The Year of Gratefulness

Each year I try to think of a word or phrase that best encapsulates that year. In 2009 my phrase was "Buddha by the River".  I decided to sit down by the river and wait for the world to come past me, and it did.  I met people from Argentina, Japan, Canada, Estonia, Macedonia, and numerous states around the country ... all in my home via my astrology practice and meetups. 

This year my word is "gratefulness", which reached full bloom when I went to visit my grandfather in Ronda, NC two weekends ago.  While there I felt profoundly grateful for his home and the gift of retreat that it offered me at a time when I clearly needed slow movement and silence.  I was able to read, rest, and enjoy lazy days with him, all while enjoying the best in country cooking and sweet tea.  I look forward to returning in about three weeks.

While there I experienced gratefulness in so many areas of my life.  I remain in awe of my relationship with Betsy and Maya.  Both add such joy to my life that words will be lacking no matter how eloquently woven.  I will suffice to say I love them both and feel their love daily.  I became grateful for my Spiritual Awakening, even as it has been challenging and many days debilitating.  Over the duration of the experience, still ongoing, I acknowledge the amazing gift of transformation and rebirth that is happening to my soul and personality.  I am grateful for my community and where I live.  Cary is a diverse, intelligent, soulful area that provides me and my family with great safety, health, and opportunity.  I love that Betsy and I can walk to her job, that we can have a pool for Maya and her sisters Zelda and Elanor, that Maya can go to an outstanding Montessori school only 5 miles from our home, that we have a movie theater 1/2 a mile from our house, and lots and lots of local business to enrich our community.

I have been grateful for Alibris Books.com and Ebay, which have allowed me to build my Astrology and Tarot library at nominal costs, providing me with rare and hard to find books that Barnes and Noble will never carry.  I am grateful for Barnes and Noble as a place for me to have mini-retreats and enjoy a sweet snack as I read a comic book graphic novel.  I am grateful that my parents live nearby; I just wish they were closer and we could spend more time together.  But I love going down for a visit and playing golf with Dad, sitting out by the lake in their backyard, and enjoying a home cooked breakfast from Mom.  I am grateful for the medical and psychological professions that have helped me through my Spiritual Awakening without judgment as they did their best to identify my problems, helping where they could and understanding where they could not.

I am grateful for the mundane, "easy to take for granted" aspects of my life.  My home, which keeps me dry when it rains and cool when it is hot.  Flushing toilets, man, am I grateful for those!  Every working flush is pure joy.  Working stoplights, paved roads (smooth or rough), sidewalks (even though we could use more of them), my lawn mower starting each time I use it, the A/C in my van when I have everyone in it (6 of us).  I love this computer and the free services I get for blogging and email (gmail).  I am grateful for fresh water, a state with four seasons, a local government that picks up my trash and recycling.  I am grateful for the wind on a hot day, the bright sun on a clear day, bees, and our cat, Chula, who keeps the moles and mice out of the yard.

This year, I am grateful.