A Lovely Thanksgiving

I was telling a friend that every morning when I wake up, before I do anything else, I spend some time thinking of things for which I'm grateful. The first thing I think of is always My Bed. Next, I'm grateful for my warm blankets, then it's my pillow. There isn't much that's better than my bed and warm covers, especially when it's time to crawl out of them into the cold morning air. That's when they become magnetic, trying to persuade me to stay just a bit longer, then another bit longer.

I do move on to other gratitudes that could be considered to have more substance, though I'm not sure that judgment is accurate.

In response to the description of my morning gratitude, my friend offered me this:

Every day, choose a letter of the alphabet, and throughout the day find things that begin with that letter and be grateful for them. 

Day one, I chose J. J was a challenging letter for me. But I saw Juniper trees and remembered making a happy face out of Juniper berries during my solo time while on wilderness quest years ago. I was grateful for that experience, and the memory of it gave me a smile. I also found gratitude for the Junctions of streets where I walk my dog each day; particularly the Junction that can be scary with cars whipping around the curve. That Junction wakes me up if I happen to to have been lulled into a daydream. 

In the evening while I was pedaling my arm bike, I looked around the room for things that began with J. Not even one book on my bookshelf had a J in the title. Oh! But I was using my arm bike for my shoulder JOINT! The Joint that has hurt so much and limited my movement so I can't even reach over to wash my other armpit. I love Joints, even ones that are limiting. Can you imagine a life with no Joints? 

Today my Letter is L. Ah. See that? Letter. I'm grateful for Letters. Letters that make up words that open the world for us in so many ways, allowing us to express, coming together to form books about Lives and Loves we might have not known without them. Oh, and the other kind of Letter! Something almost archaic now, but who doesn't love to read a handwritten Letter? (Unless the handwriting is mine and pretty much undecipherable...)

As I bake and cook and clean and prepare for family to come over for Thanksgiving dinner tonight, I especially want to pay attention to the L word Love in all the forms it shows itself. Love between humans, the Love it takes to get up early on a holiday in order to ensure the turkey is thawed and cooked just right, Love splashed all over the sky as a pink and purple sunrise, the Love that is shown by our Listening to each other. The Love that is everywhere in Life. Unlike my J day, I could spend this whole day finding L everywhere, because Love is everywhere, showing up in so many ways.

As I get ready to click on the Publish button, I am thinking of the few readers of this blog, people I know and Love. This day, and always, I hope that Love shows itself to you in each and every moment.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Love

Carol

As Dharma and I walk together

not too far from home,

I hear the voice of a hawk.

It stands out against 

the rumbles of the city,

and the sound wakes me up.

I then search the sky and trees

for the high I know will come

as the raptor flies us free

from the gravity of life.

Carol Barrow

November, 2018