Scrubbing the kitchen, I glance out the window to the backyard. The boys hurl themselves at each other and crash. Giggles explode.
Football.
Back to the soapy water for me, but my heart is suddenly all aflutter with a miracle dancing around the hollows of my ribcage.
Existence.
It is a privilege to have a kitchen to clean. The food we ate left a mess. This small house, a 2-1, keeps shrinking as our children grow, but from the perspective of most people in the world, we live in a mansion. A dream home.
What are the blessings I just counted? Food, yes. Home, yes. Children, yes. But what about growth? What about life?
This Thanksgiving I want to think larger, more ephemeral. The further my attention can travel from the consumerism infecting our culture, the better. In yoga we learn to distinguish between two levels of existence, the gross and the sublime. The gross is the physical world, filled with loveliness and beauty for sure, but also vulnerable to the shifting winds of strife and greed. The sublime contains all the intangible qualities like love and peace. Which is reality? Both. Better question, which is your reality? It’s a choice.
So, what about you?
How far can your gratitude take you? How far will you take your gratitude?
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