Category Archives: Little Bliss List

Gratitude Friday

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This post is a mashup of The Little Bliss List and Joy Jam, and as such is meant to celebrate: the little things that brought me hope and happiness this week, the sweet stuff of life, those small gifts that brought me joy this week. By sharing them, I not only make public my gratitude, but maybe also help you notice your own good stuff and send some positive energy out into the world.

1. Some relief from fear. I kept getting stuck there in these past few weeks, but in the last few days, my mind has relaxed a bit, some of the tension has left my body, and I’m grateful.

2. Yoga. This practice gets me moving when I’m stuck, is medicine. My teachers and classmates are unafraid of my grief and my fear. It’s a safe container for whatever arises, offers a way to work with it.

3. Meditation instructors, Wanda (my local MI) and Susan Piver (my mostly virtual MI). They are both so kind and so wise, such a gift when things get hard, when what I’m experiencing feels so much bigger than the state and skill of my practice.

4. My family. Eric, my dogs, both sets of Moms and Dads, my brother and my nieces all offer love, a sense of belonging, and joy that is such a comfort to me.

5. My class. It has been such a wonderful distraction. My students are funny and smart, engaged and present.

Bonus Joy: Dexter’s health and happiness. He might be dying, but for now his suffering is minimal. I’m so grateful for that. And bonus to the bonus joy, last night he got in bed with me and cuddled, slept next to me almost all night. He hasn’t done that in a long time, not since we got Sam and he decided to “get his own apartment,” (sleep on the couch), and I miss it.

Gratitude Friday

5 Replies

This post is a mashup of The Little Bliss List and Joy Jam, and as such is meant to celebrate: the little things that brought me hope and happiness this week, the sweet stuff of life, those small gifts that brought me joy this week. By sharing them, I not only make public my gratitude, but maybe also help you notice your own good stuff and send some positive energy out into the world.

1. Dexter, home and whole. A week after the “bloody scare,” the boy is doing good. We are accepting that there may not be a reasonable way to get a definitive diagnosis, to know for sure he has cancer, so we are living in the moment with him. And in this moment, he is happy and well, and I am grateful.

2. Eric. I often find myself wondering how I could possibly walk through this life without him. He makes me laugh, but is also right there when I’m having a meltdown. I can always count on him to help, to carry extra weight or take over entirely when it all gets too much for me. I am so lucky.

3. Good friends. The kind that don’t shy way or avoid me when things get really hard, even when I am going publicly crazy. All I have to do is ask, and they are right there, ready to help, giving hugs and good advice, offering support, reminding me that I am not alone.

4. Rocky Mountain Bee Plants in the wild. These were by the back pond in McMurry Ponds Natural Area, the section they rehabbed a few years ago. It’s close enough to our house that I like to think our plants were their origins.

5. Silly sitcoms on Netflix streaming. I have moved past so many of my numb out, chill out, “go to” zone out behaviors that TV is about the only thing I have left, although we haven’t had cable TV for almost ten years. Having access to 20 minute episodes of fairly mindless comedies available to me on days when I just can’t muster the strength for anything else is nice.

Bonus joy: My new class of students. I really like them already, and we’ve only had two class sessions. Yesterday, they shared collages they’d made that showed who they are, what they love. I had been having a really hard day, and listening to them talk about their lives, make each other laugh, got me out of my own head, was just the medicine I needed.