Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: thanksgiving

  • Reflections of Gratitude

    Reflections of Gratitude

    We just came back from a funeral. An extended family member passed away from a sudden heart attack. He had a beautiful memorial to celebrate his life–the church was full.

    Death has a way of nudging us to do life differently–to reach out more, to hug harder, to love deeper.

    I had been stagnant for a while. A new job came with a learning curve and time devoted to writing technical stuff. I had added so much to my plate that things were falling off and crashing to the ground. I launched a book and wrote another book in the same time period. Coupled with travel, speaking, and coaching, the plate had been bending and I was trying to keep everything on the plate. In fact, one of the topics I covered with my plate-juggling friend, Tina Childress, was: “How to Spin 27 Plates and Keep Them From Crashing. (Usually.)”

    Jackie Woodside, author of Calming the Chaos and an upcoming book, The Money Vibe, told me, “Take something off your plate.”

    Less is more. I know this lesson. I’ve been trying to assimilate it into my life for the last year and half, with results that are a “half and half” success rate. The hubby and I downsized our house, trading it for a townhouse just minutes from his work. We rode our bikes downtown and split meals at our favorite restaurant on Saturday afternoons. We donated or sold a lot of our stuff, yet a lot of stuff remains–some which still tugs at our hearts (precious pictures!) and some which simply needs to be organized or gone.

    In the last few years, several mentors have taught me the practice of gratitude.

    When you wake up in the morning, what are you grateful for? 

    When you lie your head on the pillow at night, what are you grateful for? 

    This simple practice of reflecting gratitude has shifted my view of bliss. Bliss happens when we are grateful for what we have–for what is good in our life at the given moment. When I forget to practice it, that’s when life dumps road blocks and bumps in my way. It’s so easy to lose the focus on what’s good when you’re deep in the bad.

    The one thing I know for sure is this: when we forget the gift of gratitude, life can take away our precious gifts.

    And to you, dear reader, I’m grateful for you.

     

    Check out Karen’s latest book, Unwrapping Your Passion, Creating the Life You Truly Want

     

     

     

     

  • Being Deaf–And Thankful

    I’m thankful I’m deaf.

    I was thinking that to myself on the way home from the Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf  fundraiser last night.

    Now wait a minute, Karen–isn’t that a little crazy?  Wouldn’t life be so much easier if you had hearing in the normal range?

    Sure.  Yeah.  A little easier, perhaps.

    But here’s the thing: I’m living an incredibly rich, full life.  And that life includes people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf blind and hearing.  When I was growing up, all of my peers were people with normal hearing.  I had a childhood flush with a variety of friends, but man, I had to work hard to access every conversation.  So I’m thankful for learning American Sign Language when I became deaf at nineteen, because that’s the moment the world opened up for me.  It didn’t seem like it at the time, because I was thinking it was a pretty crappy hand that I was dealt back then.  I hated wearing the hearing aid 24/7, but the silence was more frightening to me.

    That silence came in handy when kid number one, two and three arrived.  They were loud.  Turning off the hearing aid became a thing of bliss.   And when kid number one, two and three lost their hearing, for a time, I wasn’t thankful. 

    But today–today, I’m thankful.  I look at my three kids and can’t even imagine them as kids with normal hearing.  The hearing aids they wear are as much a part of them as their eyes are brown.  The biggest difference between me and my kids is that they’re growing up with a sense of pride and confidence about being deaf and hard of hearing.  I was the opposite– I bluffed and hid it every chance that I could when I was growing up.

    Sure, there are days when I want to toss out the IEP papers and not have to remember who’s the head of the IEP team for which child.  Sue, my friend who is a mom of three kids– one deaf, one hard of hearing and one hearing, tells me how easy it is with a child who can hear.  No IEP, no IEP meetings, no searching for peers who are deaf/hard of hearing, no fiddling with technology, no stomping floors to reach out.  A little easier, perhaps, but that’s about it.  

    Last night, when the evening began to wane, I was sitting around a table watching the hands fly back and forth and thinking to myself, I’m so thankful for the path in my life that lead me to all of this.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

    CSDVRS Team at MCLD
    CSDVRS Team at MCLD
    Karen and Howard Rosenblum, MCLD
    Karen and Howard Rosenblum, MCLD