Living Thanksgiving Everyday with a #GSOG .

 From the November 2021 publication of Conexion, BB shares this heartfelt wish for all.

`

HolaHolaHola Beautifuls!

Isn’t that a bella sentimiento? Speaking of bella and Thanksgiving, let’s mention the people who without their beautiful sentimientos there would be no national day of thanks. A little known, very importante, well deserved recognition to a group of people BB admires very much-the  Indigenous American People. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/untlibrariesris/5126022007/

Gracias to their kindness and guidance, the European settlers learned to farm the lands and find foods to eat.  Their generosity helped the strangers survive an unknown land. In thanks of a year of survival, a feast was held. And from this gesture of gratitude is based the American holiday of Thanksgiving.

https://www.history.com/news/first-thanksgiving-colonists-native-americans-men

To this punto Babushka wants to start her writing. Giving Thanks and being a Blessing to Others. If you have followed BB, you know her #GSOG postings. That stands for-

 #GigaSecond #Of #Gratitude. Just a momento of each dia to acknowledge a blessing experienced that day. Noon is the hour an alarm goes off en el celular to remind BB to stop, take a deep breath, and give gracias for what has passed that day. Sometimes the only thing that comes to mind is to give thanks for another day, and that’s a very important punto too.  If that’s the only thing you can think of to give gracias for, it’s not a bad one, not at all.  A quick, sincere blessing each day puts us in touch with the momento, the now of our vidas. With this #GSOG the daily correcorre of the day is stopped to remind us of a bigger reason. We are here blessed and to be a blessing for others. Si, you can be and are a blessing pa’ otros. Remember this, believe this, know this.  Your actions, your being, affects those around you, and that in turn affects those around them. We are all connected Beautifuls, here to share the blessings of this bella vida. 

November is the month of Thanksgiving. May it live daily in nuestras vidas.

Babushka Besos a todos. Cuidensen.

It's been 5 years... @HeartOfHaiti A reason for giving thanks, A reason for giving more.

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the US, and Babushka is sooo very thankful to live in this country, be blessed with the people in my life, and the countless moments of abundance I've had. For that reason I have joined with Macy's in their Heart of Haiti program, to give back to those who haven't been as fortunate. 

HolaHolaHola My Beautifuls!

Five years ago this little girl was born and BB's world would never be the same.

Almost Five years ago Haiti was hit with a devastating earthquake, 

and their world would never be the same.

Flickr pics -Top Row:HaitiDamage  coolgeography.com.uk
haiti_earthquake  csmonitor.com, Cite Soleil by mellagi,haiti_earthquake  theengineer.co.uk

Like my granddaughter La Princesa, Haiti is also developing, learning to stand on its own. 

Pero tambien como mi nieta, like La Princesa, Haiti needs help in doing so.

Macy’s went to Haiti shortly after the January 12, 2010 earthquake and realized that despite the devastation there was an artist community that existed and was eager to bring their product to market. 

They launched a product line for sale at Macys.com and in stores (listed below) which to date has employed 400 artists. 

• Macy's Herald Square, Brooklyn Downtown, Metro Center, Chicago State Street, Northland Center, Seattle Downtown, Portland Downtown, San Francisco Union Square, Biltmore Fashion Park, South Coast Plaza Home, Mission Valley Home, Dallas Galleria, Lenox Square Mall, and Dadeland Mall. 

 When you employ one artist in Haiti, the entire community benefits. Over 500 artists employed benefitting over 3,000 members of their extended family.

To put this into perspective, the average Haitian’s annual income is only $400 – for a year!  Add to that, Haiti has an estimated 400,000 artisans (out of a 10M population) who rely solely on their handcrafted goods as a source of income. No other sector of employment even approaches such numbers.

Macy’s paved the way in helping to rebuild this important sector of the fragile economy. 

The paper mache technique - practiced by many Haitian artisans - involves sourcing old, cement bags - or other paper products - to tear apart and re-purpose with glue and paint to create this unique piece. 

The blue circle vase - made in Jacmel - is hand-painted and includes a glass insert for functionality. 

Babushka was given the Blue Circle vase to show and share here, and to say it is stunning is an understatement. The quality is buenisimo, the colors rich and bold. A treasure to wake to every morning; it's a true work of art in my bedroom. Quee?? Ok si, JU SO FONII, BB's a work of art too. Actually, as I said in the Oprah post, this vase reminds me of all the beauty in the world, and how Babushka can play a very important part in it.

And you My Beautifuls can be a very big part of it too.

When thinking of gifts, think of giving gifts that help others, especially those in need. 

Give gifts that give hope, a sustainable income to Haitian artisans.

 Giving back and paying forward is the way to start this Thanksgiving and holiday season.

Have a wonderful holiday My Beautifuls.

BB2U

Heart of Haiti can be found and followed on social media at @HeartofHaiti on Twitter andwww.facebook.com/heartofhaiti on Facebook. 

For additional information about how Heart of Haiti is helping the community, visit this page.