November 27, 2025 • 31 mins
Gratitude isn’t soft—it’s brave. On a Thanksgiving broadcast from Hendersonville, we mix tradition and heart: sharing how our team gives away hundreds of apple and pumpkin pies to clients, then zooming out to what gratitude really asks of us when life is uncertain. We also deliver a clear-eyed snapshot of the local real estate market: more homes sold year-over-year, slight price dips held in check by low inventory, days on market up modestly, and a steady share of cash buyers as rates hover in the low sixes after a brief dip into the fives.
From there, we go deeper. Drawing on Brene Brown’s insights, we explore why joy is the most vulnerable emotion and how the armor we wear—cynicism, perfectionism, busyness—protects us from pain but also from meaning. Gratitude isn’t denial or forced positivity; it’s the courage to stay present, feel what’s real, and let moments matter even without guarantees. A vivid detour through Vincent van Gogh’s life shows how his letters gave his paintings their soul—sunflowers as hope and loss, Starry Night as a search for order during inner turmoil—reminding us that honest stories transform data into direction.
Community ties it all together. We spotlight neighbors helping neighbors in Bat Cave and the Broad River Gorge after Helene, where volunteers continue the hard work of rebuilding and families often point help to the house next door. That spirit guides how we serve Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina: providing experienced guidance, thoughtful market context, and support for big decisions about selling, buying, or rightsizing. Independence isn’t behind you; it’s the next step taken with clarity and heart.
If this conversation resonates, follow our show, share it with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review to help others find it. Ready to talk through your unique situation? Call 828-393-0134 or visit realestatebygreg.com.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
This is the George Real EstateGroup podcast, which is a
production of our live weeklyradio shows hosted on multiple
radio stations here inHendersonville, North Carolina.
The George Real Estate Groupserves Western North Carolina
and upstate South Carolina, andit is a privilege to share
positive news about our localreal estate market and
(00:22):
community.
Thanks so much for subscribing.
And of course, if you have anyreal estate questions or if we
can help you in any way, be sureto reach out.
Visit us at George Real EstateGroup Radio.com for more
information.
Good morning and welcome to theGeorge Real Estate Group live
(00:44):
radio broadcast here on WHKPthis Thanksgiving morning.
And I know Randy's been holdingdown the mic here on
Thanksgiving, but we're sograteful and we're going to have
a wonderful, just have aheartfelt conversation uh on
this Thanksgiving morning.
Grateful life is just so much tobe grateful for, and we're
(01:05):
grateful to be here.
And uh we're gonna briefly talkabout real estate and and before
we do, and then but then we'lljust I'm gonna have a
conversation about gratitudetoday.
I think it's very appropriate.
SPEAKER_01 (01:16):
I do too.
I do too.
SPEAKER_00 (01:18):
And you and I, again, every Friday morning we
do our hometown hero series,which certainly puts things in
the perspective.
And then, you know, I've beendoing actually this Thursday
morning radio show uh since2011, uh, every Thursday and
Thursday always Thanksgivingfalls on Thursday.
So I'm like, let's let's go.
Let's I mean, we keep the let'skeep the routine, keep the you
(01:38):
know, the show going.
And so we even on Thanksgiving,we've been doing this uh this
radio program.
SPEAKER_01 (01:43):
And I I always I've gotten to look forward to it
myself, Noah.
Uh uh one of the reasons, and Iis a selfish reason, uh, I must
say, is he always brings I comebearing gifts.
He comes bearing a big old applepie.
And and that is always somethingI've uh come to look forward to
(02:04):
every year.
But you this is something thatyou at the George Real Estate
Group do for your customers,right?
SPEAKER_00 (02:10):
That's right.
It's just a day of uh gratitude.
We we do it the Tuesday beforeThanksgiving and and and just we
send it out.
I mean, you might be surprised.
We send it out to almost 2,000of our clients.
Uh we invite them, and ifthey're in town and you know,
and if they want to come by theoffice and and if they want to
(02:31):
reserve a pumpkin or apple pie,and you know, we give away uh
hundreds of pies, uh and it's sofun.
And uh our team uh pulled it offand and just it's it's amazing
to connect with our clients andjust check in, and it's just a
small token of our appreciationuh and being able to you know
(02:53):
see our clients and thank themand and it's just a wonderful
day.
SPEAKER_01 (02:57):
Well, I think that uh you know when you talk about
doing a show on Thanksgiving andand uh talking about gratitude,
we we really need to preface thewhole show with the fact that
you show your gratitude to thecustomers every year by doing
this.
And you've done this for years.
SPEAKER_00 (03:13):
We've done that for a number of years, and we
wouldn't be what we are withoutour our customers, of course,
and our our community.
And we love serving ourcommunity, and we are so
grateful for the opportunity toto walk alongside with our
clients, you know, throughwhatever life may throw at them.
And real estate's such acritical piece of all of our
lives, and we tend to, you know,real estate happens when it
(03:35):
could be a really positivereason or it could be a
challenging reason, but we areso thankful for our clients and
and it's a small token of ourappreciation.
So it's such a it's an amazingday.
We do it every year, and it's alot of fun.
Well, I I've gotten wrapped upin it too.
So uh Well well, we're thankfulfor you.
Uh and it's been and it's uhjust grateful to to be here on
(03:55):
the radio, and and you're you'rehere on on Thanksgiving Day uh
every year, and so it's it's ait's a been a fun tradition uh
for you and I.
SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
It really has, it really has.
And uh we have uh been talkingabout uh the market and looking
ahead to the holidays and tonext year in in real estate.
You're always uh on top ofthings as far as trends go, and
I know that you've already beenlooking ahead to 2026.
SPEAKER_00 (04:25):
Well, absolutely, and the market it's interesting,
even with our community uh youknow coming off of Helene last
year and the uncertainty andeverything going on, it's
interesting.
There's been more homes actuallysold in the last 12 months
versus the previous 12 months.
The market is remaining steady.
Uh so the prices have come downa little bit, very nominal, uh,
(04:47):
just a couple percent.
And that's because of the lowinventory levels, slightly
elevated.
And even with the interestrates, at one point, you know,
earlier uh in the last fewmonths, interest rates actually
jumped down into the the fivesever so briefly, but even in the
low sixes, it's it's stillmoving.
The number of people that arepaying with cash is still a
(05:08):
strong segment of our market,and the market's still moving.
Days on the markets increasedslightly.
The market is still moving, themarket's very healthy here.
It's it's it's uh evolved, it'schanging, and and got to be
careful about what all theheadlines say.
We we're actually on track tohelp even more people than we
did last year, our team, andhelping more people with their
(05:30):
real estate needs.
And so if you're if you'retuning in for the first time
ever, the George Real EstateGroup, we're located in Flat
Rock.
We serve all of Western NorthCarolina and the upstate South
Carolina.
We have an incredible team, wehave incredible agents, we have
incredible staff.
We're so grateful to serve thecommunity through real estate.
This is my uh 20th year with myNorth Carolina broker's license,
(05:52):
and and combined on our team, wehave over a hundred years of
combined experience with ouragents.
We have incredible, uh, just sothankful for the opportunity to
serve our community.
And if we can help you in anyway, and and by the way, that
this morning's show uh verylight on the real estate.
And in fact, if you of coursecall us, if you want to have a
(06:13):
conversation about the market,your specific home, your
specific and unique situation,your unique home, we'd love to
have the conversation.
You know, we can talk about themarket, about trends, about your
your goals and your thoughts andwhat your plans are, and we can
help provide clarity andinformation so you can make a
decision for what's right foryou.
And and we're honored to dothat.
(06:34):
You can find us online atrealestatebygreg.com.
You can also follow us onInstagram and Facebook on social
media.
We also podcast, we podcast allof our radio shows.
Uh, very grateful for thepodcast that we do.
We use our radio shows and andplug that in there.
So follow us on your favoritepodcast platform.
(06:55):
That's been growingsignificantly.
The the listeners and thedownloads, and that we're we're
grateful for the impact that wehave there.
And then we have a number ofradio shows.
We're here every Thursdaymorning at 10 a.m.
And then we're here every Fridaymorning at 8.45 for the Hometown
Heroes series.
SPEAKER_01 (07:10):
And uh coming up for uh Well, I I need to I guess
we'll do a little house cleaninguh on the air live here with
you.
Uh coming up, I think it's onChristmas Day, uh, we will be
doing our top 10 countdowns ofHometown Heroes.
SPEAKER_00 (07:27):
It is such a uh you and I that's one of the other
fun uh shows we do.
And I uh I if we're talking liveright now about we we talked
about maybe even extending it,making that show a little bit
longer.
We need to give a little bitmore time there to cover that.
SPEAKER_01 (07:43):
So we'll we'll take that up to 30 minutes on
Christmas Day, and then we'llrepeat it on the day after
Christmas on that Friday morningwhen we normally do our hometown
hero.
So a couple of chances for youto hear the top ten highest
downloads of our hometown heroseries, and uh I'm beginning to
(08:03):
work on that show now.
SPEAKER_00 (08:05):
It is it is that's a fun show every year where we
recap some of the most I mean,they're all amazing stories, and
and and that's really the theway we uh have been able to
categorize the you know, we whenwe pick the top ten, it's you
know, there are it's it's basedon the the downloads, yeah.
But again, all the stories areamazing.
Uh tomorrow morning, by the way,is uh real Appalachian
(08:28):
storyteller, Virginia KingThompson, who's been telling
stories in schools and as aspeaker at various functions
here in Henderson County for now60 years.
I mean, incredible.
And so she's known as BlackFeather.
And so tomorrow maybe we mightget a story out of her.
Uh, but tomorrow morning we'regonna salute as our hometown
hero, Virginia King Thompson.
SPEAKER_01 (08:50):
Looking forward to that.
I I chatted with Virginia uhearlier in the week, and and uh
I'll give you a heads up, Noah.
She she told me on the phone,she says, I do not need a
rocking chair to tell mystories.
I'm very animated.
Well, I'm sure she doesn't needmuch prompting, right?
I mean, like give her give her amic.
(09:11):
So so I'm giving you a heads up.
Hold on for tomorrow.
I don't know what to expect, tobe honest with you.
SPEAKER_00 (09:17):
So grateful for her uh joining us tomorrow.
That's gonna be amazing.
Yeah, it is.
And again, all of our uh we haveamazing stories and and the
opportunity that we you and Iget to to share what's going on.
You know, the community, andthis is what makes our community
is the people and the the peoplethat uh are here and people have
joined our community and and andand whether it's our community
(09:38):
radio like you know, WHKP or ourcommunity real estate company, I
mean it's it's about serving thecommunity.
SPEAKER_01 (09:44):
Simple.
It's not a it's not a real uhcomplicated business plan, is
it?
SPEAKER_00 (09:48):
No, it it's uh it's it's simple.
It's it's what they say, it'sit's simple, not easy.
SPEAKER_01 (09:55):
There you go.
There you go.
SPEAKER_00 (09:57):
So I thought and I put some thoughts together.
Again, I it's alwaysperspective, right?
And with Thanksgiving, you know,and I I love I I am a big reader
and I love reading and I love uhyou know you know hearing
stories and I love you know justlearning.
I love learning.
And I don't have you heard ofBenet Brown?
(10:18):
Yes, uh the name is familiar,but I can't recall why why.
Phenomenal, phenomenal authorand speaker, and she's written a
number of books, one calledDaring Greatly, and she also has
a TED talk on vulnerability, butphenomenal speaker, but you
know, she also has an incredibleperspective on gratitude.
(10:40):
And and I, you know, and a lotof times we think of gratitude
as you know something light, maymaybe even decorative, but you
know, we might list when uh makea list when things are going
well.
You know, it's a it's apractice, you know, a habit we
practice when life feelsmanageable.
It you know, it could be amindset we use to stay positive,
but Benet Brown's work showssomething much deeper and much
(11:05):
more honest.
And and gratitude isn't easy,gratitude, she says, is actually
is brave, you know, because realgratitude doesn't live on the
surface of life, it lives wherethings are uncertain, fragile,
and unfinished.
And so Brene recently said, isvulnerability important?
(11:29):
It is if we want to be bravewith our lives.
And so gratitude requiresvulnerability and it asks us to
be present, you know, withoutguarantees.
I mean, it's a it's a lot, it'sit's amazing.
SPEAKER_01 (11:43):
That's the that's the definition of vulnerability
is to be available without afear.
SPEAKER_00 (11:49):
That's right.
And and so joy this is alsoamazing.
This is so interesting.
She also teaches that joy, andthis is why joy and gratitude
feel so risky, but joy is themost vulnerable human emotion we
experience.
More vulnerable than fear, morevulnerable than anger, more
vulnerable than grief, and thatsurprises people because we
(12:10):
assume fear is the riskiestemotion, but you know what?
Joy actually opens us upcompletely.
And so when we allow ourselvesto feel gratitude, we're also
admitting you know thatsomething matters, and so when
something matters, it can belost, and that's when we say
this moment is good, and we'realso quietly admitting the
(12:33):
moment may not last, which is sointeresting.
And so Benet puts it this waythe joy is so vulnerable that
people choose to live actually,this is so interesting.
People choose to livedisappointed rather than to get
excited about something and riskright, risk getting sucker
punched by disappointment.
Isn't that such an interestingparadigm?
SPEAKER_01 (12:54):
Oh, it's uh it's you're getting right to the core
of uh of life here and and thethink the thinking that uh I
won't go through this with manyexpectations because I won't,
and then I won't bedisappointed.
SPEAKER_00 (13:10):
Right.
Because if I yes, but the thething about that though, you
know, disappointment actuallyfeels safer.
Yeah.
If we don't lean in all the way,if we manage expectations, if we
keep some emotional distance,then maybe we won't get caught
off guard by the pain.
But here's the cost the armorprotects us from the pain, but
(13:31):
it actually from life itself.
And so when Benet talks aboutarmor, you know, we use you
know, strategies we reach forwhen self-protection is the
goal.
But you know, guess what?
Armor could be critic, you know,cynicism, it could be
perfectionism, you know, forcontrol, it could be numbing
that's co that's used for copingor staying busy so we don't have
(13:53):
to feel but armor develops for areason and it's used for
survival.
There's moments, I mean, we usethings that survive for
different hard seasons.
But the thing is, Bene remindsus that the hardest work is
actually recognizing when ourarmor no longer protects us, it
actually isolates us.
That's right.
Yeah, and so gratitude beginswhere armor loosens, not
(14:16):
dramatically, not all at once,and gratitude simply says, I
will feel this moment, I'll staypresent, and I'll actually risk
engagement.
And so it's not optimism, it'scourage because being present is
being you know vulnerable.
So it's just it's just apowerful moment.
(14:36):
But here's this interestingthing about you know, there's
this interesting myth aboutgratitude that it actually
requires happiness.
You that you need closure, thatthings need to be resolved, that
life needs to be feel feelstable, but R Bene actually
rejects that entirely, and sheactually teaches a both and
(14:59):
thinking.
You can actually be greatgratitude, you can actually be
grateful and grieving, you canactually be appreciative and
exhausted, and you can bethankful and afraid.
I mean, talk about like howappropriate this is on
Thanksgiving, but gratitudedoesn't cancel the pain, and
pain doesn't invalidate thegratitude, and gratitude, most
(15:22):
importantly, you're not indenial, you're not in denial,
it's actually an integration.
So it actually allows you knowpain and grief to exist without
and it's it's not allowing thepain to become the entire story.
So gratitude does not say thisshouldn't hurt.
Gratitude actually says thishurts, and there's still
(15:42):
something here worth you knowstaying present for.
SPEAKER_01 (15:46):
This hurts, but I'm glad it doesn't hurt more.
SPEAKER_00 (15:48):
Right.
And you can acknowledge, guesswhat?
Life's not easy.
Life's it's it's you know, thisis just being real here.
So, anyways, it's it's again,this is where you know what
being present, being gratitudeis just acknowledging the the
presence and and putting downthe armor and and um enjoying
(16:08):
the moment.
And so it's and again, it's andthis is why, by the way, you
know, our culture, we have alarger cultural issue of of
disconnection, but you know, wemove fast, you know, we're
scrolling, you know, we you numbout easily, you know.
It's and so know what gratitudeactually requires is is to slow
down and pay attention and payattention.
(16:31):
You know, it and guess what?
And this is why most peopledon't want to slow down is
because they have to feel.
And if you because if you slowdown you have to be present with
your feelings.
Yeah.
And so Brene actually says wecannot selectively numb emotion.
And so when we numb pain, weactually numb out joy.
You know, so your level of joythat you can experience is
(16:53):
actually to the level of ofgrief that you can experience.
And so gratitude isn't somethingwe add once we feel better.
It's actually what returns whenwe stop numbing and start
noticing again.
And it's an invitation actuallyto the full spectrum of being
human.
And again, I thought on thisThanksgiving day.
So you know, it's not about um,you know, it's about
(17:17):
wholehearted living and andpeople who live meaningful lives
do not experience less pain.
They uh they aren't sparedheartbreak, they aren't spared,
they aren't insulated from loss,and no one's insulated from
loss, and they're not protectedfrom uncertainty.
And so here's the thing aboutgratitude, what they do people
that live wholeheart havewholehearted living is they have
(17:40):
a practice of gratitude, not asa mood, not as a forced
positivity, and not even as achecklist, but it's this
commitment to actually stayawake in your life, and be open
to uh receiving great thingsthat you can be thankful for and
(18:01):
grateful for.
Yeah, and so this is where it'sagain being present, being open
to feeling, and you and youchoose we choose engagement over
armor, which again that choicetakes courage.
And she says there's no couragewithout vulnerability.
And and so gratitude doesn'tdoes not mean saying thank you
for everything that happens, itactually is saying, daring to
(18:22):
say this matters, this isprecious, this moment counts.
I mean, if if you're sittingaround the table with your
family that's still with you, Imean that moment you know
counts.
SPEAKER_01 (18:32):
Yes, it does.
SPEAKER_00 (18:33):
And so even when it's fragile, even when it
hurts, and especially, and thisis I think this illusion of
control we all have, but evenwhen especially when there's no
guarantees, which none of ushave anyways, and and so
gratitude's not about beinghappy, it's about being
wholehearted, and wholeheartedliving is not passive, and you
(18:56):
know, it's an it's an act ofcourage.
I I've really have lovedlistening and reading Benaze
Brown work on this subject ofgratitude, and I just thought
it'd be appropriate to talkabout.
So it's again the the thing isabout gratitude, it's not
denying the pain, but it'schoosing to stay present in a
life that that still matters.
(19:17):
It isn't is anyway.
So again, gr it's it's sofascinating to me.
Um, again, all this like in uhyou know, when you go through
hard things, and I know youhave, and I know I have, and
it's you know, it's just againbeing present, being and putting
perspective on things, and andagain, the and how gratitude um
uh can impact our lives.
SPEAKER_01 (19:38):
It is uh and uh you're right, everybody goes
through situations, familymembers uh get ill and uh uh
they pass on, and and uh there'suh a temptation and and it's
easy to put up the armor andsay, I know what's coming, and
uh put up the armor and and justdon't get involved and just pass
(20:02):
the time.
And it there's a temptation todo that.
SPEAKER_00 (20:05):
Oh, it's easy, all of us are it's a lot easier,
yeah.
It is easier, but it doesn'treally I mean it might serve you
for a moment, but it it willcatch up to you.
SPEAKER_01 (20:16):
It will, it will.
SPEAKER_00 (20:18):
Um this is a little bit of a tie-in, but in a second
story that I I was sofascinated.
Uh there's and there's a littlebit this is more maybe about
more about being vulnerable thanit is necessarily about, you
know, it but yeah, this is sointeresting about gratitude and
vulner vulnerability, but um Ididn't know this story.
(20:40):
This is a bit of a historylesson.
Um everybody and everybody now,and you're I uh Vincent Van
Gogh.
SPEAKER_01 (20:48):
Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:50):
Do you I was so amazed when I had really dug
into his story, and I don'tthink at any point d during his
own life had any of hispaintings even no nothing really
ever sold.
SPEAKER_01 (21:06):
Right.
It happened after he died.
SPEAKER_00 (21:08):
Well it happened after it died, but do you know
why it happened after he died?
SPEAKER_01 (21:13):
Was uh Vincent Van Gogh a victim of depression?
SPEAKER_00 (21:16):
Well, he he did have some some challenges with that.
Okay, but this is sointeresting.
I mean, of course, people knowthe starry night.
Right.
I've actually seen that uh inperson.
Uh you have the the sunflowers,you have the bedroom uh
painting, and again, it's thisis so interesting.
(21:37):
And this is I'm gonna the reasonI'm bringing this up, it's about
sharing vulnerability about youknow what you're going through
and what you know, but this isso interesting.
During his lifetimes, hispaintings actually had I mean
they had almost no value.
He actually he virtually soldnothing, he lived in poverty, he
relied financially on hisbrother Theo, and later on
(21:59):
Theo's wife, Johanna, uh and andhis sister-in-law, and and yet
he still painted, not becausethe world understood him, not
because the work was celebrated,but this is how his painting was
how he you know stayed connectedto his to his life.
But this is so interesting.
His paintings would meannothing, and we wouldn't
(22:21):
understand Vingo without hisletters.
He actually wrote and cre all hewrote hundreds of letters to his
brother Theo and his and hislater to his sister-in-law
Johanna, just these honestletters of his struggles and his
reality and his vulnerable, likehow all the things he was going
(22:42):
through, they weren't polished,they weren't intended for
public, you know, for theaudience.
And I mean, he wrote about hisisolation, he wrote about his
mental illness, he wrote abouthis spiritual hunger, his fear,
he wrote about his hope, and sohe wrote just wrote about it,
but it guess what?
Without the letters, thepaintings are just images, and
(23:02):
so the images are amazing, butthey're incomplete without the
bigger picture.
And guess what?
So his sister-in-law ended uppublishing a book of his
letters, and it was the lettersthat caused his paintings to
explode because guess what thepaintings were actually, for
(23:23):
example, the sunflowers were notjust this still life painting,
it was actually painted duringthe season of hope and grief.
It was he was preparing for uh ahome for his friend uh to come
visit with him and he imaginedcollaborating, he imagined his
friendship, he la imagined allthis stuff, but the sunflowers
(23:43):
were actually meant meant towelcome his friend, but his
friend didn't stay.
The friendship collapsed,Vincent spiraled, the season
ended up being this deepemotional pain.
So, what we now see is thisbright, joyful painting of uh
sunflowers were actually uh moreabout his longing and loss with
that.
(24:03):
But again, if we didn't have theletters, we wouldn't know that.
Again, without hisvulnerability, we we may have
mistaken grief for decoration.
One other story is the starrynight.
Perhaps his most famous work, itwasn't painted in freedom, he
actually painted it while he wasconfined in a mental hospital.
And so the view of the sky camefrom his window, and it wasn't
(24:28):
painting a peaceful night, hewas painting it inside
depression, anxiety, mentalillness, and the swirling stars,
the the restless movements, thecontrast between the chaos and
calm.
And so this wasn't a fantasy ofbeauty, it was actually a man
reaching for meaning whileimprisoned in his own mind.
Again, without the letters, wedidn't we wouldn't have known
(24:51):
any of this.
Again, so the vulnerability thatagain during his life, you know,
his he was suffering in private,but his you know his hope was
largely unreturned, and and hisgratitude was quiet, actually,
only expressing in the writing,but it was the the letters that
changed everything, and theyactually revealed the story
(25:11):
behind the canvas.
And so the the the world didn'tconnect to Van Gogh because of
his paintings, the worldactually connected because of
sharing his story, and so it'sactually you know, vulnerability
is not weakness, it's it'sactually the birthplace of
meaning.
And so Van Gogh lived that truthbefore it actually had a
language, and so he did notarmor himself from the pain, he
(25:34):
actually documented it, hepainted through it, he wrote
honestly about it, and so whatwas once ignored, his paintings
were just you know, theyactually became timeless and and
you know, not because the paindisappeared, but because the
vulnerability remained visible.
So it's interesting, again, inthis, and maybe a stretch to
(25:54):
combine Benet Brown and Vincentand Vincent Vegot, but like you
know, again, what what is themeaning we're giving to our own
story?
And what are you uh again?
Are you being brave to share andshow up?
And you know, it's it's it'sabout you know being really
vulnerable about what's goingon.
SPEAKER_01 (26:11):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And uh so the moral of the storyis get involved.
Uh, you know, be present.
SPEAKER_00 (26:19):
Be present, be connected to yourself and and
with others, be in community andand uh don't you know again life
is gonna happen and and are youwilling to lean into to it all?
And again, your level of joy isusually connected to the level
of grief that you canexperience.
And and again, just becauseyou're grieving, again, that's
(26:41):
not it's not everything, right?
And just and just and gratitudedoesn't mean you're ignoring the
hard things going on.
And so I on Thanksgiving Day, wecan have both gratitude and
actually grief at the same time.
SPEAKER_01 (26:56):
And you can be there uh beginning today with those
people that are gathered aroundyour table.
SPEAKER_00 (27:04):
That's right, and again, the moment being present
in the moment, yeah, which againit's a gift to have those those
moments with families.
Absolutely.
So it just puts perspective onthings and and and things do
matter and life does matter, andagain, how we uh approach uh uh
how we approach things and andit and it and again gratitude's
(27:25):
not denying what's going on inin your life.
Not at all.
So I just I maybe I got a littleuh I got up on the the
preacher's uh box today, but I Ijust put some per it's all about
perspective, and again, it'sit's just so much to be thankful
for and and grateful for.
(27:46):
And um, and I I just thoughtagain, listen, you and I, I
mean, people can call usanytime.
We can talk about real estate,but I was like, I'm gonna take
today and we're gonna talk aboutgratitude.
SPEAKER_01 (27:56):
Well, I'm sure glad you did, and that's one of the
main reasons I I like to bearound here on Thanksgiving Day
is to uh join you on the showand and uh again on Friday
mornings, we uh gather everyFriday morning and and try to uh
physically show some of thatgratitude and and shine a light
(28:17):
on uh the folks that that make adifference in our community.
We've uh we've been focusing alot on uh the folks down in
Batcave and and the uh uh BroadRiver Gorge area and the
destruction that came there fromHurricane Helene, and there's no
better shining example uhanywhere than uh the the
(28:38):
volunteer work that's going ondown there.
SPEAKER_00 (28:40):
And on and continuing to go on.
Again, that's why I you know iteven in the light of the
anniversary, a year anniversary,I mean, uh people might find it
surprising the amount of workthat's still going on.
SPEAKER_01 (28:55):
Still needed.
SPEAKER_00 (28:55):
And still needed, and the opportunity to
volunteer, the opportunity to togive and to and to show up.
Again, neighbors still helpingneighbors and in the work that's
gonna be done there.
SPEAKER_01 (29:06):
We saw you and I have witnessed uh m many tears
at this table, and uh tears ofgratitude in a lot of ways.
Uh the people, the victims, thefolks who've suffered damage,
they've been here at thesemicrophones and and talked about
uh all of the things thatthey've received and the and the
(29:27):
love they've received from theirneighbors there and people they
didn't even know.
So gratitude is a big part of uhof what we're talking about
here.
SPEAKER_00 (29:36):
Yeah, the th and the thing that sticks out to me, one
of the most the most impactfulthings, and we've heard some
phenomenal and we continue tohear some phenomenal stories,
was one of the things that Iremember hearing recently was
the j the volunteers that weregoing and showing up to these
different families' homes, andthese families' homes were gone,
(29:56):
but they said, Go help myneighbor.
I mean, just I mean, it's sounbelievable.
SPEAKER_01 (30:04):
It's incredible.
It is.
Well, no, well, thank you somuch.
Uh, I can't believe we've talkedabout time flies.
It really does.
It really does.
And you got a big apple pie totake home now.
I can't wait to turn this micoff because uh all conversation
will now cease.
Thank you so much.
See you tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00 (30:22):
Happy Thanksgiving.
And again, so grateful to behere, and we'll be here tomorrow
morning.
Thank you.
Bye.
You've built a lifetime ofstrength, wisdom, and
independence.
(30:42):
And here's the best part.
You still have it.
Every decision, every step,every next chapter is yours to
choose.
Selling your home isn't aboutletting go, it's about opening
the door to more freedom, moretime for what you love, more
energy for the people andpassions that matter most.
(31:04):
At the George Real Estate Group,we believe independence isn't
behind you.
It's right here, right now.
Our team goes beyond buying andselling.
We're here to help you protectyour wealth, preserve your
legacy, and make sure Uncle Samdoesn't become your biggest
benefactor.
We'll guide you every step ofthe way towards your next
(31:26):
chapter, your next opportunity,and your freedom on your terms.
Call us at 828-393-0134.
Find us online atrealestatebygreg.com.
SPEAKER_01 (31:38):
Thank you for listening to the George Real
Estate Group Podcast.
Tune in next time for moreindustry news, updates, and real
estate tips.
You can reach Greg, the GeorgeReal Estate Group, at 828 393
0134 or at realestatebygreg.com.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
This is the George Real EstateGroup podcast, which is a
production of our live weeklyradio shows hosted on multiple
radio stations here inHendersonville, North Carolina.
The George Real Estate Groupserves Western North Carolina
and upstate South Carolina, andit is a privilege to share
positive news about our localreal estate market and
(00:22):
community.
Thanks so much for subscribing.
And of course, if you have anyreal estate questions or if we
can help you in any way, be sureto reach out.
Visit us at George Real EstateGroup Radio.com for more
information.
Good morning and welcome to theGeorge Real Estate Group live
(00:44):
radio broadcast here on WHKPthis Thanksgiving morning.
And I know Randy's been holdingdown the mic here on
Thanksgiving, but we're sograteful and we're going to have
a wonderful, just have aheartfelt conversation uh on
this Thanksgiving morning.
Grateful life is just so much tobe grateful for, and we're
(01:05):
grateful to be here.
And uh we're gonna briefly talkabout real estate and and before
we do, and then but then we'lljust I'm gonna have a
conversation about gratitudetoday.
I think it's very appropriate.
SPEAKER_01 (01:16):
I do too.
I do too.
SPEAKER_00 (01:18):
And you and I, again, every Friday morning we
do our hometown hero series,which certainly puts things in
the perspective.
And then, you know, I've beendoing actually this Thursday
morning radio show uh since2011, uh, every Thursday and
Thursday always Thanksgivingfalls on Thursday.
So I'm like, let's let's go.
Let's I mean, we keep the let'skeep the routine, keep the you
(01:38):
know, the show going.
And so we even on Thanksgiving,we've been doing this uh this
radio program.
SPEAKER_01 (01:43):
And I I always I've gotten to look forward to it
myself, Noah.
Uh uh one of the reasons, and Iis a selfish reason, uh, I must
say, is he always brings I comebearing gifts.
He comes bearing a big old applepie.
And and that is always somethingI've uh come to look forward to
(02:04):
every year.
But you this is something thatyou at the George Real Estate
Group do for your customers,right?
SPEAKER_00 (02:10):
That's right.
It's just a day of uh gratitude.
We we do it the Tuesday beforeThanksgiving and and and just we
send it out.
I mean, you might be surprised.
We send it out to almost 2,000of our clients.
Uh we invite them, and ifthey're in town and you know,
and if they want to come by theoffice and and if they want to
(02:31):
reserve a pumpkin or apple pie,and you know, we give away uh
hundreds of pies, uh and it's sofun.
And uh our team uh pulled it offand and just it's it's amazing
to connect with our clients andjust check in, and it's just a
small token of our appreciationuh and being able to you know
(02:53):
see our clients and thank themand and it's just a wonderful
day.
SPEAKER_01 (02:57):
Well, I think that uh you know when you talk about
doing a show on Thanksgiving andand uh talking about gratitude,
we we really need to preface thewhole show with the fact that
you show your gratitude to thecustomers every year by doing
this.
And you've done this for years.
SPEAKER_00 (03:13):
We've done that for a number of years, and we
wouldn't be what we are withoutour our customers, of course,
and our our community.
And we love serving ourcommunity, and we are so
grateful for the opportunity toto walk alongside with our
clients, you know, throughwhatever life may throw at them.
And real estate's such acritical piece of all of our
lives, and we tend to, you know,real estate happens when it
(03:35):
could be a really positivereason or it could be a
challenging reason, but we areso thankful for our clients and
and it's a small token of ourappreciation.
So it's such a it's an amazingday.
We do it every year, and it's alot of fun.
Well, I I've gotten wrapped upin it too.
So uh Well well, we're thankfulfor you.
Uh and it's been and it's uhjust grateful to to be here on
(03:55):
the radio, and and you're you'rehere on on Thanksgiving Day uh
every year, and so it's it's ait's a been a fun tradition uh
for you and I.
SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
It really has, it really has.
And uh we have uh been talkingabout uh the market and looking
ahead to the holidays and tonext year in in real estate.
You're always uh on top ofthings as far as trends go, and
I know that you've already beenlooking ahead to 2026.
SPEAKER_00 (04:25):
Well, absolutely, and the market it's interesting,
even with our community uh youknow coming off of Helene last
year and the uncertainty andeverything going on, it's
interesting.
There's been more homes actuallysold in the last 12 months
versus the previous 12 months.
The market is remaining steady.
Uh so the prices have come downa little bit, very nominal, uh,
(04:47):
just a couple percent.
And that's because of the lowinventory levels, slightly
elevated.
And even with the interestrates, at one point, you know,
earlier uh in the last fewmonths, interest rates actually
jumped down into the the fivesever so briefly, but even in the
low sixes, it's it's stillmoving.
The number of people that arepaying with cash is still a
(05:08):
strong segment of our market,and the market's still moving.
Days on the markets increasedslightly.
The market is still moving, themarket's very healthy here.
It's it's it's uh evolved, it'schanging, and and got to be
careful about what all theheadlines say.
We we're actually on track tohelp even more people than we
did last year, our team, andhelping more people with their
(05:30):
real estate needs.
And so if you're if you'retuning in for the first time
ever, the George Real EstateGroup, we're located in Flat
Rock.
We serve all of Western NorthCarolina and the upstate South
Carolina.
We have an incredible team, wehave incredible agents, we have
incredible staff.
We're so grateful to serve thecommunity through real estate.
This is my uh 20th year with myNorth Carolina broker's license,
(05:52):
and and combined on our team, wehave over a hundred years of
combined experience with ouragents.
We have incredible, uh, just sothankful for the opportunity to
serve our community.
And if we can help you in anyway, and and by the way, that
this morning's show uh verylight on the real estate.
And in fact, if you of coursecall us, if you want to have a
(06:13):
conversation about the market,your specific home, your
specific and unique situation,your unique home, we'd love to
have the conversation.
You know, we can talk about themarket, about trends, about your
your goals and your thoughts andwhat your plans are, and we can
help provide clarity andinformation so you can make a
decision for what's right foryou.
And and we're honored to dothat.
(06:34):
You can find us online atrealestatebygreg.com.
You can also follow us onInstagram and Facebook on social
media.
We also podcast, we podcast allof our radio shows.
Uh, very grateful for thepodcast that we do.
We use our radio shows and andplug that in there.
So follow us on your favoritepodcast platform.
(06:55):
That's been growingsignificantly.
The the listeners and thedownloads, and that we're we're
grateful for the impact that wehave there.
And then we have a number ofradio shows.
We're here every Thursdaymorning at 10 a.m.
And then we're here every Fridaymorning at 8.45 for the Hometown
Heroes series.
SPEAKER_01 (07:10):
And uh coming up for uh Well, I I need to I guess
we'll do a little house cleaninguh on the air live here with
you.
Uh coming up, I think it's onChristmas Day, uh, we will be
doing our top 10 countdowns ofHometown Heroes.
SPEAKER_00 (07:27):
It is such a uh you and I that's one of the other
fun uh shows we do.
And I uh I if we're talking liveright now about we we talked
about maybe even extending it,making that show a little bit
longer.
We need to give a little bitmore time there to cover that.
SPEAKER_01 (07:43):
So we'll we'll take that up to 30 minutes on
Christmas Day, and then we'llrepeat it on the day after
Christmas on that Friday morningwhen we normally do our hometown
hero.
So a couple of chances for youto hear the top ten highest
downloads of our hometown heroseries, and uh I'm beginning to
(08:03):
work on that show now.
SPEAKER_00 (08:05):
It is it is that's a fun show every year where we
recap some of the most I mean,they're all amazing stories, and
and and that's really the theway we uh have been able to
categorize the you know, we whenwe pick the top ten, it's you
know, there are it's it's basedon the the downloads, yeah.
But again, all the stories areamazing.
Uh tomorrow morning, by the way,is uh real Appalachian
(08:28):
storyteller, Virginia KingThompson, who's been telling
stories in schools and as aspeaker at various functions
here in Henderson County for now60 years.
I mean, incredible.
And so she's known as BlackFeather.
And so tomorrow maybe we mightget a story out of her.
Uh, but tomorrow morning we'regonna salute as our hometown
hero, Virginia King Thompson.
SPEAKER_01 (08:50):
Looking forward to that.
I I chatted with Virginia uhearlier in the week, and and uh
I'll give you a heads up, Noah.
She she told me on the phone,she says, I do not need a
rocking chair to tell mystories.
I'm very animated.
Well, I'm sure she doesn't needmuch prompting, right?
I mean, like give her give her amic.
(09:11):
So so I'm giving you a heads up.
Hold on for tomorrow.
I don't know what to expect, tobe honest with you.
SPEAKER_00 (09:17):
So grateful for her uh joining us tomorrow.
That's gonna be amazing.
Yeah, it is.
And again, all of our uh we haveamazing stories and and the
opportunity that we you and Iget to to share what's going on.
You know, the community, andthis is what makes our community
is the people and the the peoplethat uh are here and people have
joined our community and and andand whether it's our community
(09:38):
radio like you know, WHKP or ourcommunity real estate company, I
mean it's it's about serving thecommunity.
SPEAKER_01 (09:44):
Simple.
It's not a it's not a real uhcomplicated business plan, is
it?
SPEAKER_00 (09:48):
No, it it's uh it's it's simple.
It's it's what they say, it'sit's simple, not easy.
SPEAKER_01 (09:55):
There you go.
There you go.
SPEAKER_00 (09:57):
So I thought and I put some thoughts together.
Again, I it's alwaysperspective, right?
And with Thanksgiving, you know,and I I love I I am a big reader
and I love reading and I love uhyou know you know hearing
stories and I love you know justlearning.
I love learning.
And I don't have you heard ofBenet Brown?
(10:18):
Yes, uh the name is familiar,but I can't recall why why.
Phenomenal, phenomenal authorand speaker, and she's written a
number of books, one calledDaring Greatly, and she also has
a TED talk on vulnerability, butphenomenal speaker, but you
know, she also has an incredibleperspective on gratitude.
(10:40):
And and I, you know, and a lotof times we think of gratitude
as you know something light, maymaybe even decorative, but you
know, we might list when uh makea list when things are going
well.
You know, it's a it's apractice, you know, a habit we
practice when life feelsmanageable.
It you know, it could be amindset we use to stay positive,
but Benet Brown's work showssomething much deeper and much
(11:05):
more honest.
And and gratitude isn't easy,gratitude, she says, is actually
is brave, you know, because realgratitude doesn't live on the
surface of life, it lives wherethings are uncertain, fragile,
and unfinished.
And so Brene recently said, isvulnerability important?
(11:29):
It is if we want to be bravewith our lives.
And so gratitude requiresvulnerability and it asks us to
be present, you know, withoutguarantees.
I mean, it's a it's a lot, it'sit's amazing.
SPEAKER_01 (11:43):
That's the that's the definition of vulnerability
is to be available without afear.
SPEAKER_00 (11:49):
That's right.
And and so joy this is alsoamazing.
This is so interesting.
She also teaches that joy, andthis is why joy and gratitude
feel so risky, but joy is themost vulnerable human emotion we
experience.
More vulnerable than fear, morevulnerable than anger, more
vulnerable than grief, and thatsurprises people because we
(12:10):
assume fear is the riskiestemotion, but you know what?
Joy actually opens us upcompletely.
And so when we allow ourselvesto feel gratitude, we're also
admitting you know thatsomething matters, and so when
something matters, it can belost, and that's when we say
this moment is good, and we'realso quietly admitting the
(12:33):
moment may not last, which is sointeresting.
And so Benet puts it this waythe joy is so vulnerable that
people choose to live actually,this is so interesting.
People choose to livedisappointed rather than to get
excited about something and riskright, risk getting sucker
punched by disappointment.
Isn't that such an interestingparadigm?
SPEAKER_01 (12:54):
Oh, it's uh it's you're getting right to the core
of uh of life here and and thethink the thinking that uh I
won't go through this with manyexpectations because I won't,
and then I won't bedisappointed.
SPEAKER_00 (13:10):
Right.
Because if I yes, but the thething about that though, you
know, disappointment actuallyfeels safer.
Yeah.
If we don't lean in all the way,if we manage expectations, if we
keep some emotional distance,then maybe we won't get caught
off guard by the pain.
But here's the cost the armorprotects us from the pain, but
(13:31):
it actually from life itself.
And so when Benet talks aboutarmor, you know, we use you
know, strategies we reach forwhen self-protection is the
goal.
But you know, guess what?
Armor could be critic, you know,cynicism, it could be
perfectionism, you know, forcontrol, it could be numbing
that's co that's used for copingor staying busy so we don't have
(13:53):
to feel but armor develops for areason and it's used for
survival.
There's moments, I mean, we usethings that survive for
different hard seasons.
But the thing is, Bene remindsus that the hardest work is
actually recognizing when ourarmor no longer protects us, it
actually isolates us.
That's right.
Yeah, and so gratitude beginswhere armor loosens, not
(14:16):
dramatically, not all at once,and gratitude simply says, I
will feel this moment, I'll staypresent, and I'll actually risk
engagement.
And so it's not optimism, it'scourage because being present is
being you know vulnerable.
So it's just it's just apowerful moment.
(14:36):
But here's this interestingthing about you know, there's
this interesting myth aboutgratitude that it actually
requires happiness.
You that you need closure, thatthings need to be resolved, that
life needs to be feel feelstable, but R Bene actually
rejects that entirely, and sheactually teaches a both and
(14:59):
thinking.
You can actually be greatgratitude, you can actually be
grateful and grieving, you canactually be appreciative and
exhausted, and you can bethankful and afraid.
I mean, talk about like howappropriate this is on
Thanksgiving, but gratitudedoesn't cancel the pain, and
pain doesn't invalidate thegratitude, and gratitude, most
(15:22):
importantly, you're not indenial, you're not in denial,
it's actually an integration.
So it actually allows you knowpain and grief to exist without
and it's it's not allowing thepain to become the entire story.
So gratitude does not say thisshouldn't hurt.
Gratitude actually says thishurts, and there's still
(15:42):
something here worth you knowstaying present for.
SPEAKER_01 (15:46):
This hurts, but I'm glad it doesn't hurt more.
SPEAKER_00 (15:48):
Right.
And you can acknowledge, guesswhat?
Life's not easy.
Life's it's it's you know, thisis just being real here.
So, anyways, it's it's again,this is where you know what
being present, being gratitudeis just acknowledging the the
presence and and putting downthe armor and and um enjoying
(16:08):
the moment.
And so it's and again, it's andthis is why, by the way, you
know, our culture, we have alarger cultural issue of of
disconnection, but you know, wemove fast, you know, we're
scrolling, you know, we you numbout easily, you know.
It's and so know what gratitudeactually requires is is to slow
down and pay attention and payattention.
(16:31):
You know, it and guess what?
And this is why most peopledon't want to slow down is
because they have to feel.
And if you because if you slowdown you have to be present with
your feelings.
Yeah.
And so Brene actually says wecannot selectively numb emotion.
And so when we numb pain, weactually numb out joy.
You know, so your level of joythat you can experience is
(16:53):
actually to the level of ofgrief that you can experience.
And so gratitude isn't somethingwe add once we feel better.
It's actually what returns whenwe stop numbing and start
noticing again.
And it's an invitation actuallyto the full spectrum of being
human.
And again, I thought on thisThanksgiving day.
So you know, it's not about um,you know, it's about
(17:17):
wholehearted living and andpeople who live meaningful lives
do not experience less pain.
They uh they aren't sparedheartbreak, they aren't spared,
they aren't insulated from loss,and no one's insulated from
loss, and they're not protectedfrom uncertainty.
And so here's the thing aboutgratitude, what they do people
that live wholeheart havewholehearted living is they have
(17:40):
a practice of gratitude, not asa mood, not as a forced
positivity, and not even as achecklist, but it's this
commitment to actually stayawake in your life, and be open
to uh receiving great thingsthat you can be thankful for and
(18:01):
grateful for.
Yeah, and so this is where it'sagain being present, being open
to feeling, and you and youchoose we choose engagement over
armor, which again that choicetakes courage.
And she says there's no couragewithout vulnerability.
And and so gratitude doesn'tdoes not mean saying thank you
for everything that happens, itactually is saying, daring to
(18:22):
say this matters, this isprecious, this moment counts.
I mean, if if you're sittingaround the table with your
family that's still with you, Imean that moment you know
counts.
SPEAKER_01 (18:32):
Yes, it does.
SPEAKER_00 (18:33):
And so even when it's fragile, even when it
hurts, and especially, and thisis I think this illusion of
control we all have, but evenwhen especially when there's no
guarantees, which none of ushave anyways, and and so
gratitude's not about beinghappy, it's about being
wholehearted, and wholeheartedliving is not passive, and you
(18:56):
know, it's an it's an act ofcourage.
I I've really have lovedlistening and reading Benaze
Brown work on this subject ofgratitude, and I just thought
it'd be appropriate to talkabout.
So it's again the the thing isabout gratitude, it's not
denying the pain, but it'schoosing to stay present in a
life that that still matters.
(19:17):
It isn't is anyway.
So again, gr it's it's sofascinating to me.
Um, again, all this like in uhyou know, when you go through
hard things, and I know youhave, and I know I have, and
it's you know, it's just againbeing present, being and putting
perspective on things, and andagain, the and how gratitude um
uh can impact our lives.
SPEAKER_01 (19:38):
It is uh and uh you're right, everybody goes
through situations, familymembers uh get ill and uh uh
they pass on, and and uh there'suh a temptation and and it's
easy to put up the armor andsay, I know what's coming, and
uh put up the armor and and justdon't get involved and just pass
(20:02):
the time.
And it there's a temptation todo that.
SPEAKER_00 (20:05):
Oh, it's easy, all of us are it's a lot easier,
yeah.
It is easier, but it doesn'treally I mean it might serve you
for a moment, but it it willcatch up to you.
SPEAKER_01 (20:16):
It will, it will.
SPEAKER_00 (20:18):
Um this is a little bit of a tie-in, but in a second
story that I I was sofascinated.
Uh there's and there's a littlebit this is more maybe about
more about being vulnerable thanit is necessarily about, you
know, it but yeah, this is sointeresting about gratitude and
vulner vulnerability, but um Ididn't know this story.
(20:40):
This is a bit of a historylesson.
Um everybody and everybody now,and you're I uh Vincent Van
Gogh.
SPEAKER_01 (20:48):
Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:50):
Do you I was so amazed when I had really dug
into his story, and I don'tthink at any point d during his
own life had any of hispaintings even no nothing really
ever sold.
SPEAKER_01 (21:06):
Right.
It happened after he died.
SPEAKER_00 (21:08):
Well it happened after it died, but do you know
why it happened after he died?
SPEAKER_01 (21:13):
Was uh Vincent Van Gogh a victim of depression?
SPEAKER_00 (21:16):
Well, he he did have some some challenges with that.
Okay, but this is sointeresting.
I mean, of course, people knowthe starry night.
Right.
I've actually seen that uh inperson.
Uh you have the the sunflowers,you have the bedroom uh
painting, and again, it's thisis so interesting.
(21:37):
And this is I'm gonna the reasonI'm bringing this up, it's about
sharing vulnerability about youknow what you're going through
and what you know, but this isso interesting.
During his lifetimes, hispaintings actually had I mean
they had almost no value.
He actually he virtually soldnothing, he lived in poverty, he
relied financially on hisbrother Theo, and later on
(21:59):
Theo's wife, Johanna, uh and andhis sister-in-law, and and yet
he still painted, not becausethe world understood him, not
because the work was celebrated,but this is how his painting was
how he you know stayed connectedto his to his life.
But this is so interesting.
His paintings would meannothing, and we wouldn't
(22:21):
understand Vingo without hisletters.
He actually wrote and cre all hewrote hundreds of letters to his
brother Theo and his and hislater to his sister-in-law
Johanna, just these honestletters of his struggles and his
reality and his vulnerable, likehow all the things he was going
(22:42):
through, they weren't polished,they weren't intended for
public, you know, for theaudience.
And I mean, he wrote about hisisolation, he wrote about his
mental illness, he wrote abouthis spiritual hunger, his fear,
he wrote about his hope, and sohe wrote just wrote about it,
but it guess what?
Without the letters, thepaintings are just images, and
(23:02):
so the images are amazing, butthey're incomplete without the
bigger picture.
And guess what?
So his sister-in-law ended uppublishing a book of his
letters, and it was the lettersthat caused his paintings to
explode because guess what thepaintings were actually, for
(23:23):
example, the sunflowers were notjust this still life painting,
it was actually painted duringthe season of hope and grief.
It was he was preparing for uh ahome for his friend uh to come
visit with him and he imaginedcollaborating, he imagined his
friendship, he la imagined allthis stuff, but the sunflowers
(23:43):
were actually meant meant towelcome his friend, but his
friend didn't stay.
The friendship collapsed,Vincent spiraled, the season
ended up being this deepemotional pain.
So, what we now see is thisbright, joyful painting of uh
sunflowers were actually uh moreabout his longing and loss with
that.
(24:03):
But again, if we didn't have theletters, we wouldn't know that.
Again, without hisvulnerability, we we may have
mistaken grief for decoration.
One other story is the starrynight.
Perhaps his most famous work, itwasn't painted in freedom, he
actually painted it while he wasconfined in a mental hospital.
And so the view of the sky camefrom his window, and it wasn't
(24:28):
painting a peaceful night, hewas painting it inside
depression, anxiety, mentalillness, and the swirling stars,
the the restless movements, thecontrast between the chaos and
calm.
And so this wasn't a fantasy ofbeauty, it was actually a man
reaching for meaning whileimprisoned in his own mind.
Again, without the letters, wedidn't we wouldn't have known
(24:51):
any of this.
Again, so the vulnerability thatagain during his life, you know,
his he was suffering in private,but his you know his hope was
largely unreturned, and and hisgratitude was quiet, actually,
only expressing in the writing,but it was the the letters that
changed everything, and theyactually revealed the story
(25:11):
behind the canvas.
And so the the the world didn'tconnect to Van Gogh because of
his paintings, the worldactually connected because of
sharing his story, and so it'sactually you know, vulnerability
is not weakness, it's it'sactually the birthplace of
meaning.
And so Van Gogh lived that truthbefore it actually had a
language, and so he did notarmor himself from the pain, he
(25:34):
actually documented it, hepainted through it, he wrote
honestly about it, and so whatwas once ignored, his paintings
were just you know, theyactually became timeless and and
you know, not because the paindisappeared, but because the
vulnerability remained visible.
So it's interesting, again, inthis, and maybe a stretch to
(25:54):
combine Benet Brown and Vincentand Vincent Vegot, but like you
know, again, what what is themeaning we're giving to our own
story?
And what are you uh again?
Are you being brave to share andshow up?
And you know, it's it's it'sabout you know being really
vulnerable about what's goingon.
SPEAKER_01 (26:11):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And uh so the moral of the storyis get involved.
Uh, you know, be present.
SPEAKER_00 (26:19):
Be present, be connected to yourself and and
with others, be in community andand uh don't you know again life
is gonna happen and and are youwilling to lean into to it all?
And again, your level of joy isusually connected to the level
of grief that you canexperience.
And and again, just becauseyou're grieving, again, that's
(26:41):
not it's not everything, right?
And just and just and gratitudedoesn't mean you're ignoring the
hard things going on.
And so I on Thanksgiving Day, wecan have both gratitude and
actually grief at the same time.
SPEAKER_01 (26:56):
And you can be there uh beginning today with those
people that are gathered aroundyour table.
SPEAKER_00 (27:04):
That's right, and again, the moment being present
in the moment, yeah, which againit's a gift to have those those
moments with families.
Absolutely.
So it just puts perspective onthings and and and things do
matter and life does matter, andagain, how we uh approach uh uh
how we approach things and andit and it and again gratitude's
(27:25):
not denying what's going on inin your life.
Not at all.
So I just I maybe I got a littleuh I got up on the the
preacher's uh box today, but I Ijust put some per it's all about
perspective, and again, it'sit's just so much to be thankful
for and and grateful for.
(27:46):
And um, and I I just thoughtagain, listen, you and I, I
mean, people can call usanytime.
We can talk about real estate,but I was like, I'm gonna take
today and we're gonna talk aboutgratitude.
SPEAKER_01 (27:56):
Well, I'm sure glad you did, and that's one of the
main reasons I I like to bearound here on Thanksgiving Day
is to uh join you on the showand and uh again on Friday
mornings, we uh gather everyFriday morning and and try to uh
physically show some of thatgratitude and and shine a light
(28:17):
on uh the folks that that make adifference in our community.
We've uh we've been focusing alot on uh the folks down in
Batcave and and the uh uh BroadRiver Gorge area and the
destruction that came there fromHurricane Helene, and there's no
better shining example uhanywhere than uh the the
(28:38):
volunteer work that's going ondown there.
SPEAKER_00 (28:40):
And on and continuing to go on.
Again, that's why I you know iteven in the light of the
anniversary, a year anniversary,I mean, uh people might find it
surprising the amount of workthat's still going on.
SPEAKER_01 (28:55):
Still needed.
SPEAKER_00 (28:55):
And still needed, and the opportunity to
volunteer, the opportunity to togive and to and to show up.
Again, neighbors still helpingneighbors and in the work that's
gonna be done there.
SPEAKER_01 (29:06):
We saw you and I have witnessed uh m many tears
at this table, and uh tears ofgratitude in a lot of ways.
Uh the people, the victims, thefolks who've suffered damage,
they've been here at thesemicrophones and and talked about
uh all of the things thatthey've received and the and the
(29:27):
love they've received from theirneighbors there and people they
didn't even know.
So gratitude is a big part of uhof what we're talking about
here.
SPEAKER_00 (29:36):
Yeah, the th and the thing that sticks out to me, one
of the most the most impactfulthings, and we've heard some
phenomenal and we continue tohear some phenomenal stories,
was one of the things that Iremember hearing recently was
the j the volunteers that weregoing and showing up to these
different families' homes, andthese families' homes were gone,
(29:56):
but they said, Go help myneighbor.
I mean, just I mean, it's sounbelievable.
SPEAKER_01 (30:04):
It's incredible.
It is.
Well, no, well, thank you somuch.
Uh, I can't believe we've talkedabout time flies.
It really does.
It really does.
And you got a big apple pie totake home now.
I can't wait to turn this micoff because uh all conversation
will now cease.
Thank you so much.
See you tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00 (30:22):
Happy Thanksgiving.
And again, so grateful to behere, and we'll be here tomorrow
morning.
Thank you.
Bye.
You've built a lifetime ofstrength, wisdom, and
independence.
(30:42):
And here's the best part.
You still have it.
Every decision, every step,every next chapter is yours to
choose.
Selling your home isn't aboutletting go, it's about opening
the door to more freedom, moretime for what you love, more
energy for the people andpassions that matter most.
(31:04):
At the George Real Estate Group,we believe independence isn't
behind you.
It's right here, right now.
Our team goes beyond buying andselling.
We're here to help you protectyour wealth, preserve your
legacy, and make sure Uncle Samdoesn't become your biggest
benefactor.
We'll guide you every step ofthe way towards your next
(31:26):
chapter, your next opportunity,and your freedom on your terms.
Call us at 828-393-0134.
Find us online atrealestatebygreg.com.
SPEAKER_01 (31:38):
Thank you for listening to the George Real
Estate Group Podcast.
Tune in next time for moreindustry news, updates, and real
estate tips.
You can reach Greg, the GeorgeReal Estate Group, at 828 393
0134 or at realestatebygreg.com.
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