GRATITUDE MONTH: DAY 9: “You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”― Kahlil Gibran
And this is the way it works best, at least for me. I love writing my gratitude letter every morning. I sit in my bed, with the curtains open on the 8 foot glass door and look out at my beautiful gardens and the wildlife that comes to my yard. Lots of hummingbirds feeding outside the window, along with blue jays yelling and eating peanuts and sunflower seeds. So many birds flying over…egrets and crows and hawks and sometimes a bald eagle. I get very grateful watching the Wonderland that is where I live.
And the gardens are always in flux, crops growing and flowers blooming. I have a dozen or so orchids of all kinds outside my bedroom, some in bloom. And a couple of trees for all the birds.
It is peaceful, with only the sound of the ocean and the birds. My life feels full and beautiful. I can write pages just about waking up to this life.
Then there is the coziness of my bed, an old oak bed from the 1800s with a super high headboard to keep me seated straight in my morning meditation. I love it! And so many gifts, amazing energy and great good health, recovery of over 33 years, a great deal of service that I can be involved in each and every day. A lot of gratitude right there.
Then there are the people in my life. So many wonderful relationships over the course of my life; 65 years so far. I cannot believe it, even when I write it, that I am this old. Wow! And having the best time of my life…so far. I know it will get better and better. I am looking forward to that. And the adventures I get to have. I truly call myself “God’s Favorite Kid.” And I mean it!
This is the focus of my day. The good things that are around me in abundance…all gifts…all Grace. I am full and fed each day with amazing love and gratitude for this life. All of it, every minute…for the moments when I was afraid or sad or in pain have created the counterbalance to the high I get when I look at the gifts. There is a richness that comes from grief and pain and heartache and being afraid. The balance is richer every day. I wish I could bottle this stuff sometimes, to share it with others. But the truth is the same, this is all an inside job. How grateful I am that I have found the key and the means by which it comes to me this day.
Dolphin Hug 