“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add but when there is nothing left to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (quoted here).

Thank you for a paradoxical decline of regrets with age.

Thank you for tragic optimism and non-dual thinking for greater joy in life.

Thank you for the man at the arroyo justifying to a stranger his choice to let a friend off leash: “This is the only time he gets to be a dog.”

Thank you for more simple wisdom from Thich Nhat Hanh: “Mindfulness is connected with concentration and insight; if you practice mindfulness well, you get concentration and insight at the same time.”

And, “Understanding people is a miracle.” 

Thank you for reality being surreal.

Thank you for taking stock of the past few years or so. I lost a best friend. Gained a sister. Started a career path that’s based in love. Moved and moved and moved, and am moving. Acquired a home. Let it go. Found Home. Felt embraced by community. Same with family. Formed sustaining friendships. Opened eyes to the other side and its signs. Revamped outlook and look. Enjoyed heart-expanding adventures. Felt loved and hurt and loved and broken and whole. Practiced forgiveness. Enlarged acceptance…

Thank you for life’s beauty and brilliance.

Thank you for seemingly solid relationship advice tempered with intuition, tailored to fit, tested with critical thought.

Thank you for sister humor sprinkling days with joy.

Thank you for big sister encouragement easing the stress of another move.

Thank you for supportive moms easing it, too.

Thank you for a request on a morning walk answered by a white winged dove. It gave hope that maybe the healing I struggle with is possible.

Thank you for pups hiking with bandanas around their necks.

Thank you for the crispness of vibrant skies this time of year.

Thank you for accents from Oklahoman cousins reminding me of Dad’s drawl. Thank you for Sister’s ties with them linking us like a bridge.

Thank you for a warm chat with a caring program facilitator. 

Thank you for practice with others in the cohort despite the urge to escape. Thank you for when fear faced morphs into connection.

Thank you for cilantro in pineapple smoothies.

Thank you for tomorrow’s road trip to Cali and the opportunity to sing off key with no one hearing. Thank you for new friends who made the move possible. Even if snafus happen, thank you for steps in the direction called. 

It’s relative, but thank you for traveling somewhat light.

Thank you for seemingly good risks taken.

Thank you, if all goes well, for a family visit this winter.

Thank you for time seeing us through.

Thank you for all that inspires you. (May you immerse yourself in it.) Thank you for what brings you peace. (May you cherish it.) Thank you for awareness of your higher path. (May you cultivate it.)

Thank you for cheesiness.

Thank you for resting easy. Thank you for faith that pursuing what’s healthy “works” in unforeseen ways.

Wishing you well <3