Pockets of Gratitude

The endless rains finally moved on long enough to let me take some baby steps in my quest to turn a long neglected yard into a sweet little garden. I say baby steps because, between the rain that has lasted through the majority of the spring, and the amount of work this project will take, I understand that baby steps are all I can do if I don't want to take one of my favorite passions and turn it into a chore. I've been gardening long enough to know that if it took Mother Nature centuries to create forests and meadows, it's going to take me a little longer to create this garden. Baby steps allow me to get to where I'm going with joy along the way. They give me pockets of gratitude.

We have to look for pockets of gratitude where we can find them if we don't want our lives to turn into just a series of chores and disappointments either. They are everywhere if we set the intention to find them, and then remain open to receive them. While I had to squeeze in a few hours here and there between rain storms to get anything done in the garden these last few weeks, I've found pockets of gratitude just in being outside with my granddaughter, filling the boxes and containers with lettuce and basil seeds, setting up an outdoor metal sculpture for the morning glories to climb, and loving the feel of my fingers in the soil. That's a pocket of gratitude.

Today, for example, while we are certainly free of rain, we are, instead, in the second day of a two day mini-heat wave with temperatures in the 90's, unusual for us here in the Northeast in June. So working outside is not something I will be doing today. Instead, I am inside sitting in front of the big picture window over my desk and watching the antics of the family of blue jays that have taken up residence in the big pine tree next door. Here are creatures who live or die at the whim of the forces of nature, whose whole existence is based on finding food and shelter every day while dodging predators, and yet they find time early in the day to play dive bombers and air tag with great abandon. They remind me of how fortunate I am to not have to worry about food or shelter, or being at the mercy of the elements (except when it comes to gardening). Another pocket of gratitude, both for my own good fortune and the joy I get watching my feathered neighbors.

As I write this, my two female feline housemates, Charlotte and Laura, are also playing tag, their usual morning activity after a good night's sleep and a full breakfast bowl. Even at what is considered to be middle age in people years, they have not lost their ability to have fun. They remind me of that famous saying: "Carpe Diem" - seize the day! Age has nothing to do with joy. Another pocket of gratitude.

So now I'm going to go refill my coffee cup and sit down at my desk to enjoy one of my other passions, probably the one I love the most: writing. I am working on a new ebook and this is a perfect day to get some work done, sitting with a beautiful view of nature while not having to bake in it, seeing my fur babies settle down for their morning naps, and letting Divine Inspiration use me via the written page. A great, big pocket of gratitude.

May all your pockets be filled with gratitude.

And so it is.