Nature. Beauty. Gratitude.*
Maybe I’m
Just old.
Well,
Clearly,
I am.
Time is galloping
Me forward
At breakneck pace
Toward another
Birthday.
Last year’s birthday?
Powerful.
75.
I felt—
Stabilized
In its
Landmark.
This year’s birthday?
Meh.
Not so.
I’m tired
And
I’m anxious
And
I believe in,
Oh, say—
The Department
Of Education,
For example.
Call me crazy.
And yet.
And yet!
The beauty
And
The
Grace.
They
Are
Everywhere.
~~~
I’m remembering 100 years ago
Sitting in a 12 Step meeting—
The topic was “Gratitude”.
I was snickering (oh, so silently, I’m too codependent to snicker so others might hear).
Snickering
And wiggling in my creaky metal folding chair.
The topic, gratitude.
Oh—gratitude—such a basic idea
Such a simplistic,
Unsophisticated practice,
I so haughtily thought.
Forgive me, universe,
Thinking myself too spiritually evolved
To learn anything from gratitude.
After all, I lived in an ashram, you see.
I was evolved.
Right.
Gratitude?
Oh, it’s for beginners,
I silently believed.
Oh. My. Goodness.
Forgive me, universe
Again and again.
The arrogance.
My arrogance.
At least it isn’t
Running the show today.
Today I believe—
Gratitude rocks.
Today I believe—
Gratitude
Changes
The
Brain.
Today I believe—
Gratitude
Shifts me from
What isn’t happening,
To the gift
Of
What
Is.
Gratitude is
A truly impactful
Interrupter
Of old patterns.
It is truly
A gamechanger.
~~~
How to practice gratitude?
(OH! I, as a recovering English teacher, am declaring this word a verb, not a noun.)
Gratitude,
An action.
A doing.
A willful act.
A practice.
My gratitude practice?
Walking with Nik the Dog.
Walking down the dirt road
That frames the wetland
Behind our house.
Walking and praying
And requesting—
Show me the beauty.
Show me the grace.
And EVERY SINGLE TIME
It is revealed.
Every single
Time
I see
The perfection
Of what is
Around me.
Nature. Beauty. Gratitude.
They are one breath.
The honking of the geese
Heading home,
As I, too,
Head home.
The light shimmering
On the lake,
Dancing
With
Energy.
Nature.
Beauty.
Grace.
~~~
How can you practice?
A billion ways—
Writing in a gratitude journal—
Talking to friends—
Using your senses—
Acting as if—
And:
MOST IMPORTANTLY…
Gratitude isn’t a protection
From the intensity of our feelings.
Gratitude is a practice
That gives us the
Courage
And
The willingness
To be present
With
What
Is.
~~~
Louie Schwartzberg is a cool guy.
He’s a director and producer, most importantly, a remarkable cinematographer. Known for his pioneering work in high-end-time lapsed cinematography, he explores our connections with nature in deep and gloriously beautiful ways.
Here is a nine-minute video, called Nature. Beauty. Gratitude.
It is worth our time.
~~~
It’s Alright.
It is, you know.
It’s beyond alright.
It’s perfect, the way it is.
By being with life as it is,
By choosing the power of the moment,
The power of reality,
We open
To the
Love
As well as
The grief.
It seems we can’t have one without the other.
This song has been profoundly comforting for me this week. My invitation? Sing it to yourself.
Be both the singer and the recipient of these words.
“As long as you love me.”
It’s Alright by Sam Cooke, master vocalist, often called the Father of Soul, a man with a blessed, blessed voice.
~~~
Friends,
In the midst of all of it,
May we look
For the beauty,
May we look
For the grace.
In the midst of all of it,
May we see
The sunset.
In the midst of all of it,
May we hear the
Call of the geese
Overhead,
Heading home.
As we head home,
May we bring
Kindness
To ourselves
And to
The people
Around us.
May all beings benefit from our time together.
To a Thanksgiving of heart and home,
Blessings,
Aruni
~~~
We experience the whole of our lives.
Grief, Loss and Renewal.
Kripalu Center
December 6-8
~~~
*Title of Louie Schwartzberg’s film.