Thank you for nuggets of wisdom in Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic:

“As to what the future’s uncertain lot has in store, why should I demand of Fortune that she give, rather than demand of myself that I should not crave?”

“Be a philosopher now, whether you have anything or not, — for if you have anything, how do you know that you have not too much already? — but if you have nothing, seek understanding first, before anything else.”

“Do you ask what is the foundation of a sound mind? It is, not to find joy in useless things. I said that it was the foundation; it is really the pinnacle. We have reached the heights if we know what it is that we find joy in and if we have not placed our happiness in the control of externals.”

“The yield of poor mines is on the surface; those are really rich whose veins lurk deep, and they will make more bountiful returns to him who delves unceasingly.”

“I do not know whether I shall make progress; but I should prefer to lack success rather than to lack faith.”

Thank you for the ripple effects of NM’s hugs. Thank you for her loving energy.

Thank you for safe home environments.

Thank you for supportive housemates.

Thank you for those open and humble and curious and eager to try therapy—to be up for whatever promises healing.

Thank you for New Jerseyans. Thank you for Brits.

Thank you for homemade soups on chilly nights.

Thank you for a cozy gathering with Cottage peeps. Thank you for acceptance and laughter. Thank you for vulnerability around folks I didn’t know existed a year ago who now are almost like family in some ways. Thank you for safe pockets.

Thank you for an ongoing quest, like a game, to simplify life naturally. (What can I do without? What can I swap out for second-hand or make from scratch? What’s a less processed version of the status quo…?)

Thank you for loving big sisters. Thank you for their partners, and their care for each other.

Thank you for unexpected compliments. I think you’re wonderful!

Thank you for great historical figures who lived with abundant conflict, like MLK Jr. (Gandhi, too…) You might say they were magnets for discord, if you missed the forest to home in on trees. I guess what I’m getting at is, if we engage with the world, if we refuse to submit passively to its (many) questionable aspects, then maybe we will have a measure of strife. How we approach the hardship is another story. (I’m trying to be better at the approach.)

Thank you for understanding and support to bear inevitable rejection. Thank you for love outshining what’s not easy to bear.

Thank you for greater ease as a result of challenges addressed in the coaching program. Thank you for the responsibility we take for our own emotions, like a vessel that navigates us to smoother waters.

Thank you for friends and family feeding hope in futures diverging from dreams. 

Thank you for numbers’ spiritual significance.

Thank you for the teacher whose example got me thinking, the greatest teachers in any subject may be teaching about life. 

Thank you for Stella (French bulldog) veering from her walk to jump up and kiss on me.

Thank you for kisses from Riley (Great Pyrenees) and tummy rubs for Echo (rescue mutt). Thank you for Echo licking clean Riley’s mammoth face. Thank you for their mom’s love.

Thank you for canned beans in a pinch.

Thank you for an S and C run-in at Namaste Spiceland. Thank you for longtime couples who appear to treat each other lovingly. Thank you for saucy, spicy combo plates with rice and chapati. 

Thank you for house offers accepted. Even with trials, thank you for doors opening and steps into new beginnings. Thank you for healthy futures.

Thank you again for Anne turning her design of my little mobile home into a reality soon. Thank you for the vision of cozying up in a private nest surrounded by a garden embraced by community. 

Thank you for our visions of tomorrow propelling us forward. The present has beauty, too. How can I grumble recognizing even some of these conditions for happiness? (Try to keep them in sight.)

Thank you for brief moments when gratitude shines into darkness.

Thank you for Woolsey gifts: belonging in a community, a home within grasp. New friends, bonded in healing, are from Woolsey. So is knowing what home means to me.

Thank you for safe streets to walk after dark. 

Thank you for a ride to PCH. Thank you for the ocean’s humbling presence. 

Thank you for friends, new (hopefully) and old, at Kindred Spirits. Thank you for affectionate goats. Thank you for curious emus. 

Thank you for our bodies. Thank you for digestion, the poops and pees. Thank you for deep, clear breaths. Thank you for the feet and knees to absorb impacts and the muscles that power. Thank you for toes that wiggle. Thank you for spines erect and necks to prop up fleshy bowling balls. Thank you for eyes drinking in skies, moons, smiles. Thank you for blood that nourishes every nook and cranny. Thank you for skin without itches and hairs that grow long. Thank you for naughty bits tucked away in modesty and marveled at under wraps. Thank you for honkers to filter breaths and cherish essences, tongues to taste and talk, teeth to chew. Thank you for orbicularis oculi to flex. Thank you for fingers to write, to feel, to grip, to release. Thank you for arms that hold and voices that hum. Thank you for ears alerting us to all sorts of vibrations. Thank you for unsung organs and enzymes, for fluids behind the scenes. Thank you for brains to conduct the symphony of it all. Thank you for souls like bridges to a universe we don’t see.

I hope the miracle of your body enjoys the love and rest it deserves. May its gifts bless you with freedom for years to come <3