TODAY, I AM GRATEFUL FOR ..........

Tonight I am very grateful that my husband is ssssssssoooooooo mechanically skilled. We were without power twice last year once in the middle of summer, the other an ice storm, for over a week each time. Joe decided to buy a generator and the cords to hook up lights, the frig, etc. We had a severe storm early this afternoon, our whole area is without power. One large tree in the back yard is split and the power line is hanging about 4 feet above the ground. Here I am at the computer tonight, typing. All because of the generator that is now providing us with some power. What a very special gift. It is hot, but the food won't spoil, and we have light and can hook up a fan. Gratitude overflows. While all the neighbors around left to stay with relatives, we are still here and can kind of watch out for everyone else's home.

Dear Edda, I too am glad you did not loose power. That would have just added to the problems you are dealing with. I pray that you keep your power and that your Centering Prayer Group tomorrow is a time of quiet peace and refreshment for you.

Solomon, The credit for starting this topic must go to the Holy One who prompted me to do it. Sometimes, I actually listen to the promptings of The Spirit. Please tell us more about your new dog. We always had one but after 3 dying of cancer, we stopped getting dogs.They truly are the greatest sign of how much we are loved unconditionally.

Jude, Your late Summer weather sounds beautiful. May it continue for you.

Dear Lori I am sorry your dog is no longer with you. Your newly discovered co-worker sounds like the beginning of a new relationship. We all at times seem to misjudge individuals, at least I do. I hope you do get a chance to make a retreat this year. They truly are such a very special gift. As I pray for mine coming up in Advent, I will add prayers that the time and place will pop up for you to "Come aside and rest awhile."

May you all have a very blessed and peaceful weekend.

NAMASTE!

Yesterday is gone forever.Tomorrow may not come. Live Fully each moment today. Look for Good Things that Happen to you Every Day.

Thank you, Imenoff! I can well imagine that you are grateful for a skilled husband, and the generator he had the wisdom to get for situations like you are in now! Leon was Mr. Fix-it until his accident. Now I get instructions from him. The only problem is that he is a foot taller than I am and could reach what I can't!
 
Have a good weekend recovering from the storm!
Edda 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Peace and joy!

Dear Betty and Edda,
 
What a real blessing is a practical man!! Something I really miss since my ex-husband left. Rarely did we need workmen to fix anything during our life together. My Son does his best, but practical skills come hard to him and things I took for granted don't get done now.
 
Lesson1:  Don't take anything for granted. 
 
Lesson 2: Tell these useful people just how much you appreciate them.
 
These are lessons for me by the way!
 
Betty, I shall be thinking of you. I hope all will return to normal soon.       J

Love is the only way

Dear J,
You are so correct. Years ago, while on retreat, the director emphasized that each day we should meditate on our own death--If one keeps in mind their own demise, it will totally change how one lives his/her life. I have always been grateful for a stint as an ER/trauma floor chaplain and many years working in a hospital. It was a constant reminder that death is no respecter of age. We have today but never know if we or those we love will have tomorrow. I promised myself that if/when anything happened to any of my loved ones, I didn't want to live with "IF ONLY'S". Yesterday is gone forever, and tomorrow may never come. Thank you for your concern. Please pray for all those who have been flooded out and have no home to return to.

Yesterday is gone forever.Tomorrow may not come. Live Fully each moment today. Look for Good Things that Happen to you Every Day.

Dear Betty,
I agree with all you say. But my husband isn't dead - he just decided one day that, after 36 years married he fancied being single again!!
 
I will certainly pray for all those people you mentioned. There are a fair amount of them here in Britain, although, as Solomon reminded me, plenty of things can be done for those in that position here, thank goodness. But it's still a dreadful thing to lose your home and posessions and I'm grateful it hasn't happened to me.
 
There, but for the Grace of God, as the saying goes.   J

Love is the only way

Imenuff:  I'm so grateful that your husband learned from your experiences and prepared you for weathering the storm.  Sometimes it's not just the talent you need but the intelligence to use it!  We are definitely praying for all of those who are tested with flooding.  My husband's family lives in England, and they have been struggling with the rains there.  My own family lost their homes (five homes--only the tiniest fraction of the people who were devastated) in Katrina.  We've made six visits to New Orleans and two to Bay St. Louis since the storm and are scheduled to go back Labor Day week.  So many have lost so much and they still face many challenges which test their faith.
 
Edda:  I hope your Centering Prayer Group was a source of strength this morning. And I am grateful that you didn't lose power.  The television images we're getting of Chicago don't fill us with confidence about the situation there. 
 
Solomon:  Please do tell us more about your dog. Pets are wonderful friends.
 
Today I am grateful for a slightly cooler day.  It's "only" 90 degrees at the minute, but it was 101 yesterday at this time.  So difficult for those who can't find a cool place and for the elderly.  Now we could use a little of the rain that is inundating so many of you.  I can't remember when we've had a nice soaking shower and the farmers are in a very difficult situation with their crops and livestock.  Please pray for some relief for them. 
 
I'm praying for blessings for all of the new friends I'm meeting here.
 
Lolly
 
 
 
 
 
 

Today I'm grateful for a day of not having to be anywhere, not having to work, and being able to have a "me" day.  Apparently it was meant to be, because the phone hasn't even rung.  I really needed a day to recharge my batteries.  It's been wonderful.
 
I'm really sad about one thing, though, and it seems so small, but it's really bothering me.  I live in a condo, so I don't have a yard; but my front window looks out at four beautiful weeping willow trees.  We've had a water leak in the parking lot for quite awhile.  And when I came home from work yesterday, I found they had started to repair it, by digging up one of the willow trees.  They've only just begun, so I don't know if they will have to tear up the rest of them or not.  I'm just so sad.  I love those trees.  I've heard some people call them the "weeds of the tree world," but I just don't get it.  I think they're beautiful.
 
I hope you're all weathering your storms OK.  Betty, I hope you get power back soon.  Cleaning up after a storm like that can be a real mess.  We had flood warnings last night, but we were lucky this time. 
 
Lori

To truly listen is to perfect one's own virtue.

Lolly, we had a peaceful and good session this morning, thank you for asking! After some more rain this morning the day has turned just beautiful, 70's and sunshine!
 
Lori, I sympathize with you about the trees. We had to cut down a hawthorn tree in front of our house because its trunk was no longer able to support it and it endangered our house and the neighbor's. I mourned that beloved tree, but I am grateful we did it. It probably would not have survived the recent storms!
 
A great weekend to everyone,
Edda

Peace and joy!

Today, I am grateful for sunshine, gentle breezes, and all of you.

Edda, I am so pleased that this morning was a bit of a respite for you! Your weather sounds like the beautiful beginnings of Autumn. May its deep blue sky, foliage inundated with flaming color, and cool lake breezes gentle wrap itself around you and fill you with all it's glory. The next time you see "MY" lake, please tell her Hi from me. I miss her tremendously and brought some of her home from my last retreat in a little plastic bottle.

Loi, dear, "Me" days are so very important. As I read your first paragraph, I thought of my cell phone, just sitting on the counter doing absolutely nothing but getting recharged. It just doesn't work unless I give it the down time to recharge. I could almost hear the sadness in your email voice as you talked about the trees. I grew up with weeping willow trees in our front yard and always loved the way they would gently sway back and forth in the breeze, kind of like an angel or fairy godmother. I, too, think they are beautiful and hope they will leave at least some of them.

Dearest Lolly, I could feel the ache in your heart for your husband's family and especially your own family and all those who lost so very much in Katrina. Pema Chodron writes that one of the best things we can do for the suffering is to intentionally breathe in their pain and prayerfully breathe out our loving compassion and prayers for healing to them. It is so easy to just move on with our own lives and forget those who lost everything in the horrors of Katrina and so many of our natural and man made disasters. May we all mindfully breathe in their pain and anguish and prayerfully, lovingly breathe out compassion and concern for them. May we always remember that we can share the pain and suffering of others in the spirit of mindflness and by tenderly holding them in the presence of the Holy One so that they might be healed and made whole again. When you return Labor Day Week, please let all those you see know that we hold them in our hearts and in our prayers.

May you all be blessed! NAMASTE!

Yesterday is gone forever.Tomorrow may not come. Live Fully each moment today. Look for Good Things that Happen to you Every Day.

I am grateful for the person who led me to this beautiful website.  I have been so moved by the comments posted here.  Thank you for sharing the things that move your spirits to gratefulness.  I am blessed...and grateful.

Light Follower

Today...  this very early part of today...  I'm so very grateful for RAIN!!!   Tennessee has been so terribly hot and dry, but right now it's raining gloriously.  My husband and I were awakened by it just minutes ago, and we've just come in from standing on the deck and letting it drench us.
 
In a week where so many have had way too much of it, the sound of the rain drops are not likely to be comforting; but they will most definitely send most of us in this drought plagued area back to sleep like a beautiful lullaby.
 
In His own time, He provides.  pray we need to carry umbrellas to church in the morning!
 
 

His eye is on the sparrow, so I know He watches me.

Dear Imenuff,
 
Thank you so much for your words.  It's quickly becoming so obvious what a kind person you are.
 
Lolly

Today I am grateful that I have another day, another chance. I'm grateful that i'm starting to be aware that this really is a fantastic gift.

Things I'm Grateful For - Updated Daily. Now updated to the new Mk II version.

Today I am grateful for the 'Heaven and Earth' show on TV, a 'broad church' of a Spiritality programme, covering everything from Angels to every religion and none.
 
Today there were 2 items which made me glad. One was about the now ended demonstration against a 3rd runway at an airport, where all religions were represented peacefully, coming together to do their bit to save the planet. As one man said, "If we mess it up, where will we go?"
 
The other was the Christian Green Belt Festival, where again there were all religions coming together as friends for a common cause.
 
Something to celebrate indeed in these troubled times.

Love is the only way

Betty, "Your"  Lake will be waiting for you when you come for your retreat later this year. Right now the trees are still green, but it won't be long before fall arrives. I am grateful for the beauty of this city with its lakefront, and flowers and trees everywhere!
I live close to the lake and only one block away from the Cenacle. In other years we used to take our walks in Lincoln Park, around the North POnd, watching ducks and squirrels.
 
Have a blessed Sunday,
Edda

Peace and joy!

Edda, Thank you for keeping 'my' lake company for me!. A friend in Wisconsin said their leaves have already started turning so I thought perhaps yours had also. I am sure I must have driven/walked past your home several times when I was last there. While I do stay at the Cenacle, I use a director outside the Cenacle staff. I truly am looking forward to once again spending time with "Our" lake.

Have a blessed week!

Yesterday is gone forever.Tomorrow may not come. Live Fully each moment today. Look for Good Things that Happen to you Every Day.

Today I am very grateful to be able to go out in the back yard without worrying about downed electrical wires. I am grateful for all the electricians who so willingly work long hours to restore power around the country to those hit by storms. I pray that they stay safe as the work to help others.

Dear Sally, Again, WELCOME to the forum. We are blessed and grateful that you have chosen to become a new member. Each of us has little pieces of gratefulness to share with others. Thank you for the posts that you will make that will bring your special "pieces" to all of us.

Lolly, I hope you used your umbrellas this morning rather than this. Your early morning adventure on your deck with your husband sounds absolutely delicious. The sound of raindrops, when they are not flooding truly can be a beautiful lullaby I pray that you have a dark cloudy day with gentle raindrops slowly falling and giving your parched earth much needed refreshment. Thank you for the kind words. I read an article this morning about the severe struggles of Katrina survivors. They all truly need our prayer of gently holding them in the Holy One's presence.

J, It truly is something to celebrateand be grateful for when all religions come together as friends for a common cause. We all have so many beliefs that unite us and so many worldwide problems that need our help. May we all unite around what we have in common rather than divide over our differences.

Solomon,You have reminded me of a special reason for gratitude--that of each morning being given another chance. It is especially important to me. I am sure the individual who invented erasers had me in mind when he/she invented them. Yet, each mistake is another lesson learned and another opportunity to grow.

May we all send the blessed gift of our unity out to all we meet this week. NAMASTE!

Yesterday is gone forever.Tomorrow may not come. Live Fully each moment today. Look for Good Things that Happen to you Every Day.

Today I have been thinking about Mother Teresa.  I don't know if you have been reading the news, but her confessor has published some very personal and telling letters about her struggles with her faith, her feelings of abandonment, her loneliness.  It reminds me that we really don't know what secrets a person's soul holds.  We see only from the outside and what we are allowed to see.  Reading about her struggles helped me see how human she was. The world has tended to hold her on a pedestal, and truly, the things she did in her life in the name of God were incredible.  But all this reminds me that like me, she struggled to maintain her faith.  I somehow find this comforting.  I pray that she is at peace with the Holy One who loves her and that she has found the joy she lacked on earth.
 
Today, I am grateful for Mother Teresa.
 
Sally

Today I'm grateful for a good weekend.  It was a well-balanced weekend, with enough rest, time with loved ones, time alone, time indoors, time outdoors, overall it was just a really great weekend. 
 
The only thing that could make it better would be if I didn't have to go to work tomorrow.
 
Lori

To truly listen is to perfect one's own virtue.

TODAY, I AM GRATEFUL FOR every breath I take and the fresh scent of autumn creeping into the late summer haze.

"We must be the change we want to see in this world."

Please light a Candle in the "zendo"