Gratitude and Thanksgiving

Episode 257: Vonda is on her own in this week as important personal business takes Lori away for a much needed day off. With Thanksgiving this week, Vonda looks at the  saying "If everyone put their cross in a pile, you would take your own as it's known to you." The episode delves into what this saying means and how and why it relates to each of us. She also challenges you to start the day with gratitude and gives you a feel ideas of what to be thankful for. 

Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

The positive attitudes, the resilience, the willingness to help others. Welcome to the business and pleasure of flowers. We're your hosts, Vonda LaFever and Lori Wilson.

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And we believe that business and fun are a perfect combination. Kind of like us, Vonda.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Good morning, clickers. I'm here today by myself. Miss Lori is off today, which is a well-deserved time off. And this week of Thanksgiving, I want to start with saying thank you. Thank you to each and every one of you who listen to the podcast. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. We are here sharing obviously the business and pleasure of flowers, but we also share a lot about life and life lessons and how we can all better ourselves and appreciate those around us. So Lori's not joining us today because she has a very important commitment to her family, which, as we all know, family comes first. And in this case, as Lori talked about in several of the other episodes about her father having Alzheimer's, and that she wasn't happy with the facility he is in in Oklahoma and is today and tomorrow moving him back to be closer to her. So God bless her for taking the time and the effort and the energy to embrace that responsibility. When I look at what she's dealing with, and I think of my experiences the last three or four weeks, traveling, going to funerals of loved ones, and spending time with family. And then I look at people that are in our industry who are so amazing. I'm just going to do a shout out to Jacob McCaw, who himself was so damaged with the hurricanes, not just one, several. But here he is helping others out there, really trying to make a difference and help the others around him. And Michelle Morgan from Coons in Jacksonville, you are amazing to continue to bring supplies to those people through that whole situation. And I could call out so many different others who really think outside themselves to help others, whether it be family members or just acquaintances, people or people they have no idea how much difference they're making in their lives. But then you step back and you say, wow, everyone is dealing with something, right? We have no idea. Some are just dealing with it silently, right? It's that inner peace that they get that they're like, hey, you know what? This is okay. This is what's happening, and it's all right. Others, it just eats them up inside. So we have to be kind to everyone because we have no idea what they're dealing with. One perfect example of that is when you're in an airport. And many of us have spent a lot of time in the airport. And I sit there and watch people go by, and I watch them, and I know each one of them has a story. I think that's more evident than anywhere else that we go is an airport because they're going from point A to point B for some special reason. Maybe it's a very joyous occasion. A lot of them are going on a vacation, right? Or they're going to go see family. But there are so many that you can tell are traveling to maybe a hospital. Maybe they're going for treatment somewhere far away, or they're going to see a family member who has passed away or are on their last days. So you just never know. I mean, I try to read faces to see if there's expression or expressionless to see, hmm, wonder at w what they are dealing with right now. And so I think no matter where we are, whether we're in the airport, whether we're at a grocery store, that we never know. And just kindness or a smile can change that person. It reminds me of a saying that I hear often, and you've probably heard it as well. If everyone put their crosses in a pile, you'd take your own because it's familiar to you. Right? If you're not a person of faith, you might just say if we threw all our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd take our own problems back. And I kind of did a lorry deep dive into that and found an article by Michael Davis, and it really went into that a little bit more. It really hits home to a lot of people because we might complain about our own issues, but we'd likely stick with them if we knew what others were dealing with. And it comes down to a few things. The grass isn't always greener, right? If we look into other people's life and we think we've got it all figured out, social media doesn't help because they're posting everything. And so you can kind of feel like you know what someone's struggling with. And it's a good reminder that things aren't always what we seem. And everyone's dealing with their own stuff, just like we just talked about. Empathy and perspective. And that's really realizing everybody has their own challenges. We can help by just being more empathetic and put our own problems into perspective. The other thing is when we're not fighting those alone, it makes it feel a little bit more manageable. Empathy helps us connect with others and appreciate that we're all in this together. And I think we've seen that in the floral industry so many times. I mean, just recently, obviously, during the hurricane time, but think back. Each one of you, think back when somebody in our industry has come forward to help others. And it was probably one of you, one of you listeners who are like, yeah, yeah, I did that, or I would do that. The other interesting thing about our problems is that they really promote personal growth. As tough as they are, every little thing that we go through, it does help us grow personally and it makes us stronger and more resilient. I can talk about that on a personal basis, right? I just look back and go, wow, well, that year I went through these five things, and I'm just a stronger person for that. Or, you know, many years this happened to me as a child. I mean, I drew grew up as the daughter of a garbage man, right? And I would get into fist fights with kids on the playground who would call me a garbage rat. That made me stronger and more resilient. It was just those things you can kind of look back at and say, wow, I was that shy little girl, but man, uh when it came push to shove, I was proud of who I was. I was proud of my dad, and I was going to fight for it. So those things starting way back help you build that toughness, that resilience. And then one death after another, and all of the hardships that we experience in our life, it just makes us the person we are. So personal growth is a big one if we talk about the problems we have and how we work through those. The other one that I already just alluded to is it really does build resilience. Facing and overcoming our own problems builds resilience. When we think what others are going through, we might think theirs are much harder than what we are. And it's basically, like they say, it's because you're familiar with your issues. You know how to better handle them because you're halfway in them, right? So you're seeing them face to face. And so that familiarity helps us build that resilience and better coping mechanisms. So as we talk about looking at the airport, everyone has a hidden struggle. And if we know that, even when they're not visible, you might look like they're perfect. Oh my gosh, I wish I had that life. It looks perfect. But you don't see those serious issues they might be hiding inside. They don't want to spread the word. They don't want to share with others what it is that they're struggling with right now. Understanding that helps us appreciate our own lives and reminds us appearances can be deceiving. When we're talking about grass isn't always greener, about how you have inner struggles, the thing we have to realize is that actually shows our strengths. It's easy to forget all the strengths we have, that resilience we've built has given us the strength to get through that next thing that's coming our way. Because that's something someone told me years ago. If nothing's happening right now, brace yourself. It's on its way. Because that's the way things happen. You know, we get through it, we glide for a while, and then oh, here comes another one. So we have to keep remembering that the grass isn't always greener, that we do build resilience, it helps us with personal growth. And then it makes us appreciate our strengths. Each problem we face, the outcome has made us stronger, right? By appreciating that resilience, we can better handle future challenges and maintain that positive outlook, which is something that so many of us in this floral industry have. I'm just so proud when I look around and see the positive attitudes, the resilience, the willingness to help others. It just fills me, fills me with joy. So thank you, each and every one of you who are doing that. And now I'm gonna talk about really Thanksgiving, because I am thankful for so much, and I know you are too. So this week in the United States, we do celebrate Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday of the month. Seems to be late this month, but it is the fourth Thursday. So this is a good time for us to reflect, each one of us personally, and give thanks. These are the things we should be thinking about. Giving thanks for our family and friends and our furry friends. Many of us have the most adorable pets, whether it be a dog or the cat or multiples of each. You know, we look at that and say, gosh, life is more full because of the family I have, the friends that surround me, and my little furry friends as well. We give thanks for our health. Good health is what we give thanks for. But so many are suffering with illness and not the best health. We don't want to take health for granted. We've talked about that on the podcast many times of what you can do to make yourself more healthy. So take care of yourself and be thankful for your health. Be thankful for your home. I hate to keep going back to you know the hurricane, but there's so many people without a home right now. You know, not just Florida, the Carolinas and Georgia. There's so many places that people are struggling still. So if you're in a nice, warm, safe home, give thanks for that. If you're in a temporary place that you've been moved to because of the disaster, give thanks. And know that everyone's praying that you get back to your original home as soon as possible. Give thanks for your faith. Faith is what I personally can tell you has gotten me through life. It's gotten me through some pretty tough situations. And I give thanks for my faith every single day. I give thanks for my faith because it allows me to see life through a different lens. Give thanks for the food that we eat, our education, our water that we have. It seems so funny because it's like water, running water, right? You give thanks for that. My hairdresser, every time I go, she said always says the one thing she is the most thankful for is water. And I said, that's just because you're a hairdresser and you have to, you know, use the water to wash our hair. And after you're finished, that's part of your your job. And she says, no, she says, just every morning in the shower, I give thanks because I have running water, and it just makes everyone's life so much better. And I don't think people realize that. I'm like, okay, Tara, you're right. There is a lot to that running water. We give thanks for laughter and sunshine. Give thanks for waking up in the morning. I mean, wow, right? I truly give thanks for my job, for what I do and what I can do to help this industry. And I think each of you who are in this industry probably feel that you're in the right industry. I don't think there's an industry that is more caring and loving than our floral industry. And I would challenge anybody who would say differently. We've seen it. I've seen it over the last 35 years that I've been active in the industry. People helping people, whether it be financially, whether in helping them find a job, whether it be the connections that have been made that get you to the next level. I think we're always looking outside ourselves to bring joy to others. And and we do that. Flowers naturally do. I mean, the the beauty God gives us in the flowers themselves. And then I feel my God-given talent, because Lord knows I can't sing, is something that I can share with others in the way we design the flowers themselves. And that beauty in itself brings joy. So I think our industry is just pretty amazing. Whether we're working outside our flower shop in the industry, then what we're seeing is what we can do to help others around us. And that happens so much. One perfect example was as Renee Tucci told us last week when she was on the podcast, she really talked about AIFD and what it can do for you, what it does for the industry, and how it helps promote that professionalism in the industry, but within ourselves. And it makes us want to do more. Thinking about it, especially here on Thanksgiving, the theme for AIFD Symposium this year is Reflections. It's held in Palm Springs next July, and the registration will be open within the next couple of weeks. So you can start to pay for your registration, you know, months before it happens, which I think is pretty cool. But that theme, reflections, I think is really cool, where we can reflect back on where we were not too many years ago in our own careers, our own shops, our own lives. And what we learn from when we look back helps us project what we're going to see and do in the future, which in 2026, the theme for AIFD Symposium, so July of 2026, will be in Orlando, Florida. And Elevate is the theme for that year. So I think we're looking back and reflecting as we move forward. And then in 2026, we're going to talk about elevate and how what we do elevates others. It's all about elevating others. It's not about self. Self is not first, self is second, or third or fourth, depending on your lives, but elevating others. As we elevate others, we elevate ourselves. So I want to just challenge you to each morning before you put your feet on the ground, as you're laying there in bed, be thankful for at least one thing. Be thankful. Think of what it is that you can be most thankful. And some days it might be just I woke up this morning. Other days you might go through the whole list. I'm thankful for my good health and thankful for the house that I have and the home I have, the family and the friends and my furry friends, laughter, sunshine. Think about that. I start my day thanking God for the day that He's given me and the opportunities that lay ahead. And then I go through each one of my family members and give thanks for them and each of the person I work with and my good friends and just name them off. You get to stay in bed a little longer that way, too. No, I usually jump up pretty fast, but it's so good to have gratitude. It's life-changing when you have gratitude that you're always looking to rather than looking at what those problems are or oh, poor me. So be thankful as I am for each of you again for being on the pod. Although we're missing Lori, but I'm very thankful that I had this opportunity to be with you today and have a very wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. And we'll see you next week.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

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SPEAKER_00 18:40

So please come back and join us and discover how a bit of knowledge and one small change in your mindset can take you to new levels in your life and business.