Gratitude List:
1. Bluebirds. When I went out to tend chickens this morning, a pair of them sat in the little tree nearby and talked to me. The wrens yell, “Here’s where I belong and don’t anyone get into my space!” The yellow-throat sparrows call, “Here! I’m here! Won’t somebody please notice me?” And other birds sing joyfully and exuberantly. But bluebirds sing so quietly and sweetly, you could almost miss them: “Everything’s going to be okay, you know? Here, let me tell you a little story.” And there’s a bluebird that signals my father when his meal-worm feeder is empty. But then when it’s filled and the bird has eaten all it wants, it comes back and sits on a little perch my dad put up outside his window–you can’t tell me that bird isn’t there to say thank you. Oh, and there’s a pair inspecting the birdhouse out back for a potential nesting site.
2. The laughter of chickens. Okay, so they don’t actually laugh. They sort of fuss and dither and clook about the daily fare. They’re probably a little too simple-minded to get the joke, so they don’t laugh much. But Jessica thought that’s what I wrote yesterday (see below), and I love the whimsy of the thought of laughing chickens. Delightful.
3. Meeting an online friend in person. These connections we make with other people (in physical life, in computer realms) are like spiderwebs–gossamer, exquisite. Treasures.
4. Cerulean. I’m back to bluebirds. Isn’t that an exquisite color when the sun shines on their shoulders? Thoreau said that the “bluebird carries the sky on his back.” Oh yes he does.
5. Milagros. Doesn’t that just sound like a pleasant word? Even before I looked up the meaning, and having heard it in various contexts without knowing its meaning for sure, it was a word I wanted to carry around for a while. It’s Spanish: miracle, wonder. Paul Simon could have just said that these are the days of milagros. Oh, “the way we look to a distant constellation that is shining in the corner of the sky.”
May we walk in beauty like the bluebird walks on air.
February 25, 2013
Gratitude List:
1. The laughter of children
2. The curiosity of chickens
3. The steadfastness of friends
4. The healing powers of the body
5. The nourishment of food
Namaste
Sunny in the summertime
Mockingbird Chronicles 
Reblogged this on thinkjunk and commented:
When I first began battling my anxiety, Mister and I made a practice of making thankful lists each night. We would sit together for a few minutes each evening before bed and both list three things we were thankful for that day. Some days it was easy to make these lists; other days it was nearly impossible. There are many practices like this but this one was ours.
The point is, this ritual anchored us in the positive. I slept better afterward too. I suppose that’s why people say bedtime prayers.
So on no particular order, here is today’s thankful list:
1.Sunlight, glorious gloden rays streaming throuhg my fourth period window. The whole room is more cheerful so the world must feel the same way.
2.Mister’s unwavering belif that my life is going to get better.
3.My blog followers. Seriously, you guys are amazing. Thanks again for all the likes and kind comments.
4.Fresh, crunchy little apples, slighty tangy and satisfying.
5.Caramel rooibos with honey.
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