Note: It has been quite some time that I have written here, I know. On Dec. 17, 2019 I experienced the beginning of a terrifying health issue. Thankfully it has been resolved. Healed, moving forward, I am so very grateful each day for my health. Now During this difficult time for so many, I wanted to share a poem I wrote. Maybe it will encourage you in some way to look for the good. No matter how challenging, there is life, living and because of those, hope.)
Grateful Living Litany
Squawking seagulls irking crows, swirling black and white, upset with each other, yet barely combative, certainly non-polarized, sharing sunrise remains, although a bit begrudgingly.
Long deep breaths of morning moist air.
Movement of any kind—clanging delivery trucks, young moms pushing strollers, kids zipping on skateboards, elders slowly biking, my feet grounding gravel, kicking up dirt, stomping on asphalt. Heart pounding slow or fast leading rhythm for legs and arms.
Gray-blue expanse of ocean and sky, the line where they meet a reminder of horizons hardly discovered yet. Seagulls and crows bathing together in tide flats.
Sweat and shower. Coffee.
A beloved to come home to, who welcomes all of me, scars and shortcomings included, not overlooked, but never a reason not to love me.
Fingers that type, eyes that see, small spaces demanding precise tucking thoughts.
Children grown-up successful and most of all kind.
Work that demands more of me each day, calls my attention to others’ needs, requires service and humility, prayerful awareness, so exquisitely designed to keep me in my cosmic place.
Friends, relatives, a cherished community, an historical neighborhood.
Creative combinations to tackle constraints head-on—like making great meals from few ingredients or managing a meditative mindset out of isolation, or mixing up pajama tops and bottoms—just for fun.
Two rooms with views of stunning sunsets.
Long deep breaths of starry night air.
Sleep that renews for grateful living tomorrow.