Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Monday here in Canada. I certainly find myself still thankful again this year for what I was thankful for last year. But there's so much more.

I'm thankful for the whole world, what a place, our big round blue planet... do alien life forms look down and envy us? Or maybe they have something to show us, if they exist at all...

... for the unbelieveable privilege of getting to live a life, no matter how long I might have to experience it...

... for the sky, the sun, the clouds, the rain, the desert, the mountains, the soft rolling hills, the wind, the moon, the stars...

... the soil, the grass, the rocks, the lakes, the shells, the fish, the flowers, the fossils...

... being vertigo-free...

... music, words, books, films, theatre, dance

... the differences between us...

... our similarities...

... creative people...

... kind people...

... shy people...

... bold people...

... funny people...

... amazing, wonderful, different, eccentric people...

... long, close hugs...

... those who lead...

... those who follow...

... spiders, cats, birds, dogs and all other furry, feathered things... Tibby!

... my family; and how lucky I am to still have my dad as well as my mother after we thought we'd lost him two years ago; we try and make every day count... they are the most amazing parents...

... my friends who - I don't tell often enough - mean the world to me with their friendship and support and wonderful, wacky ways...

... friends who teach me...

... friends who listen...

... good food

... my home which I love to come back to...

I suppose the thing I am most grateful for is love. It's not just about receiving it, it's the giving of it, and the feeling of it, when your heart expands and you know the blessing of it. Without love, there is nothing. Nothing matters. I'm talking all kinds of love: for friends, family, planets, stars, flowers, the loved one... And I'm reminded of a friend who told me philosophically this week, in her lovely Russian accent...

"Love ees eternal. Only object changes."

And one more favourite quote:

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn,
Is just to love and be loved in return."

From the song "Nature Boy" with words and music by Eden Abhez.
Photo borrowed respectfully from NASA