Habitual Gratitude

Today I am grateful for the mystery and awe of the moon and stars in the early morning sky. I am also grateful for the various sounds I could hear as I paused on this morning's walk with our dog Oliver. Consider these words: "There are many things to be grateful "for" but, as I ripen with the seasons of life, the many reasons blend into a sacred mystery. And, most deeply, I realize that living gratefully is its own blessing." (Michael Mahoney) Ripening with the seasons of life is itself a gift. I consider that this morning as I read about the early death of a fellow blogger from metastatic breast cancer. Acknowledging the many sacred mysteries in this life requires an open mind and heart, and a daily leap of faith. I consider that as I work to keep my ego right-sized and my motives unselfish.  Then, I consider the richness that 22 years of active gratitude practice has added to the moments, hours, days, weeks, months, and years over that time....

Today I am grateful for my gratitude journal and the practice of starting my day by writing down two things for which I am grateful. It really is simple. Pause. Pay attention. Write it down or type it up. Today I am grateful for: 1. a working washer and dryer, and clothes to clean. 2. the power of the written word, to both writer and reader. 3. the opportunity to walk our dog Oliver each morning. 4. my husband Darcy and our marriage. 5. warm milk on cereal. 6. the old Nordic Track machine I have had for years. 7. the sweat and endorphins that machine helped me produce this morning. 8. recovery tools to help me not only stay sober, but also relatively sane. 9. the feel of the fresh air on my skin as I step outside. 10. the love I have for my family and friends, and the love they give back. That's all folks. I encourage you to write and share your own list. Feel free to add to mine in the comments options.  Have a good day of living gratefully.

Today I am grateful for rest and the fresh perspective of a new day. These words from Br. David Steindl-Rast feel like a salve to a broken and suffering world: "Our approach to gratefulness has to be big enough to embrace all the difficulties of the world." Innocent people dying on a bike path in New York City. Hurricanes and wildfires becoming more severe and frequent, with climate change a contributing factor. Racial and religious tensions. More teens suffering from higher levels of anxiety. And so much more.  Yet, the simple act of living gratefully brings first a respect for ourselves and the present moment. Which then makes it more likely for us to show that respect and presence to others we meet in our day. Simple love, tolerance, and acceptance go a long way in breaking down the isolation and pain that lead people to do hateful things and to neglect caring for the good that is already here for us.  The wide embrace our world needs starts with m...

Today I am grateful for exercise and endorphins, bananas and oatmeal. My thoughts and prayers go out to my Uncle Nilus and his six children and their families. Aunt Jenny, my dad's sister, passed away Sunday evening at age 87. Rest in peace Aunt Jenny. Happy birthday to my sister Danita today and Happy Halloween to all. It is the last day of October and I haven't written a word on this blog this month about Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Part of that had to do with it being a busy month in many other ways. Part of it had to do with feeling like taking a break from all the discussion and hype surrounding Pinktober. If any day in this month of awareness needed to be hyped more, it is October 13. This is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. The 40,000 breast cancer deaths a year, pretty much unchanged over the last 2 decades, are deaths from metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Cancer within the breast is not fatal, except maybe to the breast it is in. MBC is cancer that spr...

Today I am grateful for our visitors this weekend and their safe travels. It was nice to spend time with people we don't get to see often. Yesterday, our grandson Aaron was baptized at our church. It was a nice gathering and a celebration of new beginnings. Attended by a variety of family and friends, from great-grandparents to Aaron's cousin and our other grandson Leo, this weekend was the first time many met the newest member of our family. Here he is with his parents Arthur and Alyssa and his godparents Emily and Sam, near the baptismal font holding the water used in his baptism: Aaron won't remember his baptism, but the rest of us will. It's a formal sacrament, but I also appreciate the broader meaning behind it. Let's help this infant grow into a young person and then an adult who is a contributor and an asset to the groups, teams, and communities to which he belongs. And then I am reminded of my own circle of support and the many family and frie...

Today I am grateful for the beauty of our first snowfall on the trees, and that it didn't cause travel difficulties in our area. I am also grateful for all five of my senses, especially my hearing this morning. Some mornings as I do my gratitude journaling and blog post composing, I play some music on the computer and use Sam's hand-me-down broken Beats headphones to fully immerse myself in the listening experience. The only thing broken on these headphones is part of the headpiece. The sound is great. But this isn't a plug for Sony, this is a plug for the joy of music. I can't sing worth a darn, so I usually reserve singing along to songs when I am alone. I am really good at listening to music though, and from a young age I have been a music lover. In my early years, I sat next to one of the speakers on our big console stereo and played my older siblings' albums. Then I got my own vinyl. Then I got my license and eventually my own car. The car is still my fav...

Today I am grateful for our dog Oliver and his unconditional love. I am also grateful for my friends Sheila and Jill and the conversations we had yesterday. It is such a gift to have friends who listen and with whom I share mutual respect and trust. A minor incident yesterday morning had me thinking about the idea of "saving grace" yesterday. Our computer charger cord sometimes falls behind our desk and it is a pain to get it back to where it should be. Yesterday morning I was switching the charger from my work computer to our home computer and the cord slipped off the desk. I admit a swear word emitted from me. I was in a hurry and not happy to be taking the time to get underneath the desk and wrangle the cord back up. It is also harder for me to get in to small spaces these days, my joints protest more. I got under the desk and took a look. There were other cords, but not the one I was looking for. I got back up and looked behind the desk. The charger cord was caught ...