Practice Gratitude

At the airport Saturday morning I was thinking of the past few weeks and all that’s happened and what lies ahead and how it would be nice to have some encouragement and inspiration. I stopped at Starbucks for a cup of tea and the man ahead of me started talking to me. We discussed where we were headed, where we were from, what was happening in our lives at that moment. Turns out he was a retired Marine Drill Instructor. As we said goodbye, he said in a drill instructor voice “Stay motivated, stay focused!” and patted me on the shoulder and left. I then went to the bookstore and happened to pick up a copy of “The Art of Racing In The Rain” which turned out to be so beautiful and inspiring. It moved me to tears so many times. On the plane, I had the entire row of seats to myself and I was so grateful because I cried all the way home. Not because I was sad, but because I was happy and because life is a beautiful thing.

Posting daily to Facebook something I’m grateful for – I’ve done this now for about 5 days, and will continue until Thanksgiving Day.

1. We didn’t have to record in audio class today
2. I got my paycheck from the contract position i took on
3. i got sick pay to cover the days of work i missed while in the hospital (was afraid I wouldn’t have enough left)
4. my appt wasn’t too painful

That my audio class was cancelled. This gave me a chance to catch up on some much needed sleep (been pulling to many all nighters). I feel a lot healthier and haven’t sneezed once since waking up so maybe i nicked that cold I was coming down with as well.

where I have access to wisdom from many different cultures and traditions.

I can read, in translations into my own tongue, books originally written in Chinese, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Pali, Arabic, Aramaic, and Greek.

Not only can I take a yoga class, I have a plethora of yoga classes to choose from, from different traditions, in different locations and at different times. I could take a yoga class at 4:00 or at 4:30 or at 5:00 or at 5:15 or at 5:30 or at 6:00 or at 6:30 at different studios, all somewhere between my workplace and home, if I so chose.

Today I am grateful for SA and MD. They both believed in me and stood behind me when I was having trouble believing in myself and when I felt I had nothing left to keep me going and nobody in my corner. Its not anything I could ever say to SA, but the commitment I made to him is what got me through the dark times with R. It’s what’s kept me going these last couple of months and something that I won’t forget.

• for sunny weather & nature’s beauty
• for fresh hot coffee & good food to eat
• for safe travels & a reliable automobile
• that my husband & I do both have jobs
• for recent steps in professional development
• for a colleague’s willingness to mentor me
• for another colleague’s help in data collection
• for good results on medical tests
• for friendships old & new

I don’t know what goal to use for this entry, but I put it here, because part of me feels grateful that it didn’t happen to my son.

This morning at 7:42am, one of Adam’s classmates was driving to the job site, where they are doing the home building course and somehow, the young man’s car went off the road and struck a tree, killing him. Adam’s class heard about what happened at noon and they were given the rest of the day off. The boys who returned to school were met by a grief counselor. I received a call at 1pm from the school, informing us about what happened. The young man was only 19 years of age and had his whole life ahead of him. His parents must be crushed. He was well known and liked by his 14 classmates.

This afternoon, I spoke with my son about what happened. He called in to work and asked if he could stay home. He didn’t feel like going in from 3pm-6pm. Later on, I kept on thinking about my son’s car mishap two weeks ago and immediately realized that it all could have been so much worse. My prayers go out to the parents of the boy who was killed. May they somehow eventually find peace after learning the devastating news from this morning and the loss of their loved one.

I live in the modern, developed world, where, after I pedal home from work, my husband broils a tenderloin steak, asparagas is flown in in the fall from south america, & potatoes take 15 minutes in the microwave; where hot water is freely available and I can shower as long as I’d like, & then there’s a nice clean fluffy pink towel to dry off my body & another towel just for hair; and then I can put on a clean nightie & know that I’ll sleep securely in a comfy warm bed.

As our Canadian Thanksgiving approached this year, I clearly became aware of how much I have in my life and how much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadian 43Thinger friends!