity pro- viding service, when such service is funded in whole, or in part, by state funds. For more information call the Area Board 2 office at 530-894-4027 or e- mail ab2@scdd.ca.gov. TOR K: I'm going through a tough time. Do you think positive psy- chology can help me? DEAR DOC- ER: For many years, I was skep- tical about various popular self-real- ization or self- improvement programs. That's because there weren't a lot of studies that showed they helped. That's still true, but I've seen individual instances where people clearly seemed to benefit. My faculty colleague, DEAR READ- Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. 3B Positive thinking still good advice accepting it without judg- ment. nities for more flow experiences can be a potent route to increased happiness. — Be aware of mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of purposely focus- ing your attention on the present moment — and Dr. Jeff Brown, is a pro- ponent of "positive psy- chology." The approaches he suggests take disci- pline. You have to be committed to not letting your mind travel the neg- ative road. Instead, you need to consciously will your mind to focus on the positive. Of course, this is easier to do when life's already going well. But positive psychology can also help when you are anxious, depressed or under stress. Here are some of the techniques used in posi- tive psychology: — Focus on your strengths and virtues. This helps you identify and build on your unique strong points. — Consider gratitude. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what you receive, whether tangible or intangible. With grati- tude, you acknowledge the goodness in your life. — Savor pleasure. Savoring is placing your attention on pleasure as it occurs, consciously enjoying the experience as it unfolds. This is in stark contrast to constant- ly reaching for the next, better thing to come along — a route to chron- ic discontentment. — Go with the flow. — Practice self-com- passion. This means not beating yourself up when you suffer, fail or feel inadequate. — Try for the mean- ingful life. Lasting happi- ness requires that you focus on concerns outside of yourself and feel that your life has purpose. Only you know what gives your life meaning. Using positive psy- chology techniques can help you develop the resilience to handle diffi- culties more easily. If you develop the habit of counting your blessings, for example, you may be better able to appreciate the good in your life that remains even after a diffi- cult event such as a job loss or a death. And help- ing others, even when you are struggling, can increase your positive feelings and help you gain perspective. For most of us, each of the elements of posi- tive psychology I've list- ed is easier said than done. You can learn a lot more about the positive psychology approach in a book Dr. Brown wrote that is part of the popular "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books. The book is titled "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Posi- tive for Great Health." I have more information about the book on my website, AskDoctorK.com. 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