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The Fire of Gratitude!
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and
creates a vision for tomorrow."
Melody Beattie
As I write this, the white pines in our yard are losing some of their foliage. In lightening their boughs every Autumn, they are better able to sustain the heavy snows of Winter without breaking. In the process, they cover our walk with a soft and golden carpet of their shed needles. Every step along that gilded path releases the sweet aroma of pine!
In the light breeze, the fallen leaves of the maple tree transform themselves into other creatures! They skitter along the sidewalk like strangely colored beasts in a hurry to catch a bus! The sound and sight of them makes me smile.
Overhead at dusk, a great formation of geese flies south. Their honking cries are answered by my whispered encouragement, "Farewell, friends! Go safely to your Winter home. I'll miss you. When you return, bring the sweet warm breezes with you!"
All of this going away brings with it a touch of melancholy but it is soothed by the offering of thanks. As Nature's summer companions leave us take time to notice them and memorize them. Hold their images and sounds and aromas safe inside of you. Enfold yourself in the sweet sound of the season's last crickets. Breath in the aroma of the fallen leaves. Welcome the return of quiet and of darkened, starry skies. Make an Autumnal trip to the beach and breath the salt air--cold with anticipation of the first snows. In a stiff Fall wind, the foam piles up in impossibly rich mounds that quiver with every gust.
Take a walk outside. Gather leaves, feathers, dried flowers, seed pods, stones, bits of sea glass and other magical finds along your way. When you return to the warmth of your home, place the objects on your sacred space. Arrange them beautifully to make a focus for your gratitude. Speak your thankfulness aloud as you arrange the bits and pieces on your altar. Just let your heart speak through you.
"We can only be said to be alive
in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."
Thornton Wilder
"Thank you, sugar maple! Your single leaf captures ALL of the colors of Fall! (And thanks again for the syrup!)"
"Blue Jay! Thank you for your raucous company! I'm grateful that you'll share my Winter along with Chickadee!"
"Beach Rose. My, my...these red and orange hips are as showy as your blossoms!"
"Cattail, thank you for making the Red Wing Blackbird feel at home!"
As you work with these objects, enumerate all that you are grateful for this season. (I find one expression of gratitude usually leads me to another!) Express thanksgiving for having senses to enjoy all that life offers. List those beings who you love and whom love you! In no time at all, you'll have chased away any gloom and warmed your entire home with the fire of gratitude!
"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action."
W.J. Cameron
- Evelyn
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