Gratitude

I am grateful for my continual safety; for being provided a home wherever I go, one with comfort and warmth. For following my heart's intuition and having the ability to act on the soul's callings. For the orchestra of night insects that give the forest its nocturnal heartbeat, for the way the sun feels on my skin, how it lights the forest in fireworks of green. For the medicines that nature provides. For being able to comfortably access my genuine self and share it with others. For being well-fed and nourished; well-clothed and provided for.

I am deeply, deeply grateful for everything that has fallen into place in this universe to arrive right here in each perfectly unfolding moment. For Mom, for the lifetime of her love and nurturing and teaching and guiding. To be able to access the unconditional love she gave to me while she was living. Now, to be carried by it and be able to live through it, it shaping all I do and what I give to others. For Dad, his endless support and inspiration and teaching and guiding alongside Mom. To my parents for showing me how to have an endless appetite for knowledge, spirit, activism, and playfulness. For speaking to me honestly, for showing me vulnerability. For Max, for his safety and happiness and his path and endless kindness and care.

For my body's ability to heal, to speak, to listen, to experience, to create, to play, to adapt. For the ability to allow grief and sadness to flow through unimpeded; for dance and movement and stillness as forms of healing. For the rest I am able to take when the body asks for it. For the slow process of becoming comfortable; of places and spaces and people becoming familiar; of witnessing friendships form.

For my friends, who know me deeply and with whom I feel seen and appreciated, and who are sources of joy and learning. For the health, safety, and well-being of my friends, family, loved ones and greater circles I exist within.

For the teachers in my life, and the teachings that have directly or indirectly impacted me, bringing understanding, perspective, clarity, comfort, discomfort, growth and transformation.

For the fascinating, beautiful, strange, eccentric, endless uniqueness that exists in every human being and living thing on this Earth. To be able to experience such different cultures and feel same and comfortable and curious and humble.

For the rich, boundless beauty of Mother Earth, and the life she provides; the nurture, challenges, creation, and destruction all held by her.

For every single breath, for each step on this bizarre and beautiful adventure.