Filled
with Gratitude
“As
I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness,
the greater my need to express it. What happens here is a spiraling ascent, a
process of growth in ever expanding circles around a steady center.”
David
Steindl-Rast OSB
These
last two weeks of recovery from total knee-replacement surgery have made me
hyper-aware of my blessings. From the drive to the hospital with my friend,
Isie, to the drive home with my friend, Dejuana, to the long nights when my
friend, Rebecca jumped up every time I did to make sure I didn’t fall trying to
go to the bathroom, I've had people who love me and were willing to sacrifice time
and sleep to care for me. Lots of folks brought food, came for visits to
distract me, took me for rides and home for visits, did my grocery shopping, picked
up my medicine and sent dozens of messages, texts, emails and even cookies to
hasten my recovery. I’ve had so many “How are you—what can I do?” phone calls I’ve
lost count. I’ve had a nurse and a physical therapist coming and going and
pushing me through the pain to keep going and gaining strength. One of my sons
and my daughter-in-law kept my treacherous, bad-tempered Liza for two whole weeks.
The other son came and sat with me, and yesterday took me on an “outing” to the
grocery store and helped me shop. No one hovered too much, and no one seemed to
be bored and tired. They were here for one thing and one thing only—to help me
heal. Can you imagine how good that feels? How grateful I am? It’s unspeakably
wonderful.
In the
midst of these dark days of pandemic and division and anger and name-calling,
this movement of people around a single soul for the purpose of healing is what
I hold on to—what comforts me and reassures me that all is not lost and that
all is, in fact, well. We humans are both the worst and the best creatures “God
the Mother” created. We embody angelic gifts and demonic capacities. We possess
the whole gamut of polarities and potentials. We can create heaven on earth, or
hell’s furthest territory. It’s all up to us. That must be what the Creator intended.
Can’t you hear the Gods discussing it right now? “The Human Experiment: Let’s
give them all of our abilities and top it off with free will. Then, we’ll watch to see
what they do with it.”
And the
question remains—what will we do with it? For this moment, I am deeply grateful
and humbled by the experiences of these last two weeks. Thank you, God, for all the human
beings who have cared for me. They are the best of the best on this small blue
dot we call home.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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