Gratitude Every Day: day nine

As I've said, being gone from this area of the world for eight years, the weather here feels like a new adventure for me.  The rainstorms here are delightful!  So much different than the West Coast rainy season ~  these rainstorms are round and fecund, dramatic and energizing!  The electricity in the air, thrilling.  Every thing in Nature seems to come even more alive ~ vibrant and technicolor, perky.  These rainstorms are a welcome break from my fervent outdoor activity ~ a beckoning inside for slower and mellower tea-sipping hours.  Could a rainstorm be sexy?  I think so.

Today, I'm grateful for Springtime Kentucky rainstorms.    

Gratitude Every Day: day eight

Farm livin' is the life for me.  Today I'm grateful for...

CHICKENS!!! 

Gratitude Every Day: day seven

Oh!  It is so hard to be grateful when dappled sunshine  is falling on your back, a light Spring breeze caresses your cheek, birdsong is about the only thing in your ear, and your temporary office is a yard that backs up to the Pisgah National Forest in Asheville, North Carolina!  ;-)




Today, I am grateful for hiking with friends.

*Bonus!* cute baby photo!!

Quickly accepted into the species, Cutus Adorabilis, Baby Jude is an instant heart-stealer.

Gratitude Every Day: days three through six!

Well, I've gotten behind on my gratitude listing because:  I've been having so much fun!  It's easy to find things to be grateful when you're having fun, eh?  In those instances, the challenge is in finding *which* grateful thing to focus on, as opposed to finding the gratitude.  Ahhh. feels gooood!

So I'll just choose a few obvious ones.  (can you feel my gushing?!)

I'm grateful for:
girlfriends!
girlfriends!
girlfriends!
girlfriends!

Girlfriends who, by the sheer infection of their enthusiasm, can pull you up outta bed from moping.

-who support you and encourage you to be your highest, best self.

-who invite you to take a break from taking yourself and life so damn seriously! 

-who are not afraid to have a whole WHOLE lot of fun. 

-who are open to giggling for hours.

- who howl at the moon, regularly.

- who aren't afraid to be very very irreverent.

-who appreciate the sacred in every thing and every moment.

Did I mention girlfriends who like to dance?  What about chocolate? ...Surely that must be in there. 

 
I'm grateful for:
a community of fabulous individuals who totally BRING the party!  Every one of my friends is a multi-talented, beautiful person who adds layers of love, effort, and magic to any occasion worth attending here in Lexington.  Not only are they fun and talented, they are loyal and caring and giving, providing exactly the village experience the Family Pope was wishing for when we took the flying LEAP to move back to Lexington.  I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!


I'm grateful for:
parties worth dressing up for!
days worth drinking espresso for!
magic!
music!
passion!
mischief!
hips that remember what boogying down feels like and then don't stop for days.

I'm grateful for:
My Family.  I marvel at the girl my daughter is blossoming into.  Her wisdom, her insight, her savvy, her fashion/costuming sense, her dancing, her mastery of working a crowd.  Her poop jokes. ;-)   My soulmate ~ who immediately impresses upon anyone who meets him his energy and motivation and zeal.  His generosity and passion.  His deep sense of trust in our relationship and in me. {heart heart heart heart!!!}


Ok!  I do believe that's enough exclamation marks for one blog entry.
At least you can say for me, that when I am manic, I ride it like the sparkling art car that it is.    

Gratitude Every Day ~ day two

Today I choose to be grateful for Springtime in Kentucky.  I have been surprised that after spending those eight years on the West Coast, the climate and weather here in my home-state feel new and adventurous to me.  After the dead time of Winter when all green things go underground to sleep, Springtime here really feels like a celebration!  All the blooming bulbs and flowering trees are so festive ~ like they put on their best dresses for the glorious occasion!  I celebrate with them.

Gratitude Every Day

I have managed to get totally out of the habit of blogging.  When I lived in Mexico, I am proud to say that I repurposed that time into living in the moment, slowly.  However, since I have returned to the US, I find plenty of small moments throughout the day to check Facebook.  Some of that I think is worthwhile.  And sharing on there feels worthwhile to me.  But that interaction is so ADD- and addictive-feeling to me.  Sharing on a blog ~ as much as blog times have changed ~ feels like more of an investment in myself, and less like a jonezing twitch.  This blog is quite valuable to me after all these years of sharing in this space.  I look back and really appreciate the investment.

So anyway, inspired by one of my favorite bloggers and people, Andrea Scher, I'm going to do some gratitude journaling and accountability here.  I walked through a very low-frequency moment for more than a week recently.  Whatever was the cause, I felt as if I had to pick myself up by my bootstraps and apply some discipline to look at things in a sunny manner.  Attitude is a habit.  Even with all the shitty things that happen here on Earth (by those outta control big-headed hairless monkeys), it will always be a miraculous place to exist.  And I endeavor to see my life for the miracle that it is, every. frickin. day.









not hard to see the miracle here.  baby steps, right? ;-)  photo by Remy.. or was it Darek?? 

I wrote in my journal that disciplined morning a few days ago about how I would fill the page with gratitudes, even when I was seeing the world through half-empty glasses. ;-)  I did an oracle reading for the first time for myself on New Year's (as a part of my Create your Goddess Year workbook), and on the new moon of each month, I read the card that I drew for myself for that month.  This month, on the day that I chose to look on the bright side even though my lip was still dragging in the mud, I read my card from the Sacred Path Cards:  Number One:  Peace Pipe.  What the card said to me was that I am responsible for the vibration I put out ~ even through my thoughts.  That everything in my life ripples out to touch every being with whom I'm connected ~ the whole web.  So I need to come to terms with the fact that I came into this world at this time, and accept my purpose.  I need to come to balance and peace inside myself so that I can fully own the vibe I transmit at all times.  To me this doesn't mean denying my feelings, but simply realizing that I'm in charge of the way I choose to Be in this life, and owning it.
So this is a step in that owning and responsibility.
I guess the soundtrack to this (as is my soundtrack for everything these days ~ Medicine for the People)'s "Manifesto" refrain:  "Don't waste your hate.  Rather, gather and create.  Be of service.  Be a sensible person.  Use your words and don't be nervous.  You can do this; you've got purpose.  Find your medicine and use it."

Today I'm grateful for this medicine that I know is mine ~ the written (typed) word.  May it be useful to Mama Earth and her inhabitants.