My body is grateful for being warm, for a good nights sleep, for a breakfast I would never make myself, hot turkey eggy bready thing seeming to be most delicious and nourishing thing I have ever eaten.
My hands are grateful to write. It is so different not using a pen but to tap out the letters on the keyboard, I notice my writing is much slower, yet keeps up with my thoughts. My hands are grateful to touch Chips, feeling the warm pulse where his thumb joins his palm, the quiet connection as we each are absorbed in our thoughts.
I am discovering that my eyes are grateful, from seeing the stark cement and asphalt that makes up San Francisco to truly appreciating the colors and textures here, the mossy greens and golden sunsets, the rich browns of the dorm room beams, the way the stain glass changes every time I walk up the stairs.
My ears are grateful for the silence, for the rest from constant chatter, the radio, the tv, of having to listen closely to every word a client says, every nuance in the cats meow. I didn't realize my ears were tired until they could just rest in the quiet.
My throat is grateful too. All day long I talk and talk,whether giving my students a four hour lecture or conversing with my clients, catching Chip up on the details of the day, practicing French with Amber. My mouth appreciates whispering, smiling, my tongue being still, content to rest in it's bed, a lazy day weekend feeling in my teeth.
I am discovering gratitude in my brain, flashes of insights like fireflies in the dusk, prayers and blessings running through my mind like a gentle stream, with no need to try to catch and bottle each essence, trusting that the source will continue to flow.
My bones are filled with appreciation, for creating structure in my life, my joints grateful for being flexible. I notice my spine loving the cushions, the couch, for being fully supported while relaxing into the ease of each moment.
And yes, I am discovering gratitude in my heart. What it means to be grateful, to be great and to be full. I notice my heart feels calm and peaceful, safe in my chest, open to possibility and expanding in awareness with each pulse, each breath.
Blessed be.
