Grace and I Give Thanks in the River
It is truly a magnificent morning - sunny, warmer - and punctuated by a cloudless sky. I drive down to the river after meditation and find the water still and the environs quiet...
I rush home and hoist Grace into the car and in ten minutes I am back in the park...
I briefly speak to an older gentleman who says he and his wife walk the dogs in the park often and frequently see me out on the water...
I paddle away in mere minutes and delight in the crispness of the air and the reigning silence...
The water is low, and at times I am mere inches from the bottom. The hydrilla (yes - I now know the name of these invading underwater grasses) are combed back and seem dormant for the most part.
For the first time in a while, I paddle all the way up to my favorite spot. The paddling is effortless and I enter into this meditative rhythm or zone. The only sound I hear is the one made by the swirling water as my paddle slices through methodically in some sort of regular cadence - as if I were praying or chanting on one mala bead at a time...
I reach that point between shores and islands which I have not inhabited in several weeks. Then I meditate, and let go - and float - surrendering to the water and God's good grace...
I meditate, I pray, and then I give thanks...
I cannot remember everything I give thanks for, but it does not matter. The vibration of my prayers ring out eternally and are received by God's Heart...
Then I pray for all those near and dear to me who are hurting and ailing - physically and emotionally - and I ask God to heal them all - that they may continue to shine their light...
I float slowly down a straight line in total silence - with only a heron here and there crying out - and an occasional bass flapping. There is total stillness and I give thanks again - that my life is such that it affords me both the time and opportunity to come here - to commune with the Divine in this way - through His creation and his creatures...
I am grateful to come here on this magnificent day of Thanksgiving. I am also grateful for the many, many blessings I receive - those I acknowledge, and those I miss due to my lack of attentiveness...
I am grateful to be embraced by so many hearts...I ponder and reflect on a dear soul who wrote me last night about what a blessing it was to have both the river and Grace in my life, and how she is considering naming her own kayak Grace...
I come home and receive messages from loved ones far and wide and am told to remember that I am precious to many...
I give thanks, over and over again, and reflect on words penned by Paramahansa Yogananda more than a generation ago:
Amen! And Thank YOU - from the deepest part in the cave of my heart!
For beautiful and inspirational stories about the expression of gratitude from Reiki practitioners, read the Nov. 26th entry, "The Power of Gratitude" by my friend Janet Dagley Dagley at The Reiki Digest:
www.reikidigest.blogspot.com
I rush home and hoist Grace into the car and in ten minutes I am back in the park...
I briefly speak to an older gentleman who says he and his wife walk the dogs in the park often and frequently see me out on the water...
I paddle away in mere minutes and delight in the crispness of the air and the reigning silence...
The water is low, and at times I am mere inches from the bottom. The hydrilla (yes - I now know the name of these invading underwater grasses) are combed back and seem dormant for the most part.
For the first time in a while, I paddle all the way up to my favorite spot. The paddling is effortless and I enter into this meditative rhythm or zone. The only sound I hear is the one made by the swirling water as my paddle slices through methodically in some sort of regular cadence - as if I were praying or chanting on one mala bead at a time...
I reach that point between shores and islands which I have not inhabited in several weeks. Then I meditate, and let go - and float - surrendering to the water and God's good grace...
I meditate, I pray, and then I give thanks...
"Thank you, Dear God,
for all that is -
and all that is not...
Thank you for all the experiences of adversity,
and distance, and pain,
and for the opportunities and the connections
they birthed.
Thank you for the stages in my relationships -
for the endings,
and new beginnings.
Thank you for the things that I have learned
and for the things I am forgetting,
and for all the karma so swiftly released.
Thank you for the many gifts received
whether they were evident to me at first or not -
and for all that you surgically removed from my life
that stood in the way of deeper growth and transformation."
Thank for this river,
and for this vessel, Grace
that have brought me safely
into deeper communion with You.
Thank you for all the insights given -
and messages received
from so many angels
you have placed in my path..."
for all that is -
and all that is not...
Thank you for all the experiences of adversity,
and distance, and pain,
and for the opportunities and the connections
they birthed.
Thank you for the stages in my relationships -
for the endings,
and new beginnings.
Thank you for the things that I have learned
and for the things I am forgetting,
and for all the karma so swiftly released.
Thank you for the many gifts received
whether they were evident to me at first or not -
and for all that you surgically removed from my life
that stood in the way of deeper growth and transformation."
Thank for this river,
and for this vessel, Grace
that have brought me safely
into deeper communion with You.
Thank you for all the insights given -
and messages received
from so many angels
you have placed in my path..."
I cannot remember everything I give thanks for, but it does not matter. The vibration of my prayers ring out eternally and are received by God's Heart...
Then I pray for all those near and dear to me who are hurting and ailing - physically and emotionally - and I ask God to heal them all - that they may continue to shine their light...
I float slowly down a straight line in total silence - with only a heron here and there crying out - and an occasional bass flapping. There is total stillness and I give thanks again - that my life is such that it affords me both the time and opportunity to come here - to commune with the Divine in this way - through His creation and his creatures...
I am grateful to come here on this magnificent day of Thanksgiving. I am also grateful for the many, many blessings I receive - those I acknowledge, and those I miss due to my lack of attentiveness...
I am grateful to be embraced by so many hearts...I ponder and reflect on a dear soul who wrote me last night about what a blessing it was to have both the river and Grace in my life, and how she is considering naming her own kayak Grace...
I come home and receive messages from loved ones far and wide and am told to remember that I am precious to many...
I give thanks, over and over again, and reflect on words penned by Paramahansa Yogananda more than a generation ago:
"For your many blessings be thankful every day,
not only when the calendar indicates Thanksgiving-time.
The basis for your gratitude should not be material prosperity.
Whether your worldly possessions be many or few,
you are still rich in gifts from God.
Love Him, not for the outward things
He may give you but for His gift
of Himself as your Father."
not only when the calendar indicates Thanksgiving-time.
The basis for your gratitude should not be material prosperity.
Whether your worldly possessions be many or few,
you are still rich in gifts from God.
Love Him, not for the outward things
He may give you but for His gift
of Himself as your Father."
Amen! And Thank YOU - from the deepest part in the cave of my heart!
For beautiful and inspirational stories about the expression of gratitude from Reiki practitioners, read the Nov. 26th entry, "The Power of Gratitude" by my friend Janet Dagley Dagley at The Reiki Digest:
www.reikidigest.blogspot.com
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