Gratitude and Grace – 2020
This year has been like no other in my memory. A collective experience of pain, suffering and raw emotion, amidst a global pandemic in a fractured nation. That’s one way to look at this year, and maybe the scales are tipped that way. If we leave it this way, and only focus on the negative, we risk disharmony in our own lives. And this disharmony emanates from the individual out to the family, community, country and world.
I choose to get up every morning and give gratitude to the many graces in my life. And as we gather in a different way this Thanksgiving, I share with you 5 things I am grateful for this year along with some poems for your reflection. Whether the prospect of this gathering makes your stomach turn or warms your heart, I hope these poems and prayers will help you not only find inner peace but to share kindness and grace with others.
My Gratitude Five
🍂 Morning yoga practice
My morning yoga practice began 8 years ago, after the death of my son and became an almost daily occurrence. It can consist of meditation, mindfulness, reading, physical yoga poses, listening to music. It’s a time for reflection and inner focus. When Covid hit, I couldn’t concentrate. As the world turned upside down, my anxiety level rose. Once I realized that I was grieving normality, in a strange way I felt better. I knew that I had to start small, go back to my breath and give myself a break. After 4 months I was able to get back to my morning practice. It has given me strength & joy and I am so thankful.
🍂 Baking and sharing
I love to bake. Cakes, pies, cookies, breads, rolls, and on and on.. During the first few months of the pandemic, I did what a lot of other folks did or tried to do – I baked. Shortages of flour, butter, eggs, yeast, didn’t deter me. First, because I stock up on these ingredients and second because I just tried different recipes. Mostly I love to bake because I love to share the fruits of my labors. With family, with neighbors who are alone. So, I’m thankful that I can make these wonderful goodies and even more so that I can share them. Here’s a poem I really love about giving.
Excerpt from the Poem by Alberto Rios: When Giving Is All We Have
We give because someone gave to us.
We give because nobody gave to us
We give because giving has changed us.
We give because giving could have changed us.
🍂 Walking my dog and being outside
In the Spring right at the start of Covid we adopted Queenie, an 8 yr old beagle mix. And I am so grateful for her love and because we get to take many walks. We live in a beautiful area and even during lockdown we were able to get outside for a walk or just be in the yard. This ability to be outside has been a gift and a privilege that many people in this country or around the world did not have. Something that I have taken for granted but now realize was a blessing we have been given.
Poem by Beau Taplin: Little Everyday Joys
I’m beginning to recognize that real happiness
isn’t something large and looming on the
horizon ahead but something small,
numerous, and already here. A decent
breakfast. The warm sunset. The smile of
someone you love. Your little everyday joys all
lined up on a row."
🍂 Technology
What would we do without this explosion of technology that has allowed us to have video conversations, teach yoga, learn on-line, and share the good, the bad and the ugly. I am grateful that I can see (over video) friends and family that I’m not able to visit in person. Technology certainly has its drawbacks – Zoom fatigue, hackers wreaking havoc during church services and classroom instruction, but it has also given us a way to stay connected.
🍂 Freedom
I am a privileged white person living in the USA. This is something I was awakened to during the Black Lives Matter movement this summer. At first, I was taken aback, then defensive – “I am not a racist” – until I learned what privilege is all about. I realize that I am so fortunate, given so many graces. Not living in fear of losing my home, of being oppressed, of being targeted, because of my race, nationality, sexual orientation. With this recognition of my freedom, I became involved and will stay involved at the local level, supporting people and organizations on the Cape.
Excerpt from Mantras of Gratitude
by Martine Weber
I am grateful for the sounds, the vibrations of nature,
the winds of wisdom whispering her magic through the trees,
the beat of ocean waves breaking on the beach …
A healing acoustic that our Great Mother brings us here,
harmonizing my body with the rhythms and flow of Nature,
through which I find tranquility and the peace of my heart.
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