In Canada, today we celebrate Thanksgiving, so thankfulness is on my mind. We had a long weekend, which is always the top of the list of the kids' gratitudes. And my daughter's was extra long since she woke up early Friday morning with a tummy ache. So, I decided we would wait as long as possible for our big dinner and celebrate on Monday. I invited my Canadian father to join us. As a retired chef, he was bound to be a very welcome addition to our holiday festivities.
The colors outside were gorgeous and vibrant. We visited our old neighborhood and walked the ravine trail on Sunday afternoon after church. The children laughed and screamed with joy as they watched our dog dodge happily through the trails, down the hills, and in and out of the water. They were so excited they asked to wear bathing suits, and while personally I found that a bit "optimistic" I wasn't about to squelch their enthusiasm. They waded happily in the water and threw sticks for Maple. And I felt so much gratitude on that walk. I was happy to be outside with my kids, that the sun was shining and it felt so much warmer than 11 degrees Celsius. That day I was just grateful that Libby was feeling better and Matthew was more animated than I had seen him in a long, long time. He is truly at his best with nature, frolicking around like a typical boy, getting dirty and romping carefree just like our Golden Retriever.
The actual holiday in Canada is on a Monday, and for our family started out a bit bumpy. I saw a bit more "contrast" than I cared for at 6:30am. Libby woke up crying and coughing, me just about to indulge in one of my sumptuous meditations. I stumbled through the dark house and set her up on the sofa with a movie suggesting maybe we could all rest 30 minutes more. My son woke up complaining that he thought we were sleeping in today, as I was noisy feeding the cat and dog, or more like trying to keep the dog out of the cat's food.
We all returned to bed...I got 60 minutes and again felt thankful. But somehow that strange start to our morning had affected everyone's mood when I got up a second time. I offered everyone breakfast and postponed our plans for waffles until noon. I attempted to get my dog on leash around 10am and finally resigned myself to walk alone. She had been affected as well?
Then came the moment that shifted everything. I served up lovely banana waffles and I received comments like, "Can I see it first? I prefer mine extra crisp." Libby finished her brunch by saying, "I'm full." and then crying as she left the table when I offered a confused comment of "congratulations!" So I stopped the energy in it's tracks. Matthew was sent to his room to ponder, eyes-closed, an attitude of gratitude. I also informed him that he would be helping cook one of the items on the menu today. He happily complied. Libby, who was on the sofa after her pouting attack was allowed to just stay there and ponder her gratitudes with eyes closed in the living room. I headed to the bath.
It was lovely, long, hot bath detoxifying in my lavender sea salts and using that fantastic Trader Joe sea salt scrub and reading a chapter of my latest juicy novel. I emerged refreshed, relaxed and happy to find my children asleep. The house was silent and this was the most gratitude I had felt all weekend. How does it get better than this?! I came out of the bathroom a second time to find Matthew emerging from the downstairs. I drew a finger to my lips. "Quiet, " I smiled. "No Lego please. Just go on your iPad," Wha??? and then he heard the words that I rarely ever say, and we all get to enjoy a little bliss.
Sometimes the best moments come immediately after a state of contrast. And really isn't that what life is like, a teeter totter that rocks gently back and forth from contrast to gratitude? I feel grateful at this moment to have a moment to do what I love best, write. The quiet in the house feels today like the best music I have heard all week, and my daughter got exactly what she really needed. REST. I still have 30 minutes left until Walter shows up, and the house comes to life with lots of action and smells of cooking in the kitchen. And I am going to savor that moment as much as I savor the taste of my apple cider infused pork roast. Mmmmm.
We have these opportunities every day to move the teeter-totter from a up to a down position, or vice versa. We will continually see what we do not want in the Universe (contrast) and have the opportunity to ask for what we want. Apparently, I wanted peace and relaxation. And I knew that intuitively. Because when I started the sentence, "wouldn't it be nice if..." the answer seemed to whisper, "I could take a nice, hot bath."
We have so many things to be thankful for. And the contrast is just there to show us what we want. Take that moment to ask the Universe, "what energy, space or consciousness can I put myself in, to make my situation better?" and then allow the answer to be gifted to you. When you get what you want say, "thank-you and how does it get better than this?!!!"
Happy Thanksgiving!
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