I hope you’ve been keeping well these last couple of weeks. Or at least feel as my dear cuz says, “good enough.” If there was to be a subliminal message from the sages of time to us right now on the planet, it might be “breathe, exhale, drop your shoulders”. It is so easy to be consumed by the ever changing faces of the pandemic, what it demands of us all and how to constantly rearrange our footing. It can be absolutely overwhelming. One doesn't have to look too hard to see it in the eyes of those we meet, or even feel it in our bones.
I have had the good distraction recently of being deep in production of the everyday grateful wrist malas. What a wonderful focus to keep reigning me in. It is a joy to spread this message around, for it truly is one of our best medicines. This work keeps me present and as I repeat the words over and over again, my shoulders do drop. I sense a kinder approach to myself and the lens through which I see the world is definitely softer.
Gratitude is medicine, a faithful friend, an extraordinarily empowering home base to return to. When we are grateful, we are surely present. When we allow gratitude to fill our core, it permits us to get lost along the way and know that we will find our way back. No matter what.. gratitude will align what has become askew.
To be the recipient of another’s thanks is heart warming and healing. To offer your gratitude generously is universally healing. Nothing is greater than the gift of genuine thanks.
Every day we can offer thanks to our ancestors who have cleared and lit the paths before us,
or blocked dangerous trails. We can give thanks to be truly loved and honestly challenged. To witness births and deaths, that crack our hearts open into vistas that will stretch us beyond imaginable. Birthing in itself a new view, a new way.
To be present with the phases of the moon or witness the sun climb and dip over the horizon, rippling its golden red hues as far as the eye can see. To witness thunder and rainbows, feeling the adrenaline rise then resting in awe. For the magnificent waters that flow through us, upon us and around us from streams to oceans. Grateful.
How about the miracle of our extraordinary bodies we call our own? Hearts beating, lungs breathing, neurons firing miracle. To experience our bodies with possibility and responsibility is a gift to be grateful for.
There is much suffering in life. It’s the first noble truth. The fact that we don’t suffer all things at the same time, leaves plenty of reasons to be grateful. I went to a chiropractor recently consumed with a sore back. Being my first time in this clinic, I had to fill out a health history through pages of multiple choice questions. It left me in awe of how many things can actually go wrong with the body and filled me with gratitude for all that is right.
Next week I will be on personal retreat reflecting on all there is to be grateful for. This community of readers will be one a them. Thank you for being here. I hope these reflections remind you that we don’t walk life alone. I will check in for Mother’s Day.
