Saturday, January 10, 2009

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies--those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." ~John Milton

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance,

chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast,

a house into a home,

a stranger into a friend.

(Melody Beattie)

The Christmas things are packed away, the holiday is over and I am back to work.

In a world of uncertainty and unhappiness, there are many things that I am grateful for this week.
1. My job - I have a very varied job, often challenging and sometimes I work too hard. Yet it is a good place for me and I am grateful for it.
2. My home-I love this place and each year makes it more special. Some people would see it as a bit small. It could do with a bit of work still, but over the twelve years that we have lived here, each task accomplished has made it more special.
3. My family -each of them unique and gifted in special ways. We are kind to each other, and there is a lot of laughter. That is a great gift.
4. The summer in Perth. I love the warm weather, the hard blue skies, the sea breeze! I love walking on the beach in the morning. I love the foods that are in season and local -grapes, melons, plums, mangoes.
5. My garden -this year the changes I have made are working, and to date I have not lost anything to the heat. I had a small mandarin that was struggling, so DH and I invented a temporary shade structure to help it get through -an old umbrella lashed to a stand! It seems to be working. We are now harvesting small but tasty roma tomatoes and long, curvy cucumbers.

"Stop waiting for happiness. Happiness is right here, right now."

Leo Babuta,writer of http://www.Zenhabits.net.


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