A magnolia in bloom is for me the perfection of beauty. It just is.
I don’t know why it’s so. But it is. And on a day like yesterday, when the sun was shining and it was warm enough for the fragrance of the magnolia to be noticeable as I walked up to this tree in bloom, well that just makes me smile.
I am so grateful today.
- I am grateful that I know what constitutes beauty for me, and for being conscious and appreciative of those things and their moments.
Here’s a short and incomplete list:
- The things that fill my eyes and ears with beauty and my heart with joy
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Magnolias in bloom on a sunny day
- iPhoneography (I took that little picture!)
- Jennifer Hudson singing “I will always love you” in tribute to Whitney Houston
- Whitney Houston singing the “National Anthem”. Seriously, no one should ever sing this again at a sporting event. Please just play this!
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Songs — just a few of the many that make me sing and dance around — guaranteed remedies for feeling icky, like:
“When I paint my masterpiece and Ophelia” by the Band
This version of “When you awake” by Rick Danko
“Rosalita” and “Cadillac Ranch” and a whole lot more by Bruce
“It takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry” and “Just like Tom Thumb’s Blues” by Bob Dylan - Food fresh from my garden (planting time soon!)
- Succulents in bloom (so weird, so lovely)
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Good TV, for example:
The Wire
Downton Abbey
Sherlock (the new BBC version) - Friends, my loving valentines
- My daughter
- My homemade kombucha
- SmartWool socks
I could go on and on; how lovely is that that I have so many things that bring joy to my heart!
- I am grateful for an old friend asking me to share my gratitude practice with him; he’s going to put it in a book!
- And I’m grateful for the feedback from him after our call. He said, “I think you don’t get how wonderful you are. You are! You are a jewel.” What a lovely thing to hear.
- I’m grateful for being a daily walker now. I love my walks!
- I’m grateful for late-night love texts from a friend.
- I’m grateful for a card in the postal mail that arrived on and celebrated Valentine’s Day.
- I’m grateful for knitting a beautiful piece that I’m going to give to a cherished friend later today.
- I’m grateful that my body is healing.
- I’m grateful for the coaching I get, that I have gifted myself with support around making my business be as heart-centered and as aligned with who I really am and what I really have to give as possible.
- I’m grateful for the weakening of the “But I’m not a writer!” barrier between me and my writing. Seems like I am quite a writer!
- I’m grateful for the lesson I learned years ago when I studied The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: I take care of the quantity and Spirit takes care of the quality.
- I am grateful. I am joyful. I am blessed.
