Appreciation is under-appreciated. It is a practice that we can bring into our daily lives with a constancy that defies gravity!
In an effort to remain true to writing on a regular basis in Napkinwriter during 2017 with no long lapses, I have decided to commit to two entries per week based on the alphabet. Other entries will be as inspiration leads.
Today’s letter is A. The word is appreciation.
I appreciate whenever the red cardinal and his charming female mate make an appearance on our back deck or the labyrinth entrance arch. I appreciate the feel of a cold snowflake touching the skin on my face and I appreciate the warmth I feel in my house on a cold, snowy day.
I have noticed for a long time that people who live with visible evidence of appreciating their lives, no matter what circumstances seem to be up, are genuinely happy people. It is a motivator and reminder for me to follow suit.
I appreciate coincidences and serendipity that appear before me and remind me that I am not as much in control of my situations as I tend to think I am. Appreciation helps me relax into the Big Picture with some degree of trust that things will work out as they should.
I appreciate my senses: sight, and all that is before me to see, and for the ability to read and write; touch of the soft baby’s skin and the embrace of a loved one; hearing, that I may speak and hear others with clarity; taste, yes yum and hooray for the taste buds; and the sense of smell brings gratitude for baking cinnamon buns.
Stop and smell the roses! The senses are the gateway to so many appreciative treasures in the moment, if all moments are not spent in the fast lane.
The practices of meditation, Centering Prayer, and Yoga amplify the blessings that appreciation bring into my life. Like an amplifier for the day, when night time falls and another precious slot of time allotted me on planet Earth has passed by never to return again, I am at peace and made whole when appreciation has colored my day — honored.
Some of the people and things I appreciate
our moon and galaxy
friends
my husband and family
the birds that visit our feeders and deck
the sunsets
our liberty and country
my faith & family help from Mary
my trainings & experiences in labyrinth and SoulCollage
Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth Retreat
Catherine Anderson
our backyard labyrinth
my wondrous trip in the Alps with Martha
my work and service
my help from my guardian angels
It’s hard to stop. I could go on and on. Through our travels on our Earthly pilgrim path, I have at times not known the ultimate destination, or thought I had found it, only to be moved along on a path accompanied by Tom and to my best discernment, designed by God. Always, when uncertain of means of provision, the lilies appeared reminding me that “they neither toil nor spin.”
I appreciate that.
Napkinwriter 