thank you, life

 
Arms out stretched wide, deep, deep breaths of sea air mixed with green, brown, earthy, dirt elements. Heart thumping from the steep hike up, a warm flush in the cheeks and sweaty...well...everywhere else... but relishing the sunlight on my face after weeks of rain, rain, rain in the city (though this, too, has been deeply appreciated and valued).

These moments feel like invitations. Reminders, and invitations, to continue turning my time into something worth experiencing. I want my time to be truthful, and for my truth to be more than just a practiced party trick -- whether here on this space, my beloved TGL blog, or out in the non-digital world. 

That's why I didn't mind how "silly" I looked, standing on top of the mountain in Catalina. I didn't mind that there were other people within earshot as I spoke out loud my gratitude for life. 

Turning budding energies, those which linger beneath the surface (like gratitude, kindness, or any hope for our futures) into kinetic energy -- The kind that invite more in, moves us forward, and affirms our honest ways of being is the key to living, vs. merely existing.

And this transformation of energy has to start somewhere.

I first learned the art of this from one of my spiritual gurus 10 years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since: once a day, stand with your arms open wide, and say out loud with whatever heart you can muster, "Thank you, life!" It sounds silly, I know. It certainly feels a bit weird the first, oh, hundred times or so. I still occasionally laugh at myself if it comes out too loud or too phony or I accidentally swat someone I didn't see standing near me when I fling my arms. But I have found it to be a meaningful gesture of acceptance to this truth, in both good times and hard: "...if you love life, life will love you back". - Arthur Rubinstein

So, I love you life. Thanks for loving me back.