....it's a wrap

Yogis,
Another Thanksgiving is in the books. The week we have set aside as ‘gratitude week’ is officially over tonight. The leftover turkey has dwindled down to that final bone holding sad looking bits of meat, the pumpkin pie is slightly dried out since no one is sealing the plastic wrap down any longer after stolen bites and the remnants of the green bean casserole sit out in the trash. We all expressed our gratitude, saw the posts which pulled our heartstrings and heard the poems. We can now tie a neat bow on top and move on with life. It's a wrap!

Wait a minute. Not so fast……..

It is very gracious, and typical of us to designate a time for gratitude, but it misses the whole point. Gratitude has no calendar. It also isn’t something we can think about, as it doesn’t reside in the mind. No, gratitude is an emotion. An energy that vibrates from the heart and is endless.

Let’s get our gratitude engine started up so we can move into tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the month after that living in gratitude. A simple practice is one that uses the senses (Mr. Mind, you can take a rest now).

I am grateful for these things that I can hear….. Grateful for the geese honking overhead and the squawk of the seagulls. Oh, and grateful for the sound of pounding waves. The sound of laughter. Music, the tinkling of windchimes, my breath, the hum of my heater and church bells.

I am grateful for these things that I can smell…….Grateful for the smell of woodstoves in the night and inhaling the sea air. The smell of French fries cooking on the boardwalk and even the whiff of dried out pumpkin pie each time I open the refrigerator. The smell of a new puppy, my lavender oil, a rose, pine trees in the winter. Thank you, thank you!

I am grateful for these things that I can taste…..Grateful everyday for the first sip of my morning tea latte and blueberries in my yogurt.  And who isn’t grateful for the taste of chocolate? What would life be without lemon or garlic or basil or mint or pound cake? Grateful to be given the gift of tasting them all.

I am grateful for these things that I can see…… I am grateful for the handsome buck carrying his full rack proudly as he greeted us this morning.  The blue of the sky and the waving seagrass. The red of the maples still in their glory here and the hawk circling overhead make my heart soar. Flowers! Grateful to see the clouds and the twinkle in the eyes of the woman we greet as we run by. Grateful for every color because I can’t imagine a world without yellow.

And I am grateful for these things I can feel….. The warmth of the sun and breeze on my face. Grateful for cold and hot, soft and hard. Jumping into a pool, sliding between my sheets each night and lying on the sand.  Fleece, bubbles, a warm bath, stretching my body, my heart pounding. Joy, sorrow, elation. Being hugged.

The engine is beginning to hum…..

Driving through mountains, snowstorms, rumbling thunder, rainbows, the crackle of the fire……

And once it is warmed up the things to be grateful for become infinite.

Grateful for my fingers which take words from my heart on to paper,
SARAH