"GRATITUDE"

Paraphrased from a short documentary by Louie Schwartzberg

I think this is just another day in my life? It's not just another day. It's the one day that is given to me today. It's given to me. It's a gift. It's the only gift that I have right now, and the only appropriate response is gratefulness. If I do nothing else but to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is, if I learn to respond as if it were the first day in my life and the very last day, then I will have spent this day very well.

I begin by opening my eyes and be surprised that I have eyes I can open, that incredible array of colors that is constantly offered to me for pure enjoyment. Look at the sky. I note how different it is from moment to moment, with clouds coming and going. I think of all the many nuances of weather.  This day, right now, has unique weather, maybe a kind that will never exactly in that form come again. That formation of clouds in the sky will never be the same as it is right now. I open my eyes. Look at that.

Look at the faces of people whom I meet. Each one has an incredible story behind their face, a story that I could never fully fathom, not only their own story, but the story of their ancestors. We all go back so far, and in this present moment, on this day, all the people I meet, all that life from generations and from so many places all over the world flows together and meets me here like a life-giving water, if I only open my heart and drink.

Open my heart to the incredible gifts that civilization gives to me. I flip a switch and there is electric light. I turn a faucet and there is warm water and cold water, and drinkable water. It's a gift that millions and millions in the world will never experience.

So these are just a few of an enormous number of gifts to which I can open my heart to. And so I wish that I will open my heart to all these blessings, and let them flow through me, that everyone whom I will meet on this day will be blessed by me, just by my eyes, by my smile, by my touch, just by my presence. Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around me, and I will let myself be open to those blessings that are returned to me, and then it will really be a good day.

Going with the flow

Paraphrased from Melody Beatties's  "The Language of Letting Go"

   Go with the flow.
   Let go of fear and my need to control. Relinquish anxiety. Let it slip away, as I dive into the river of the present moment, the river of my life, my place in the universe.
   Stop trying to force the direction. Try not to swim against the current, unless it is necessary for my survival.  If  I've been clinging to a branch at the riverside, let go.
   Let myself move forward. Let myself be moved forward.
   Avoid the rapids when possible. If I can't, stay relaxed. Staying relaxed can take me safely through fierce currents. If I go under for a moment , I allow myself to surface naturally. I will.
   Appreciate the beauty of the scenery, as it is. See things with freshness, with newness. I shall never pass by today's scenery again!
   Don't think too hard about things. The flow is meant to be experienced. Within it, care for myself. I am part of the flow, an important part. Move with the flow. Work within the flow. Thrashing about isn't necessary. Let the flow help me care for myself. Let it help me set boundaries, make decisions, and get me where I need to be when it is time.
   I can trust the flow, and my part in it.
   I go with the flow.