Thank you for a walk at dusk with R and A. 

Thank you for healthy green babies.

Thank you for BO inspiring me to volunteer again.

Thank you for a warm and friendly 83rd birthday party (not mine). Thank you for all the neighbors who brought it to be.

Thank you for intentions set for the day ahead before climbing out of bed. Here are some: to be compassionate, to listen to others mindfully, to take time, to be productive, to be courageous. 

Thank you for awareness of the impact of words and phrasing. For instance, the wish to be fearless is followed by awareness that “fearless” includes both “fear” and “less.” Awareness of those words’ impact leads to a reframing: I choose to focus on being courageous instead. Here is another example from workouts: to keep going, I may repeat, “Don’t stop,” which includes both “don’t” and “stop.” Since those words are counter to my aims of encouragement, I reframe and tell myself, “Keep going.” 

Thank you for the notion of mindful consumption of thoughts—that we are consumers of our very own thoughts. If, say, the words of encouragement or simple narratives we repeat to ourselves are unintentionally, arbitrarily framed in less than positive terms, we can intentionally rephrase our thoughts with new wording that promotes hope and encouragement.

Thank you for the immense treasure of beautiful, colorful, clever, poetic, romantic, funny, sad, happy songs introduced to me over the past year and a half.

Thank you for how that music enlivens my days and deepens my emotions.

Thank you for friends with diverse beliefs and attitudes, and for greater acceptance. Thank you for the insight that our commonalities, what unites us, matter more than our differences. We have loved ones. We have all felt vulnerable and will feel that way again. We face illness, aging, death. We need clean air and water, nourishment, shelter, companionship. We feel fears and enjoy pleasures. Something about the natural world resonates with something inside each of us. We thrive when cared for. Basic aspects of the human experience may be the most meaningful bits of life, and they’re shared across humanity.

Thank you (again) for purposeful times of rest. Thank you for rest making active time more productive.

Thank you for the moon showing up outside the front door early one morning after a dream that it had fallen from the sky into darkness.

Thank you for white owls.

Thank you for trusted doctors who care for patients with covid and other ailments.

Thank you for eye contact.

Thank you for gentle transitions, like from sleep to waking.

Thank you for genuinely, wholeheartedly loved friends and family. 

Thank you for how we improve at what we focus our time and efforts on. So when we focus on being more caring, compassionate, and loving, then we become stronger in those areas.

Thank you for a clean toilet and house.

Thank you for opportunities to learn. They are always available.

Thank you (again) for the alchemy of compost.

Thank you for days of twos (02-20-22 and 02-22-22).

Thank you for safe, fun, challenging, breathtaking bike rides. Thank you for the playlists that put them over the top. Thank you for the much-loved person in the background.

Thank you for wine cravings that aren’t indulged.

Thank you for the safety and wellbeing of the community.

Thank you for a (slightly caffeine-fueled) feeling of warmth toward pretty much every living thing.

Thank you for the coyote on Mulholland who greeted me on a Sunday morning ride.

Thank you for garlicky fingers.

Thank you for pasta with tomatoes and garlic for dinner.

Thank you for the distant memory of an ex-bf calling me Garleeka. He was making fun of my stink from too much bruschetta. In hindsight it’s funny. Thank you for nicer nicknames from future BF.

Thank you for lasting love, transformative hope, mutual forgiveness, exceptional mediocrity, and hard work.

Thank you for real life.

Thank you for snowball effects of inspiration. Thank you for positive feedback loops, when we treat each other well and our healing multiplies.

Thank you for the determination to say and do embarrassing things, repeatedly. That way I reclaim freedom.

Thank you for togetherness.

Thank you for what is worth waiting for.

Thank you for wellness and healing. 

Thank you for happy faces :D