With Thanksgiving less than a week away, I’m giving some extra thought to my reasons for gratitude. In list form, it’s embarrassingly long. I have a great life. I don’t ever forget it, and I don’t ever take it for granted. I think one of the gifts of a … sub-par childhood, is that when life gets good, you really know it. Even on my darkest days, days when I’m sad, lonely, confused, irritated, judgmental, angry, and/or afraid, there’s always a part of me that’s kickin’ up my heals in the happy dance. My joy comes from the fact that I never feel trapped anymore. I don’t get stuck chewing on some dried-up old resentment bone. Not for very long, at least. I know who I am, and I’m not ashamed to be kind to myself. I love being over 50 because at this age I have perspective. Perspective is the best, and the older I get, the broader and more compassionate my perspective becomes.
Yesterday, three students, during different study periods, thanked me effusively for the schoolwork we did together. I ate it up. As a volunteer, that’s my pay, and today, I was overpaid.
Tuesday, I took a walk up in the hills above Glen Ellen. My cell phone takes lousy pictures, but I couldn’t resist trying to capture the spectacular fall colors in the valley below. I wish you could have been there.
Glen Ellen - November 2011
Have a Happy Thanksgiving; have a good week, and I’ll post again next Friday.