Gratitude
Always room for more appreciation
Hello friends,
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate and to those who do not, why not take an extra moment to savor some gratitude today?
I got up at 4am as is my unhinged norm, but I am so very grateful for you all today and every day. Thank you for being a reader of Birdseed - you are everything!
I taught a yoga class last night and I asked folks to bring awareness to the feeling of gratitude in the body. Color, texture, temperature, sensation.
I invite you to do the same. Close your eyes now for a moment, loosen your jaw and let your shoulders drop. Find your breath.
Where do you feel gratitude in your body?
What does it feel like and how does it reside? As you breathe can you stoke it?
While I’ve never been able to successfully keep a “gratitude journal”, I do feel abundantly aware each day of how much I have to be thankful for. Luck, privilege, earned from hard work, amazing coincidence, whatever the channel it is that has brought you the experiences, opportunities, access, and insights that you have - bless, bless, bless! Holy shit it is so good, even when it royally sucks. Ya know?
Abundance is our reality. If you really think about it, you’ll see that it is. Abundance doesn’t protect us from hardship or loss, but they coexist beautifully.
Gratitude for land. If you’ve never looked into the indigenous origins of the earth you occupy, check it out here. Especially if you’re visiting somewhere. This year, like many before, has reminded us that climate change is real and the choices we make are having very real impacts on the planet we occupy. Our environment is changing in large part because we are changing it. That’s a very humbling reality. Offer thanks to the literal earth beneath your feet holding you up at this very moment and those indigenous stewards who cared for it long before we blinked and breathed.
Gratitude for non-humans. As I write this, my beloved dog Mimi sleeps between my legs. She is so steady and so loyal. She follows me dutifully throughout the apartment, and since my son was born as sat with me while I nursed or rocked him to sleep without fail, any time of the day or night. We are so insanely lucky to be able to forge connections with species outside of ourselves, whether it’s beloved pets or just a reverence for that cheeky squirrel at your feeder. The philosopher and animal rights activist Peter Singer has a new book out called “Consider the Turkey” which I’d be remiss not to mention. Thoughtful interview with him here. And then there are our plants. Breathing with us, reminding us that steadiness of taking in and letting go is the only way forward. Breathing out as we breathe in, breathing in as we breathe out. Thank you to all the plants that have propagated this year, delighted me with new growth, or reminded me again that death is a natural and inevitable state for all.
Gratitude for self / body. You are here. God damn, that’s a big deal. Being here now means undoubtedly that you have persevered and survived to be here. Hopefully you are thriving too, or have experienced that. But simply being here is the most magnificent feat. Your body is a masterful web of systems that function expertly whether you love yourself or not. You are held and you are beloved, whether you feel it or not. It is actually stunning how many things have to go right for a human life to emerge and survive. Ask someone dealing with infertility. Our existence is so fragile and fleeting, and can be extinguished in a stupid moment. Every day we are here is a celebration, and we are living love songs.
Gratitude for humor. Literally lifesaving, being able to laugh is, in my opinion, the best part of being alive. Everything is totally absurd. Comedy functions on the elements of truth and surprise, which are the core pillars of reality. Thank you to satire, to memes, to comedy specials, to silly things happening at the best times, to everyone with a sense of humor or trying to get there. Thank you for the ability to laugh at myself which is also life saving.
What else are you grateful for?
