Thank you for the feel of laughter bubbling up.

Thank you for information on responsible home decluttering. Are the resources listed common knowledge? A lot were new to me. I love finding ways to further reduce waste—even old undies and socks can be repurposed!

Thank you for weather cooperating with Sunday rides. Thank you for horses and cows grazing along Tramway and Hwy 313.

Thank you for coyote yips from the arroyo. I’m not sure what they’re talking about but touched to hear them.

Thank you for the practice and courage involved in skillful communication. Think of the suffering they prevent (in ourselves and others) and the chances for happiness they open. When I’m less than skillful it may be impulsivity, prodded by hunger or fatigue. I’d do well to pause for reflection first. Another hindrance is fear. I may not know how to express myself and fear messing up. To step outside that fear and explore it—digging, removed from emotion (what am I afraid of…?)—is key.

Thank you for a friend sharing her Al Anon family experience and the “one day at a time” motto. Experience confirms the usefulness of that approach.

Thank you for friendly faces at the YMCA. Thank you for intervals on the treadmill with songs to energize them. Thank you for warm stretches. Thank you for the joy and expansion of movement. Thank you for health. 

Thank you for how one right thing is never just one thing. Learn to do one thing really right, with honesty, compassion, diligence, intention, examination…and it informs other aspects of life. It quietly influences the world. So one good thing (one good practice?) is all I need to have an impact. That’s how I feel about meditation, journaling, healthy eating, exercise….

And a level of comfort or mastery may be a call not to rest but to climb the ladder’s next rung. I never have to stop. Thus I feed what may be a human impulse for constant expansion. 

We can redirect the historical impulse for more—land, goods, wealth, power—to widen our reach of wellness and expand our consciousness instead. We can strive continually for balance and find new ways to express compassion. 

Thank you for thoughts that plop out while scribbling.

Thank you for repeated thoughts about what humans contribute to the world as a species, ideally. Are we meant to be stewards of the land like Native Americans who managed forests, adding to the health of the environment? Are we meant constantly to grow our awareness and compassion? Are we meant to promote peace around us?

Thank you for the apostle Peter’s relationship with Jesus and for the discussion of it in Works of Love.

Thank you for gifts of religious insights. 

Thank you for thoughts on how to move forward. The gratitudes would be written even if not shared, but is sharing this same sort of entry, over and over, all that worthwhile beyond me? I guess that I would like to be of benefit. Maybe it’s time to try something new.  Or let these questions simmer and a new way will float up when it’s ready. I don’t know. Another possibility is that sameness gives practice in persistence, and others benefit from the consistency. Suggestions are appreciated!

Thank you for when you feel stuck and know it will pass because you’ve felt stuck before and, through effort and ease, gotten somewhere better. 

Thank you for warmer days. Thank you for sunny days. Thank you for clouds.

Thank you for a night off from cooking to scarf a Vegos burrito.

Thank you for Chance and Snoop, a love story! Thank you for tales inspired by Sam. Thank you for sharing them to inspire others.

Thank you for the dreams that keep us alive.