Lotus Mahal

Sometimes, when we get caught up in the daily news, and the hub-bub of daily life, we forget that there’s still so much to be thankful for.  News reports of wars, job loss, famine, hunger, violence, personal greed – it all seems too much sometimes.  But today is the day to put it all aside, understanding that it’s all still there, but taking a day to be still and focus on all the good around us.  All the things we’re full of thanks for.  Here’s my list:

• I’m thankful for my Dad and my Sister, and the memory of my Mom.
• I’m thankful for a few absolutely wonderful friends who decorate my life like tinsel on a tree.
• I’m thankful for my lovely logger man and the gruff love he shares.
• I’m thankful for my health.
• I’m thankful for this beautiful place I live.
• I’m thankful for knowing Yahweh and his grace.
• I’m thankful to be warm and fed and employed when so many are not.
• I’m thankful for all the animals, wild and domestic, that grace my every day.
• I’m thankful for a cabinet full of tea, and a kitchen full of healthy food.
• I’m thankful for my daily gratitude journal that’s provided me with 8 months of daily thankfulness.
• I’m thankful for my crazy dog who keeps me laughing and in the present moment.
• I’m thankful for this beautiful foggy morning and the filtered light that’s easing me into the day.
• I’m thankful for learning so many new things this year.
• I’m thankful for my yearning to learn even more.
• I’m thankful that I don’t have to travel anywhere for the holidays this year.
• I’m thankful for ski season starting this weekend.
• I’m thankful for knowing there’s so much more to be thankful for.

I hope you have much to be Thank-Full for this year as well.

“My religion is to live–and die–without regret.” ~ Milarepa

Can we all claim that? I think not. I’ve always said that, for myself, “I have no regrets, only lessons learned.” This wonderful quote sums that up perfectly.  We all make mistakes – some mistakes are far worse than others.  But when I reflect back on them, I try very hard to leave the word “regret” out of the thought process.  Instead I wonder “How could I have done things differently so that no one was hurt, or that things turned out better? And what lesson can I take from my actions so that the same mistake doesn’t occur again?”

The biggest “regret/wish for a lesson learned” that I have is my teenage years.  Boy, I tell ya what: if I had children as ungrateful and combative as I was, I’d send ‘em up the river!  My family is amazing.  We’ve gone through life as good friends and loving family members.  I’m truly blessed.  But we moved to “the city” when I began high school.  To say the least, I didn’t adjust well coming from country life to big city life.  As a result, “combative” and “troubled” were really the only words to explain what I had become.  My lesson learned through those years (and only learned as a product of hind-sight) was to be more courteous toward people… especially when they’re giving up their lives to make your’s better.  What I would give to go back and do it all over, giving my parents the respect they deserved.  They gave my sister and me the most amazing up-bringing, sacrificed their own comfort for ours, and through all the mistakes we made, offered us unending love.

While I can’t go back and fix it, my lesson learned is to show people gratitude and respect.  We all have trials and tribulations to deal with in life, and there’s no need to make other people’s lives difficult simply because our own life is.

Today I’m grateful for my family, and the loving and respectful relationship that we have.  Forged through my parents sacrifice and nurtured with their love.

The Collage Diva had such an inspiring post today that included a snapshot of a calendar in which she writes down, each day, something that she’s grateful for.  I loved the idea so much that I picked up a new (pink!) day-calendar while I was out-and-about to help me with a similar task.  It’s not that I’m not conscious of my own gratitude…  But much like a butterfly, my gratitude touches down, then disappears into the day.  I’m not sure yet if the calendar will be solely for recording things I’m grateful for, or if it will be to record my daily “consciousness”.  Unlike a blog/journal that records more in-depth thoughts, I think my intended purpose is to make my day into one sentence of intention/gratitude/consciousness.  Does that make sense?

Intention.  Maybe that’s it.  Gosh – who knows.  I think I’ll let it go with the wind and see where it takes me.

But there are a few things that I’m definitely, consciously, deliberately grateful for today:  The first is that it’s warm enough to wear a wrap-around skirt and my chacos, and that I don’t need a full-fledged fleece or coat.  I’ve been running around in full-Spring mode today – in the 53-degree sunshine – wearing just a long-sleeved t-shirt and a fleece vest, and I’m Loving it!  Another thing I’m grateful for is the idea of the gratitude journal.  (Thank you, Collage Diva, for the inspiration!) Is it possible to be grateful for gratitude?  Well who says I can’t?  So I’m grateful for that.  The last thing I’m grateful for is: while I was driving around doing errands, the most fabulous song came on the radio.  “I Will Survive.”  It beaconed me to turn it up, roll down the windows, sing along and dance in the driver’s seat.  And that’s exactly what I did – and it felt gooooood.

I think I’m on a “recording” kick right now – and I really need to embrace it.  Recording my creative endeavors on My Creative Year.  Recording my self-discovery mission here on Lotus Mahal.  Joting down my gratitude in the cute pink calendar.  I don’t know how to name this “kick.”  I think the word Consciousness is really what it’s about. Instead of fleeting thoughts left to the breeze to be lost and forgotten, I’m really feeling a need to start recording these things as a way of moving the wheel forward, instead of letting it spin in the mud.  How can you make progress when you can’t remember where you’ve been?

So for me, today is all about consciously being grateful for gratitude in all its forms, and fully embracing it.

What are you grateful for today?