Tag: grateful

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Grateful for starting to know

Today I encountered a profound life lesson in the form of a poem.

“I wonder if you know,
the work your body has done today.
And every day.
How much disease it has fought off.
How many times it could have failed but battled on,
how many ways it could have broken but did not.
I wonder if you know,
the work your body has done today.
And every day.
And each day it has done this amazing job,
without your help,
without your approval,
your acceptance,
your kindness.
Each day it has soldiered on,
regardless of the constant stream of negativity,
pulsing its way from your brain to your cells.
Not good enough.
Not attractive enough.
Not the right shape.
Perhaps it’s time to see your body for what is truly is,
An amazing and mind-blowingly competent machine.
To get your soul to where it needs to be in this life.
To let you live.
I wonder if you know,
how much better you would be as a team.
I wonder.”

From the book, “I Wish I Knew” by Donna Ashworth

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A week of contrasts

It’s been a week of high peaks and low valleys. Big challenges and bigger blessings. Joyous fun and deep discouragement.

I’m grateful for all of it…and also grateful the week is over.

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Seclusion day #3

Free photos of Christmas

How lovely it’s been to be relatively still and inward on the winter solstice.

And a rare blessing it is, as we’re usually up to our eyeballs in Christmas prep during this week. But with the concert behind us and (for once) not being in charge of Christmas Eve music, we were quick to take this opportunity.

I’m so grateful we did, as I’ve enjoyed some deep meditations with important insights.

Bring on the light!

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Staying warm and cozy

What a blessing to be able to stay home — warm and cozy — in such stormy weather.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m extremely grateful for days of heavy rain (though the intense winds were less appreciated).

It’s just that I’m equally grateful not to have had to get in the car and go anywhere in the midst of it all!

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November 26 health addendum

I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to learn that I’m particularly grateful for some very specific things this Thanksgiving season.

  1. I’m grateful for my primary care physician — Amy Nielsen at Sierra Family Medical Center — for connecting the dots that led to my cancer diagnosis a little less than a year ago.
  2. I’m grateful for the excellent care I received at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, in the oncology, radiation, and infusion departments.
  3. I’m grateful for every person on the apheresis and bone marrow transplant teams at UC Davis Medical Center.
  4. I’m grateful for Dr. Lena Suhaila, my naturopathic integrative oncologist, and for her guidance in addressing the more subtle and holistic aspects of healing. 
  5. I’m grateful for every single doctor, specialist, nurse, lab technician, pharmacist, or other medical professional I encountered throughout my journey.
  6. I’m grateful for the hundreds of people from around the world, and from every area (and era) of my life, who prayed, sent encouraging letters and emails, or otherwise supported my process.
  7. I’m grateful for the teachings and practices of my spiritual path that provided the tools I needed to maintain a positive and optimistic attitude.
  8. I’m grateful for the music of Ananda which has been an important part of my healing process.
  9. I’m grateful for the financial assistance from many organizations and individuals that allowed me to focus on healing without stressing about the expense.
  10. Last but not least, I’m grateful for Ramesha, for my Dad, and for my friend, Suzanne. They’ve been my rocks throughout this experience and, in my Dad’s case, throughout my life. 

I also want to take this opportunity to let everyone know that I’m doing extremely well physically. It’s true that I still have to be careful to avoid viral infections (as my immune system comes fully back online), but my energy is so good that the only other “danger” I have to guard against is slipping back into “normal” mode too quickly. 

Why? Because my usual tendency has always been to neglect the subtle and holistic self-care elements that can lead to deeper levels of healing. And I feel one of the major lessons of this whole experience has been to wake me up to the absolute importance of true self-care. So, I’m working on it!

I love and appreciate each and every one of you, and hope you’ve enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving, filled with an abundance of love and joy.

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Hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving!

I’ve been on a roll with rearranging things in our apartment, which means going through boxes and papers and discarding a lot of unnecessary clutter.

I did finish in time to attend our first real Thanksgiving dinner since 2019(!), but I’m going to have to do post-Thanksgiving calls and cards.

However, while working, I was reflecting on all that I have to be grateful for…and it’s an extremely long list.

I give thanks to the Giver behind each gift, and to the one Giver behind all that I receive. My gratitude rises with devotion’s incense to the throne of Omnipresence.
— Swami Kriyananda

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Nourishing cleanse update

I came to an important realization today: this wasn’t really the right time to attempt the full nourishing cleanse. I had the bandwidth to make the dietary changes, but trying to add in the other self-care elements has proved challenging and even frustrating.

So, I’m hitting the pause button with the intention of rescheduling it for sometime after Christmas and/or early in the new year. At that point we’ll have been back longer, plus the intense “getting ready for the holidays” energy will be behind us.

The good news is that I feel good about this decision. I plan to continue most of what I’ve been doing, but with a more relaxed attitude as I gradually add back in a bit more food variety.

Bottom line is that I’m grateful for the “course correction” this past week of super healthy eating has given me. I’m grateful for the microbiome mash and for the motivation to learn how to use my Instant Pot. And I’m grateful that the process will be that much easier the next time around.

But most importantly, I’m grateful for being flexible and gentle with myself.

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Hooray for rain

It’s a bit of an adjustment, but I’m feeling extremely grateful for this cold, gloomy, rainy day.

Why?

For one thing, I appreciate moisture for it’s own sake.

I’m also hopeful that today, tomorrow, and the rain that’s forecast for next week will signal the end of fire season for this year. Wouldn’t that be great?!?

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Evening light

I’ve always loved the beautiful view from our apartment, but there’s nothing like being away for a couple of months to raise my appreciation to a whole other level!

I sat in the last rays of the sun early this evening and marveled at the light and the quiet as the day drew to an end.

Moments of magic for which I am deeply grateful.

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Waiting till morning

I’ve been packing pretty much all day and am now officially out of steam.

There’s still more to do but it’s going to have to wait until the morning.

It’s actually a little sad to be leaving this space that has sheltered and nurtured us throughout this long and rather intense experience.

Feeling very grateful.