sunday grace {and gratitude}

a golden lotus lamp hangs upside down over the dining room table and illuminates the space. sometimes i sit here in the soft focus of the early morning light, just before the sun peeks over the east side treeline and floods every corner of this room with brightness.  i just sit.  and in a practice of gratitude i take it all in, the mental inventory of goodness and abundance, of all the needs met.  i whisper thank yous and recognize the incomprehension of how this all happened and quickly swallow that always-present chaser of enjoy-it-while-you-can-because-things-can-change-at-any-second, that tastes somewhat like unworthiness.

gratitude: week one

i resisted doing gratitude posts for a few days.  i have mixed feelings about corralling gratitude into the month of november just as i do saving expressions of love for february fourteen.  plus i'm getting closer to the belief that all this self-care/gratitude/enoughness is just way too self-indulgent and sometimes verges on the edge of gloat.  and bloat.

on the other hand, the act of expressing gratitude for the unbelievable abundance in my life serves a purpose:  i am reminded to focus on the sweet spots in my day and release the fear and ugliness and hunger.  the contrast gently nudges me to do something about that darker side, make it lighter, less ominous.  for myself and for others.

so there you go.

and here you go:

this week i am grateful for

• the trees that surround my home.  they stood strong and safe during sandy.
• trees that stood strong and safe around others' homes.
• democracy (while i'm not too thrilled with the narrowing definition, i deeply value my right to vote)
• the kismet that brings d.c.'s gourmet ice cream truck (above) to my neighborhood for the winter.  seriously, it matches our garden shed.  in a town full of traditional brick and colonial columns, our hood is the home of the multicolored harlequin.
• my new job is more than i could have imagined.  i love it.
• i am grateful when painful endings leave room for bigger and better things.
• a walking trail in the middle of the city that sports view like this.
• continued clarity about who i am and the kind of life i want to live.

gratitude

last november, i did a "gratitude week" the week of thanksgiving.  focusing on things i was thankful for really kept me in a good place.  my heart and eyes were open for those things, big and small, that make my life easier, fuller, brighter, richer. 

this year i feel like going bigger in my recognition.  like the whole month bigger.  i'm going to shoot for a post a day during november acknowledging the good. 

care to join me?

ALSO:  let me know if you want me to link to a website, blog or facebook if you want to play along (and provide the link so i can find you).

milling about

most saturday mornings you will find me in the kitchen drinking coffee and stirring irish oatmeal as it slowly cooks. yesterday the light was so beautiful streaming through the kitchen window, I snapped a few scenes of my cooking and dining area.

it's funny that you can become so familiar with your surroundings that they almost become invisible. while processing the images, I was pleasantly surprised to see the depth and variety of colors and shapes; that our home is coming together to truly represent who we are.

even the mix of color above the stovetop is so me. curious if I unconsciously choose paprika that will add a design element to the spice shelf...

{ processing images also makes you realize that your wood floors are in need of a really good cleaning.}

in other news:

• gratitude week helped me truly understand the depth of beauty and love in my life. I am grateful for gratitude. at the end the week, I realized that I could go on and on and on. I'll pick up a gratitude week every so often on the blog and hope you will join me. my heart feels full.

• my man gives good date: yesterday post-oatmeal, we strolled vintage shops {scored a polaroid camera for $9}, saw an education {brilliant!} and dined on mole poblano and cheap mexican beer. more reasons to love him.

• being introduced to a photographer whose work literally makes my heart beat faster.

grateful for

• a true partner who is solidly on my team
• the calm center in the middle of the storm that is me
• a man more interested in theatre, literature, photography and art than noisy violent sports
• the voice that reads to me in bed at night
• being kissed goodnight even though I've already fallen asleep
• personality characteristics like my dad {those I admire and none that would creep me out}
• always bringing a book to read when we go to anthropologie and sitting patiently while I shop
• being smarter than me and never making me feel like it
• hands that can build and create
• hands that can instantly ground me when gently placed at the small of my back
• just as much love for my darker side

grateful for

• farmers, growers, merchants and cooks who celebrate organic local food
• food that nourishes, that makes my body strong and my skin glow
• food that doesn't poison children
• never having to go to bed hungry
• food that transports me {to another land or another time}
• the art and craft of creating a meal
• and especially for avocados, fish tacos, steak au poivre, tortilla soup

happy thanksgiving friends! feast away!

grateful for

• the strength, beauty and discipline of yoga
• my teacher nancy {shown here} who has this lovely way about her: all full of humor, grace, muscle and prayer at the same time
• every other yoga teacher in the world: your work is a blessing
• the challenge of moving from plank to chaturanga; every time it rolls around, I say to myself, "what the eff are you thinking?!"...and then when I do it {just do it!}, there is this immense feeling of accomplishment and power and possibility that just blows me away
• practicing in a beautiful old georgian mansion
• savasana
  

grateful for

• a home that is safe and warm
• that is totally accepting of my incessant need to experiment and change things up {like a little brother that gets dolled up in girls' frocks}
• that carries the juxtaposition of bold color and comfort so well
• that holds the scents of my life...fig, balsam, honey, coffee...
• that speaks to me via creaky wood floors and the various soft hums of its many mechanisms
• that seems to want to be just what I want it to be: an artist's house, a place to nurture a soul
  

gratitude week*

grateful for

• a good education
• the love of learning
• the craft of exploration
• a beautiful open mind.
  

{*a week of things to be thankful for.}