Thursday, May 31, 2018

Fragrant blossoms

While out walking on a nearby jogging trail yesterday Lotus Blossom and I were overwhelmed by the smell of wild honeysuckle vine. The sweet but delicate fragrance was even more of a delight as it hung in the cool, refreshing air. 

I am grateful that I have been able to enjoy the visual and sensory beauty of this flower on our daily walk.


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This post is part of the daily gratitude practice I am working to develop during 2018. You can read all about it at ByChanceBuddhism!
*****
May all beings be happy!

Friday, May 25, 2018

A grateful flow of consciousness

Lately I have been spending a lot more time outside on walks with little lotus blossom in the stroller, so I have not written as many gratitude posts. But that does not mean that I have fewer reasons to be grateful- just less time to express it!

So today I am trying something different- a gratitude flow of consciousness, if you will. I will type whatever comes to mind and hope it makes some sense. Many of the things I list below will probably be things I have been wanting to write about anyway, so if this process helps those few words grow into posts, then great, if not, then that's fine too. Thanks in advance for your attention and patience with my random way of doing things!

Alright, so here goes . . . 3, 2, 1 . . .

I am grateful for:
Today's sunshine which is accompanied by a beautiful, refreshing breeze.
An unexpected visit with a kind lady who lives nearby.
A mani pedi and fun with a dear friend.
Getting some books I ordered in the mail.
Being able to take a walk every day this week.
Making it to the end of the trail I frequent, which I am not able to do as often.
The beautiful scent of a jasmine flower in my window. 
Accidentally dropping a juice glass on the floor and it not breaking.
My husband staying with the lotus blossom so I could go for said mani pedi.
A recent trip to visit my parents.
A kind reply to my email I wrote to growers at a fruit farm (I was asking about kiwis and how they are grown).
Being chosen for an on site job interview.
A dear friend and former colleague being recognized for her excellence in teaching.
Delicious avocados!
The loved ones in my life.
Beautiful irises growing alongside the running trail.
Finding $5 along said trail (I did look for the owner, but no one was around. Now to think of what good I can hopefully do with it- ideas are welcome!)
A lovely strawberry-themed wreath from my mother.
A new, lighter summer comforter set with beautiful batik-style elephants printed on it.
Our curry plant slowly starting to grow!
Being able to finally put our plants outside to (hopefully) flourish.
A family trip to a local zoo last weekend with my husband and Lotus Blossom.
Stopping at a farm stand and purchasing beautiful, fresh strawberries. 
Ice cream from a local creamery.
Feeling physically stronger and more self-assured when out for a walk with Lotus blossom.


*****
This post is part of the daily gratitude practice I am working to develop during 2018. You can read all about it at ByChanceBuddhism!
*****
May all beings be happy!

Monday, May 21, 2018

The abundance of rain

In terms of weather, the past two weeks have been wet enough to completely saturate the ground, giving rise to many local flood warnings; even causing a small, but nevertheless disconcerting 'moat' to form around the edge of our corner apartment!

Although I try not to allow the weather to affect my mood, the deluge was starting to get to me. The copious rain not only meant no sunshine, but also no going out- and no exercise, both for me and the little one. After a longer-than-usual winter (and practically itching to go on my long walks with the stroller), this prohibition was a real bummer. Finally after yet another rainy Saturday, the sun revealed its bright face once again, as it is doing today, and will hopefully do for the rest of the week. 

While I certainly would like to express a great deal of gratefulness for the current (fabulous!) weather, I would also like to make an important point. Although the rain restricted my freedom of movement and doing what I wanted to do, there was also a great deal of beauty to behold. Between thunderstorms I noticed that the droplets gathered along the edges of new spring foliage were glistening and pure, and the fragrance of black locust blossoms in the cool, fresh air delicious. As I look outside today, the sun is shining and even the largest puddles have evaporated, but the lush, succulent explosion of greenery produced by the rain is nothing short of a miracle. 

The moral of the story? We can all have our preferences and yearnings for certain types of weather, but Nature has its own ideas about what must be accomplished, and they often have nothing to do with what we (or any other being for that matter) may desire. Though this post is not necessarily meant as a 'light at the end of the tunnel' message (take from it what you will), I am grateful for the lesson I have learned. 


"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished"
 -"Lao Tzu"
*****
This post is part of the daily gratitude practice I am developing during 2018. You can read all about it at ByChanceBuddhism!
*****
May all beings be happy!

Sunday, May 13, 2018

My daughter

To my precious daughter,

I cannot begin to express how much joy you bring to my life. Your smile, your laughter, your big, dark eyes, the little curls at the back of your head. The way you cheerfully march around the house as if the world belongs to you, the way you savor your favorite foods and music in general- how your excitement about everyday things breathes new life into this world!

I knew that becoming a mother would be hard. And it was. When you were first born I was so anxious, so scared, because all the responsibility of caring for a new, precious little one became so real; as did the joy, the pride, the worry, the fear, and the contentment. Your arrival spurred a deepening and amplification of emotions I never thought possible, catapulting me to a heightened state of being from which I cannot (and would not wish to) return.

Many people say that every child's birth also yields the birth of a new woman, different from the one that existed before. How very true, but I now know that only those with direct experience of this sacred transition are poised to truly comprehend it. Beyond the joys of motherhood I also reveal its tumult, not to make you worry or feel sad or sorry, but only to be honest about one of life's most basic facts- that some of the most beautiful, transformative, and rewarding things are often not easy.

As I have gotten to know you, your personality, your fun sense of humor, the way you notice and learn things so quickly, you have unknowingly given me confidence and calmed my fears with your beautiful self. I loved you before you were born, but from the moment I saw you my heart belonged to you, as it will until the end of my days. I love you, my little lotus blossom, from the bottom of my heart. šŸ’•


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This post is part of the daily gratitude practice I am working to develop during 2018. You can read all about it at ByChanceBuddhism!
*****
May all beings be happy!

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

A parade of springtime flowers

A major contributor to an ongoing feeling of personal gratefulness has been for the slow but steady onset of spring this year. I think that my feelings can best be communicated through these images captured over the past few weeks featuring both woodland and cultivated blooms. The emergence of such beauty following the cold winter months brings joy to my heart, as does sharing these images with you! 

 

















*****
This post is part of the daily gratitude practice I am working to develop during 2018. You can read all about it at ByChanceBuddhism!
*****
May all beings be happy!