Today I will praise . . .

Living gratefully today, I appreciate the amazing people I work with. They are such a talented bunch and they have especially risen to the challenge of this pandemic school year. I also give thanks for the morning patio time I am presently enjoying. 

I am taking a six-week course, online with several hundred others, about living gratefully.  The course has a weekly session via Zoom, and a wealth of resources for us to delve into, practice, take in and give back out. Here is a poem and accompanying reflection we were invited to explore:

Praise by Angelo Geter.  It is a lovely, sometimes dark, always hopeful poem. The reflection we were presented with is: 

                                    Complete Geter’s first line, “Today I will praise..." 

Here are a few of my responses:

*The rustle of spring leaves in the breeze— much more subtle than the dry fall leaves. 

*Change. The kind that we seek, and the kind that seeks us, even the painful kind. 

*The poignant words of Angelo Geter and the emotions they bring forth. 

*A place to sit on my walk, and a new view:

This spot is a short walk from the school I have worked at for over twenty years, and I just discovered this particular place yesterday afternoon. The trees of spring and the mix of clouds and blue sky never gets old to me, and always presents new perspectives and light and combinations. 

New perspectives. Light. Combinations. I suspect if you and I pause a handful of times today to answer "Today I will praise . . . " that we will each find gratefulness in the fresh perspectives, the energizing light, and the combinations of amazing gifts before our eyes.

How will you answer "Today I will praise . . . ?"