Revisiting Aliveness

Today I am grateful that I still have a lot to learn about myself and life, and that I understand and accept this in new ways.

Today's birthday wishes go out to my eldest brother Linus. Happy Birthday Linus! Enjoy your day!

I wrote about being alive and aliveness yesterday, and then today decided to go back and see what I had written on May 4 in previous years. I didn't post on May 4 last year, so I kept going back and found this post from two years ago, titled "What Makes Me Come Alive?"

It was good to reread it and frame it in the circumstances we are in today. Coming alive feels even more meaningful and necessary.

Here it is in its entirety:

Today I am grateful for my sense of hearing and the music I can enjoy because of it. I am also grateful for two gatherings I attended yesterday. One was a funeral for a friend. The other was a staff recognition dinner for my school.

It all fits nicely with Everyday Gratitude Day 6: Don't Ask What the World Needs . . .


"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go out and do it. 
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
(Howard Thurman)

"What makes me come alive?" 

This list for me is long and fulfilling. It has some familiar regulars. It also has new experiences and the curiosity and exhilaration that come with them. The things that come to mind right now include:

*writing      *running        *meaningful conversations       *being out in nature      *recovery     
*meaningful relationships     *productive and collegial work      *spiritual exploration
*the flow of words      *intimacy in its many forms     *my favorite songs      *a moment's pause
*pictures of people I care about and memories together     *living gratefully     *coffee
*the release of acceptance and letting go      *a breeze in my face

And the second part of the question posed is "What can I do with that?" 

*share it      *continue doing these things    *put the energy created to good use     *relish and savor

Those things that get in the way of me coming alive stand less of a chance then. 

The world needs people who have come alive. Let us each be one of them today. 

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