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Gratitudes, plus…

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The most important thing I got to do today–[ta da!]–I went dancing!!

It was soul night at the 920 and I went. So.Much.Fun! Once again, I forgot to take a picture to go with…maybe I’ll remember tomorrow. It’s funny that I find it so hard to get in the car and drive to a dance, when once I get there I just laugh with joy. It’s a great habit to have. Maybe I’ll go again tonight. It helps to trick myself. I went directly from the gym. And later tonight I’ll be at Shari’s in the city, so it may be really easy to get there. Quick gratitude list and then off to bed. Look at the time–after one a.m. That’s the downside. I end up staying up so late–energized! And I have a 7:10 a.m. call. Oh joy.

Gratitudes

  • Made a lot of progress on the proposal I’m doing
  • Committed to tending the kids at the CAYA new years party
  • Got a budget for art supplies for above
  • Found the last item I need for Shari’s house blessing tomorrow–black ribbon–on sale too!
  • My sister let me know that Matt is sick in India, maybe malaria. Sending love and light. (not grateful he’s sick, grateful to know and be supportive)
  • Mild weather
  • The new clothes I found at Rockridge Rags
  • Sticking to my commitment—bought five things, gave away five things. I have a zero-growth closet.
  • Beautiful and moving coaching call with an amazing client.
  • Dinner at Origen and The Wild Bride at Berkeley Rep with Andrew. A delicious evening.
  • Haven’t freaked out about new dental issue. Either a $100 repair or a $2500 bridge or a $5000 implant. No biggie.
  • Remembering to breathe.

Blessings all!

 

Gratitude Thursday 3/17

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It’s chilly and has been softly raining all week. Ramping up to calendar spring. Some of the seeds I planted in my little garden patch are sprouting. Hardy greens: kale, chard, spinach, mizuna, tatsoi.

And a tray full of the same seeds sprouting here in the house. Will get them into the garden this weekend.

I’ll be snipping my greens soon. Yay!

I’m grateful for this little miracle of digging in the dirt and growing edible greens and other veggies. Still bowls me over. I’m from Brooklyn. My relationship with what I eat has certainly changed.

I love living in Oakland.

I’m grateful for my life and the loving friends in it.

I’m grateful for my sisters of choice, and for my sister of blood.

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Gratitude Monday 2/14

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A day to celebrate Love. They say. I say every day is a day to celebrate Love. Something I’m trying to remember, to offset the tendency in my life to operate from a space of grim duty.

Yes, please, may I have some more joy? I’ll take another helping of juicy unstructured rapacious lustful funny smiling joy. Thank you.

Lots of joy this past weekend.

Saturday was double art exploration day with Rowan.

Journey #1: Off we went to Sibley Volcanic Park to hunt for lava. Of course, being with my cherished Rowan, she who embraces chaos, we did part of our walk off-trail, scrambling down a mountainside, snagging my brand-new consignment-store find Eileen Fisher openweave sweater on branches. I rose to the occasion, we both pulled out our iPhone compasses, so I knew we weren’t walking around in circles. We stayed heading northwest-ish, and eventually found the trail again. So out of my usual way of going! I loved it.

And we found lots of lava rock for our Pele niche altar. Before we took any, I made an offering to Pele and her volcanic sisters for the gift of their lava.

Found out later, from Ladybug, that there are labyrinths at Sibley, which we missed altogether. Next time! Here’s an article about one of the labyrinths. Oh there are four labyrinths, check this piece out.

Looks like another trip to Sibley is on the horizon, simply to find one or more of these magical places!

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Gratitude Thursday 1/27

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I am grateful for the amazing balmy springtime weather. Spring in January! I’m seeing flowers everywhere. The magnolias are coming into flower, the calla lilies are blooming, I see the bulbs coming up, the daffodils and irises.

I’m grateful for friendship. For the beautiful friends who are in my life.

I’m grateful for dancing. For the new dance that started last night, Wednesdays at the Berkeley City Club. Beautiful venue, good dancers, great energy. Fun! Lindy hop and Balboa for an hour. Joyful!

I’m grateful for health, for vitality and energy.

I’m grateful for opportunity and commitment and growth.

I’m grateful for eating lightly and very very well.

I’m grateful for the turning of the wheel and the return of the light. Phew!!

I’m grateful for inspiring businesspeople and clients.

I’m grateful grateful grateful!

Gratitude Thursday 12/30

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I am grateful for the little increase each day of light.

I am grateful too for knowing and enjoying the solitude and magic that comes in winter, in hibernation time.

I am grateful for inspiring music, dancers and musicians.

I am grateful that I am in a beautiful dance community.

I am grateful that my daughter has now called me for the second time, just to talk! A miracle has occurred. I love the relationship I now have with Rose.

I am grateful for my friends and for their love.

I am grateful for my robust radiant health.

I am grateful for strength and grace.

I am grateful for my humor and curiosity. A powerful combination!

I am grateful for gratitude. Really. Think about it.

I am grateful for technology and the interwebs.

I am grateful hugely grateful for my sister Barbara. I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Blessings radiant blessings to all.

Gratitude Monday 11/29

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Aran sweaterIt’s been a wonderful Thanksgiving season.

I continue to be grateful. For the cold weather (get to wear my Aran sweater every day!) and the amazing sunsets and moonrises we get this time of year. The upside of the dark time.

Speaking of seasons, my own personal Seasonal Affect Disorder started yesterday. Not so much driven by the loss of light. Much more a factor of the day there are no California avocados available at the farmer’s market (which was yesterday). I am now officially depressed! Seasonally, that is.

Sigh. The month or two of Peruvian/Chilean/Mexican avocado hell. Hmm, how can I ever leave California, move to Paris for example? What will I do with this need to have avocados (local, thank you) every day! A challenging conundrum.

I am so grateful for the dance community. I had great fun DJing and dancing Saturday night. As usual, I spent about half of my pay on new music. And then I got to dance with Dexter a bunch (the upside of a sparse attendance)—what a treat!

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Gratitude Sunday 8/16

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From The Art of Pilgrimage, an amazing book everyone should read before any journey that’s calling out to be made sacred:

Practice the arts of attention and listening

Practice renewing yourself every day

Practice meandering toward the center of every place

Practice the ritual of reading sacred texts

Practice gratitude and praise-singing

I love these!!

  • I am so grateful for this blessed weekend. Celebrating a friend’s wedding. DJing and dancing at The Rent Party blues dance. Getting started on the design work for a new social networking travel site.
  • I am grateful for the health practitioners who enhanced my health this week: Chris, my acupuncturist and Vicki, my body orchestration genius.
  • I’m grateful that I decided to support my local knitting shop instead of buying yarn online. What a lovely experience. And what online shop will afford me the opportunity to wind my skeins into beautiful little balls? Think about it.
  • I got my fancy romano beans in; the garden is set for crop 2, season 2010!
  • I’m exceptionally grateful. The pile of stuff that I’m gathering for my trip is growing. I’m so excited!!!
  • Life is a gift for which I am very very grateful!
 

Gratitude Monday 8/9

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Eek! I leave for my journey in three weeks. And one day. Wow.

I’m excited! Bought a few Eagle Creek packing cubes yesterday; I’m organizing my packing, thinking if I can cram and squoosh stuff I can take even more stuff! Oy vey this is a big deal! I am grateful for the wonderful experience I had dancing this weekend. Although I stepped on to the dance floor for only two hours (out of a whole weekend of day and night classes and dances), I had some quality dances. Nice. Very very nice. I love blues dancing! I am grateful for ritual Friday night, celebrating Lammas with my Amazon tribe and time by the bay with my other coven sisters yesterday. I love my spiritual life and my deepening commitment to this work. To the goddess. To being a priestess. I am a grateful woman and now it’s time for me to do some work. Before that, though, I’ll go inside and pull out a gratlist.

I am grateful for:

  • friends
  • ritual
  • my upcoming journey
  • making sacred every moment of my life
  • health
  • sunshine (a rare commodity around here these days)
  • food from my garden: chard, kale, tatsoi, mizuna, beans, pattypan squash, beet greens, turnip greens
  • streaming the Stern show on my computer
  • mindful eating
  • technology that works
  • an open heart
  • generosity

I’m a grateful grateful woman.

 

Gratitude Monday 7/19

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It was such a beautiful weekend!!!

Yesterday, I had set aside the whole entire day for the beach. Was gonna go with Ladybug and family to Half Moon Bay, but decided I didn’t want to do a full day. Instead, I had a lazy Sunday morning, and then went to Lindy in the Park and danced for an hour. Found a perfect parking spot, right outside the park, after circling the block just one time. This despite the fact that it was AIDS Walk day.

Great dancing, gorgeous weather.

Then drove over to Baker Beach, again easy parking. Brought the water that was blessed at Solstice for healing the oceans, created sacred space and gave the water back to the ocean.

Hiked over to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge and back, as I always do, and on the way back, I saw folks pointing at the ocean. There were four dolphins, doing their cavorting dolphin thing. So cool! Turns out that July and August is dolphin-sighting time at Baker and I was blessed to get to see them! How very lucky!

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