Thanksgiving and Gratitude

Rumi says,

How to say it to one who denies it?

We are made of the sky’s cloth.

Blessings drop like blossoms all around us,

and every thing is soul and flowering!

Every thing is soul and flowering!

My Life Seen Through the Eyes of Gratitude

In many ways, I’ve led a life of extraordinary privilege. I was raised by parents who did their best to love me, protect me, and teach me a way of life that had Spirit at its center. I had loving grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins in abundance. My parents gave me 18 years of training in centering my life on God. My education started out with my first all A’s report card in first grade and continued through college and three graduate degrees. Dozens of teachers gave me their attention and support and love; they opened the gates of literature and music and the search for truth. They taught me to believe that I was capable of learning anything I was drawn to study. My parents showered me with toys and treats in childhood, paid for my education, and subsidized my foreign travels as a young adult. They worked hard all their lives and provided for me so well that for much of my early life, I thought I came from wealth. I’ve been privileged to travel around the world–from India to Europe to Russia and the South Seas, and privileged to journey with hundreds of clients and workshop attendees–each one a treasure–through the most intimate aspects of their lives. In romantic relationships, I’ve been blessed with great passion and delight. Each partner was precious in his way; I have no regrets. I put on a wedding veil again about this time last year though, and rekindled the vision of learning to love one real person well; it’s the path to loving all the humans. Along the way, I was granted the great gift of children I’ve adored since birth, and now have grandchildren who seem to be life’s greatest pleasure. Now, after a long road, I’ve been blessed to discover some heretofore unimaginable ways to give and to receive. I often start and end my days and nights with gratitude, with poetry and with prayers for guidance as to how I can be of service to someone today. Though I fall very far short on a daily basis, I know how to live, how to love, and how to die. In my passion to share these gifts with others, I have found my life’s work.

Blessings, blessings, blessings–the path of gratitude teaches us that blessings are constantly dropping like blossoms all around us.

Blessings to you, precious visitor! May you include the time to make a list of your gratitudes on this Thanksgiving day!