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Story Idea Thanksgiving, Gratitude And Forgiveness by Anthony White
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Story Idea Thanksgiving, Gratitude And Forgiveness |
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Education
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Thinking about story ideas and that Thanksgiving is right around the corner, maybe it is a good time to consider writing a story about that. You could write a story about a Thanksgiving tradition that you had growing up. Or write about one you started. You could write a story about your family cast of characters, tell what they said, tell about how they looked, what they wore. Right now I am working on a story about my Mom and siblings, Rick, Carol and Jim and my Mom as an aging parent and what that means to us all this Thanksgiving. For a Thanksgiving story, you could develop a short story about a favorite meal or dish that you always had. We've had topics similar to this in the past but whenever I think of this topic, there can be something new that comes to mind that I've not written about before. You could also write about a Thanksgiving that was unusual in some way, maybe it was your first time in a new location. Or write about your first turkey, or the year you went vegetarian. Another idea is to write a story about gratitude. You wake up in the morning, it is frosty outside, you put on your slippers, you make some coffee, you may live with loved ones, or you may be single like I am and know a well-loved routine, for example practically being able to brush my teeth blindfolded. But what if I stop for one second and think about being grateful for this, grateful to be in a warm home, especially grateful for the friendship that I feel even if I can't see all these people right in this moment, how I know that they are there. How great is that, to know there are people out there who I care about, who care about me, how about wrapping myself up in that warm robe for a second or two and feeling the smiles on their faces even when I can't see them. Or write a story about forgiveness. Ah, this might be a tougher one. How to forgive when feelings still rankle, "he didn't have to say that,"" she didn't have to do that." But what if, instead I say, "I didn't have to feel that way." I had a friend who would say, "rise above it." Well, sometimes it was hard to understand what that meant. But as I grow older, and feel somewhat less reactive, in other words, my anger is not triggered as easily as it used to be, it is easier to understand, "rise above it." That's what that means to me, don't let it get to you. And in that understanding is forgiveness for me. But I'm forgiving myself for being angry in the first place and allowing the person to get to me, and then at the same time, there is an insight that is compassion. I may not understand why that person said something that felt hurtful to me, but I can better see my way to forgiving. And that does not mean being a DOORMAT. I had an experience where I received a promotion and was happy about it and shared it with a friend who said something to the effect of, "oh well, anyone can do that." I felt angry. I retorted with a complete smile on my face, "oh, that was such an affirming thing for you to say. Thank you for that, it such a nice vote of confidence coming from you." He immediately retreated and explained himself more fully and it had everything to do with him and nothing to do with my promotion. I was grateful that I could be in that moment with a verbal comeback. But then later, I could forgive because I could see that it came from a place in him of some struggle that had nothing to do with what I said and everything to do with what was going on for him. There are, of course, larger incidents in my life that cause me to reflect on forgiveness and it can be very difficult. The more pain that has been caused, the more difficult it is. And it can take years to come to terms with forgiveness, or a lifetime or longer than that. But if an inkling of it can be felt deep inside, it seems to me that is a good thing. But it can be awfully hard with some people when I think of them. Here's to that getting easier, or to learning to take a longer view at the bigger picture. This is the season when we turn inside as the weather brings us closer to each other and we can have a chance to reflect and see the forest of our lives for the trees, so to speak. Our days are crowded and maybe now we have a chance for some breathing room to think about the Big Idea picture. Please leave a comment, it would be great to hear what you have to say about gratitude or forgiveness. I have been a journalist, a publicist, a technical writer and so much more. One of my passions is helping people tell their life stories - because we all have a story. custom dissertation
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