When times seem rocky and prickly, focus on gratitude
Remember how much power you truly have. It is important that you handle this power wisely. It becomes obvious that maintaining harmony in your individual space contributes to the harmony of the planet. Gregge Tiffen (It’s Springtime! Flow with the Power of Nature – March, 2007)
Before rising I spent a few minutes in that peaceful state of tuning into my heart and feeling gratitude. I wasn’t thinking of anything in particular, just feeling grateful and putting myself in a state of heart coherence (https://www.heartmath.com/quick-coherence-technique/).
A bit later as I settled in to discover where the muse would take me this day, an unfamiliar alarm sound blared through the room. As I moved toward the sound and realized that it was my phone, a voice reminded me that as of 6 a.m. this morning all Coloradoans are ordered to stay at home … except of course, those who are exempted.
Reminder noted, I settled back in and the muse said, “LOVE.”
“What shall I say about ‘love’?”, I wondered. “Gratitude” came the reply.
Amidst the wide array of thoughts, feelings, ideas, even rants and reactions that I might explore, gratitude for those who don’t get to stay home because their work is critical is top of heart and mind. And, along with that a recognition that I’m privileged that my ‘job’ is to stay home and do what I do – connect with others, assist where I can, listen, write, walk the dog, love nature, love life, maintain my center.
I’m grateful for the many, many thought leaders and teachers who are reaching out virtually to offer clarity, tools, and perspectives in this blessed time. Among those who I look to are Gregg Braden, Lynn MacTaggart, Bruce Lipton. I’m grateful for uplifting posts on social media and the occasional belly laugh from a crazy canine or feline photo. I’m grateful for activists who are creatively adapting to events and continuing their quest for social, economic, and environmental justice.
My deepest bow of gratitude though is for those who are not working in the comfort of their homes: the doctors, nurses, technicians, lab folks, janitors and all who keep our medical facilities operational; the public servants who keep the water flowing and our waste going to treatment facilities; the guys on the trash truck that just came by; EMTs, fire fighters, public safety folks; transit workers; the workers in the grocery; the postal workers; the delivery men and women and those who pack the goods we order; and all others who I have surely forgotten.
I can be where I am in the comfort of my home, because they are doing what they do. They are on the front lines of this pandemic and, indeed, they are on the front lines of maintaining our lives each and every day. Today and for every day beyond may I give them my deepest bow of gratitude. And, may we as a society not only give them our gratitude, but may we demand that they be compensated well and honored for all they do.
Grateful for the woods, the mountains and the curving road out back.