My children. Son #3, age 16, is struggling with girls, school, substances, depression, legal troubles, etc. I was there under similar circumstances and I cannot think of a more meaningful and important thing right now than to help him through this difficult time in his life.
Today I was able to help a stranger with some inspiration and information, to help both himself and the forest in which he lives. He is homesteading in Tennesee and gardens, and I directed him to where he can get advice on how to be a good caretaker of his woods, and at the same time, be able to grow food. I also directed him to a place where he can apply for grants to farm and care for his forest. It brought me joy, that it brought joy to this stranger, and it is this kind of thing that gives my life both meaning and joy.
Being here. Contemplation. Being of service to others. Learning to observe my own inner workings. And learning that the meaning we give things is optional.
Being active in environmental/climate justice stuff. For me the antidote to climate anxiety and paralysis is participation with others in learning and action. This orientation is making meaning and inspiring hope.
Just being, peeling away all of the woo woo, quieting the noise, slowing to a stillness and just resting in the unfolding as it is, swimming in the endless Love.
My grandson. He is a young actor, director and writer, and that in itself is a challenging way to make a living. However, he never quits, never gives up, and bounces back even after a big disappointment. He is an inspiration to my husband and me, and we are proud to be part of his support system. Watching him grow into the person he wants to be is truly inspiring.
Although it is my ritual to only post on Tuesdays, I visit this space every day as part of my morning meditations. Thank you all for sharing so generously and authetnically…it’s a beautiful way to start my days.
This is a loaded question for me. I think that at various times in my life’s journey there have been different things that have brought me meaning. But “right now” I am focused on being a support to my husband, who was just diagnosed with cancer. Figuring out how to navigate through this recent news in the best way for him. It’s a role reversal of sorts, as he has been supporting me in my chronic illness for many years now. But we each have our own unique and different “love language”. Being there for him, as he needs, is the “meaning” of my life right now.
~Om Shanti friends ♥
Dear Diane, I will hold your husband and all of your family in prayer as you make your way through this news and the challenges included. Blessings to you and your family, and to the medical team working with you.
Starting my morning reading mindfulness poetry and coming to this site to give my mind a space for reflection before the day’s busyness is one aspect. Right now I’m on a dual-purpose trip, part work to speak at a conference, then part play to visit friends and family. Being back in a town I used to live in, bringing new ideas to people at this conference and information they can use, a meeting of a research panel that will develop new knowledge in my field, having dinner with my older daughter and her family last night, spending time with my sweetheart away from home chores, looking forward to seeing my best friend tomorrow–all are moments to cherish and appreciate and each brings meaning in some part of my life.
This website starts my day with meaning. There are always kind, thoughtful words and viewpoints that give comfort or help me to see a situation in a new light.
Many thanks to the Gratefulness Team and all who post here.
Good morning Pilgrim…such a gift as always to be here in this space with you. ♥
You have planted a seed of intention to read the Anne of Green Gables books. For some reason, I never got around to them. So many books, so little time as the saying goes. 🙂
~Have a blessed day my friend.
I appreciate this quote as I just started reading the Anne of Green Gables series. The first book is very familiar to me as I read it several times growing up and have seen two of the TV adaptations, but I’ve reveled in re-reading it just the same as Anne has such an exuberant outlook on life.
First of all, this is bringing meaning. Starting my day here in spiritual inquiry. My sadhana has been good and consistent lately. I pray I remain disciplined.
Just being me, I’m feeling very peaceful this morning and simply enjoying ‘being’ in the here and now with my coffee, this wonderful website and looking out onto my garden. Our little patch of lawn has been a barren patch of dust and dried out yellow grass from the prolonged UK heatwave, but after just a minimal amount of rain it is sprouting green shoots once again, showing just how resilient nature is and that gives me comfort and joy and reminds me that like the grass, we to can flourish once again even after the harshest of circumstances.
We too are nature and we too can be resilient to all life throws at us if we can access the peace of what it is just to be and find the stillness inside ourselves, and appreciate the gift of life we have been given. The most simple things bring me a quiet peace, joy and meaning; eating my home grown produce, going for a walk and discovering somewhere new in the place I live, watching the birds and squirrels in my garden, watching the fish in my pond, looking at dappled moving tree shadows fluttering on my kitchen floor, finding wonder and joy in the nature surrounding me brings meaning and joy, being with family and friends, being out in my community and contributing to it with voluntary work. There is so much in my life to find meaning in. Wishing you all a peaceful and wonder filled day. x
Iamme, your entry reminded me of this John Lennon lyric:
People say I’m lazy
Dreamin’ my life away
Well, they give me all kinds of advice
Designed to enlighten me
When I tell them that I’m doing fine
Watchin’ shadows on the wall
This is lovely, thank you. I took a class once called The Creative Process. It seemed like a strange class at the time but it taught me to look for the very things you mention for example the dappled light and shadows. I am glad that I took the class.
I came to England it 1995. One of the places that I enjoyed the most was the Lake District and Beatrix Potter’s House.
The thing about light, the way it falls at certain times of the day etc is it is so fleeting and transient, it often holds me in it’s brief spell. There’s a particular woodland walk I like to do in the golden hour, late afternoon in late summer. There’s a beech avenue through the woodland but with a pine plantation to one side and ancient woodland to the other. The play of light through the tall beech trees green canopy alongside the play of light on the red trunks of the pines with the heavy dark green branches is absolute joy. I live in the south of England in the beautiful Surrey Hills, I love all of the UK for it’s greenness, however this year has been heartbreaking, everything dry and yellow due to the endless heatwave, but I’m heartened to see the green shoots returning after some rain. The Lake District is beautiful, I’ve had a few holidays there over the years, it’s a special place.
Thank you for the lovely description. Most of the houses in our neighborhood are surrounded by trees. If we look at just the right time in the evening, little patches of light poke through the leaves and it looks like sparklers or fireworks.
You might enjoy the book The Overstory by Richard Powers. It won a Pulitzer Prize. It does take some effort to keep take of the characters as they weave in and out of the story.
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My children. Son #3, age 16, is struggling with girls, school, substances, depression, legal troubles, etc. I was there under similar circumstances and I cannot think of a more meaningful and important thing right now than to help him through this difficult time in his life.
Today I was able to help a stranger with some inspiration and information, to help both himself and the forest in which he lives. He is homesteading in Tennesee and gardens, and I directed him to where he can get advice on how to be a good caretaker of his woods, and at the same time, be able to grow food. I also directed him to a place where he can apply for grants to farm and care for his forest. It brought me joy, that it brought joy to this stranger, and it is this kind of thing that gives my life both meaning and joy.
Being here. Contemplation. Being of service to others. Learning to observe my own inner workings. And learning that the meaning we give things is optional.
Thank you for “the meaning we give things is optional.” What a clear statement and so true.
Being active in environmental/climate justice stuff. For me the antidote to climate anxiety and paralysis is participation with others in learning and action. This orientation is making meaning and inspiring hope.
Just being, peeling away all of the woo woo, quieting the noise, slowing to a stillness and just resting in the unfolding as it is, swimming in the endless Love.
My grandson. He is a young actor, director and writer, and that in itself is a challenging way to make a living. However, he never quits, never gives up, and bounces back even after a big disappointment. He is an inspiration to my husband and me, and we are proud to be part of his support system. Watching him grow into the person he wants to be is truly inspiring.
Although it is my ritual to only post on Tuesdays, I visit this space every day as part of my morning meditations. Thank you all for sharing so generously and authetnically…it’s a beautiful way to start my days.
This is a loaded question for me. I think that at various times in my life’s journey there have been different things that have brought me meaning. But “right now” I am focused on being a support to my husband, who was just diagnosed with cancer. Figuring out how to navigate through this recent news in the best way for him. It’s a role reversal of sorts, as he has been supporting me in my chronic illness for many years now. But we each have our own unique and different “love language”. Being there for him, as he needs, is the “meaning” of my life right now.
~Om Shanti friends ♥
Dear Diane, I will hold your husband and all of your family in prayer as you make your way through this news and the challenges included. Blessings to you and your family, and to the medical team working with you.
Starting my morning reading mindfulness poetry and coming to this site to give my mind a space for reflection before the day’s busyness is one aspect. Right now I’m on a dual-purpose trip, part work to speak at a conference, then part play to visit friends and family. Being back in a town I used to live in, bringing new ideas to people at this conference and information they can use, a meeting of a research panel that will develop new knowledge in my field, having dinner with my older daughter and her family last night, spending time with my sweetheart away from home chores, looking forward to seeing my best friend tomorrow–all are moments to cherish and appreciate and each brings meaning in some part of my life.
This website starts my day with meaning. There are always kind, thoughtful words and viewpoints that give comfort or help me to see a situation in a new light.
Many thanks to the Gratefulness Team and all who post here.
I totally agree Laura. Thanks to you for being here too.
Looking for the good.
The possibilities in a day that is fresh; an offering of sorts, with “much scope for the imagination.” (Anne of Green Gables)
Good morning to my longtime Gratefulness friend Diane!
Good morning Pilgrim…such a gift as always to be here in this space with you. ♥
You have planted a seed of intention to read the Anne of Green Gables books. For some reason, I never got around to them. So many books, so little time as the saying goes. 🙂
~Have a blessed day my friend.
I appreciate this quote as I just started reading the Anne of Green Gables series. The first book is very familiar to me as I read it several times growing up and have seen two of the TV adaptations, but I’ve reveled in re-reading it just the same as Anne has such an exuberant outlook on life.
First of all, this is bringing meaning. Starting my day here in spiritual inquiry. My sadhana has been good and consistent lately. I pray I remain disciplined.
Just being me, I’m feeling very peaceful this morning and simply enjoying ‘being’ in the here and now with my coffee, this wonderful website and looking out onto my garden. Our little patch of lawn has been a barren patch of dust and dried out yellow grass from the prolonged UK heatwave, but after just a minimal amount of rain it is sprouting green shoots once again, showing just how resilient nature is and that gives me comfort and joy and reminds me that like the grass, we to can flourish once again even after the harshest of circumstances.
We too are nature and we too can be resilient to all life throws at us if we can access the peace of what it is just to be and find the stillness inside ourselves, and appreciate the gift of life we have been given. The most simple things bring me a quiet peace, joy and meaning; eating my home grown produce, going for a walk and discovering somewhere new in the place I live, watching the birds and squirrels in my garden, watching the fish in my pond, looking at dappled moving tree shadows fluttering on my kitchen floor, finding wonder and joy in the nature surrounding me brings meaning and joy, being with family and friends, being out in my community and contributing to it with voluntary work. There is so much in my life to find meaning in. Wishing you all a peaceful and wonder filled day. x
Iamme, your entry reminded me of this John Lennon lyric:
People say I’m lazy
Dreamin’ my life away
Well, they give me all kinds of advice
Designed to enlighten me
When I tell them that I’m doing fine
Watchin’ shadows on the wall
This is lovely, thank you. I took a class once called The Creative Process. It seemed like a strange class at the time but it taught me to look for the very things you mention for example the dappled light and shadows. I am glad that I took the class.
I came to England it 1995. One of the places that I enjoyed the most was the Lake District and Beatrix Potter’s House.
The thing about light, the way it falls at certain times of the day etc is it is so fleeting and transient, it often holds me in it’s brief spell. There’s a particular woodland walk I like to do in the golden hour, late afternoon in late summer. There’s a beech avenue through the woodland but with a pine plantation to one side and ancient woodland to the other. The play of light through the tall beech trees green canopy alongside the play of light on the red trunks of the pines with the heavy dark green branches is absolute joy. I live in the south of England in the beautiful Surrey Hills, I love all of the UK for it’s greenness, however this year has been heartbreaking, everything dry and yellow due to the endless heatwave, but I’m heartened to see the green shoots returning after some rain. The Lake District is beautiful, I’ve had a few holidays there over the years, it’s a special place.
Thank you for the lovely description. Most of the houses in our neighborhood are surrounded by trees. If we look at just the right time in the evening, little patches of light poke through the leaves and it looks like sparklers or fireworks.
You might enjoy the book The Overstory by Richard Powers. It won a Pulitzer Prize. It does take some effort to keep take of the characters as they weave in and out of the story.
May your day be filled with light.
Right now:the sunlight is coming in through the blinds-the beautiful light of the wanning of Summer. Nature is gently easing things along…
Right now? This comfortable chair and my cup of coffee!
Ha! Same here, second coffee of the morning before tackling the pile of ironing that awaits my undivided attention.