By: Gentle Gardener Oracle
I’m grateful I can say. “No.” Many people cannot – it’s too difficult. No is a powerful word, a complete sentence, and sets a boundary without discussion. We should all use No more often. I’m grateful for the 30-year-old Crepe Myrtles that surround my home. The most beautiful of trees. And, I’m grateful I’m acquiring a taste for Whiskey. Those brown liquors are potent and quite good.
I’m grateful for all the annotated white papers I’ve researched and written for people who didn’t give a shit what I had to say. I got paid to write them – the most important part — and I knew that knowledge and preparation would be a long-term asset, and I was right. I’m grateful I finished The Handmaiden’s Tale. No comic relief in that one. And, I’m grateful for a holiday week. I think everyone is ready to celebrate a little. So much to be grateful for….
I’ll admit to being a bit weary of the grind. It’s not burn-out, it’s apathy. I’m grateful I can take a little time off to recharge. I’m grateful I own an espresso machine. And, I’m grateful that I’ve realized that No means No. It’s not the first step to yes, and those who think it is are quickly #blocked.
I’m very grateful to be able to walk in a restaurant, sit at the bar, and have someone hospitable and pleasant bring me things to eat and drink. Such a relief. I’m grateful for a decent haircut – finally. And, I’m grateful for my Reiki healer. When your chakras are aligned, you know it!
I’m grateful the Pacific Ocean is able to provide some small amount of cloud cover and cool breezes. I’m grateful I’ve spent years working on other people’s crappy software. And, I’m grateful for BI dashboards. The accountability tool.
I’m grateful I still have a progressive mind and generous heart. I see too many people let those qualities slip away as they grow older. I’m grateful I’m finally getting off sugar. It’s everywhere. And, I’m grateful for readers. It’s much more important to be a reader than a writer.
I’m grateful for a few days focused on the here and now. It’s easy to be distracted, but happiness is everywhere if you take a second to experience it. I’m grateful that the days of others taking credit for my work are over. And I’m grateful that I realize that nothing is ever really about me.
I’m grateful that I’ve lived long enough to know that every “bad” thing that happens is actually a good thing. I’m grateful I play the long game. And, I’m grateful that while I’ve become less judgmental, I’ve also become less tolerant. You can’t go through life with catcher’s mitts on both hands; sometimes you need to throw shit back.
There’s a lot to be grateful for today. For most of my life, I took the right to vote for granted. I don’t anymore. And, I’m grateful to those who died for us to have that right, and grateful to those who continue to fight for us to have a voice. I’m grateful I’ve spent more time asking, “Why?” It’s given me clarity of purpose. And, I’m grateful to get back on the diet train. Overindulging isn’t as fun as it used to be.
I awoke this morning very grateful for my small, tidy house and garden. For a good part of my life, I lived paycheck-to-paycheck, without credit, on the edge of homelessness, and dependent on food banks. And, even though I’m successful and self-made now, things could have turned out very differently had I let it. I’m grateful for information on demand. How amazing it is to Google any question you ever had about anything and get a plethora of information about it. And, I’m grateful for my sprinkler system. Even though it’s annoying, it’s a rich-person problem, and I’ll take those over taking the bus any day.
365 Days of Simple Gratitude 