Hello friends ❤️ My name is Betsy, and I live in the lower Hudson Valley Region of New York. I wrote this gratefulness reflection in my journal this snowy morning and am moved to share it here. Thank you for your presence 🙏🏻🌟❄️☃️

12/17/20 SNOW DAY

I am so blessed that I have the luxury of a “snow day”.
I do not have to get in my car and drive.
I can shovel when I choose to.
I can sit in my rocker watching my beloved birds at the feeders, all fluffed up against the wind, my warm decaf in my hand…in a handmade mug gifted to me by [my oldest child] “Tea Earl Grey Hot”…inside jokes and my love 😍 for Patrick Stewart.

The dog is curled up beside me – he was recently bitten by a stray dog…again my luxuries and privileges: access to good veterinary care and the ability to pay for it. Community members who caught the stray. The ever struggling local shelter who is housing it. Our local police and the dog officer who have been helping us through this with kindness…but mostly that we could get Duffy to the vet before the blizzard hit.

My Xmas lights and decorations are up. My Dad is unhappy but safe.
I have this pen to write with, a hand that works to hold it, paper to write on, time to sit quietly and reflect.

My lower back aches from shoveling, yet how blessed I am to have a body that works to shovel.
I hear the clock ticking.
My wooden “Welcome” wall-hanging banging on the porch in the wind.
Refrigerator humming.
Duffy heaving a big sigh as he settles into a snooze.
The wind gusting outside.
My stomach gurgling.
My pink pen scratching the paper.
The sound of my breath as I inhale deeply through my nose and breathe out gratitude.

Even when struggling through the most challenging times of my life, I have felt abundance surrounding me, amidst my fear, pain and grief. That abundance mostly comes in the form of people. Friends, family, even strangers. Acts of loving kindness, words of love and appreciation, a smile, a helping hand. During those times (and still) I felt gratitude that filled me up and as Br. David says “overflowed into blessing all around me”. Those life experiences have impacted my thoughts, words and deeds in untold ways ever since. I am paying it forward to the best of my ability every day, and that service fills me up too. I’m so grateful for this Gratefulness community, and wishing you all good health, joy and abundance in all the ways that matter. Peace.

This Day 2 of the Practice happened to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the death of my deeply loved brother and his wife, who were killed in a tragic accident through no fault of their own. (In broad daylight a driver who had been up all night fell asleep at the wheel of his car, crossed the road and hit them both from the back as they were walking) The concept of poignancy is deeply felt, especially at this time for me and my family. That loss (and this exercise) invites and reminds me not to take for granted people, life, breath, the earth, relationships, moments. It invites me to pause, to appreciate, and then to act in accordance with what is awakened (or reawakened) in me. Thank you dear Kristi, for your presence.

Pausing for stillness I am aware…
Of the clock ticking
Refrigerator humming
Cold night air, beautiful crescent moon and stars
Duffy, my furry companion, sleeping in his bed beside me
The presence of my dear brother. In spirit, in memory. 25 years gone tomorrow.
The cushion beneath my butt.
The love that surrounds me.
Dinner in the oven.

Thank you dear Kristi for sharing your light with all of us. I am grateful to be present in this space with all of you.

Thank you for this post-election reflection Rose. I love the idea of tuning into a deep inner knowing as “remembering”. I believe as we have moved farther away from our connection to the earth, and the strength of community, relationships with elders who passed down the old ways of knowing, we are exploring other ways to find and create that community for ourselves. We may be trying to remember what we feel that we already know deep down inside, but have forgotten, not only on an individual level, but on a cultural and societal level as well. For me LISTENING is key. To each other. To the earth that sustains us and to all of her creatures both living and non (after all, the earth herself breathes). Perhaps most importantly, listening to ourselves. I aim to get quiet enough to listen in all those ways, and especially to honor (and trust) my own deep inner voice…it doesn’t always tell me what I think I want to hear, but it pretty much always knows best. (lol, when I ignore it things usually don’t go well!). And as you so articulately point out, this kind of quiet and listening is not to withdraw from the world or to sweep our very real problems under the rug. In fact, for me, it has quite the opposite effect. It allows me to live more fully in the world. It becomes part of my toolkit for loving words and actions that help me be part of the change I dream of seeing in our world. Thanks Rose, for inspiring this reflection!

Dear Gratefulness team,

Thank you so much for this letter. I look forward to hearing more about your ongoing plan of action, and to helping however I can.

As a white person, sometimes I am afraid to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing. Here are some of the things I am learning about how to be an ally. I hope I’m on the right track.

Silence and non-action is complicity. Do not stay silent for fear of saying the wrong thing. Better to speak up, and be willing to listen and learn when I inevitably will say the wrong thing.

Do my homework. Read. Don’t expect my black friends to teach me everything about the history of oppression and systemic racism in America.

Be willing to dig deep and examine my own implicit biases.

Be quiet and LISTEN. This is not about me. Be willing to sit in my discomfort. I don’t always have to have something to say.

Recognize my privilege and use it to bring about meaningful dialogue and social change.

Put my money where my mouth is. Research and donate to organizations doing racial justice work.

Show up.

Take my rage and discomfort to the ballot box and work toward system change at the local level.

Thank you to the team at A Network for Grateful Living for your willingness to do this work, and for all you are already doing to share the light of Grateful Living as a tool to connect us and to make our world a better place for all.

Peace into your day,
Betsy

Thank you Rose for this beautiful reminder. Of late I have been holding the concept and word “tenderness” much, and this piece resonates in that regard as well, especially concerning tenderness toward ourselves. I also love the image and concept of kintsukuroi – it is one I refer to and share often, reminding us that something or someone (we!) can be uniquely beautiful and strong not in spite of having been broken, but because of it. I am grateful for you and for your voice!

Oh my goodness I finally sat to watch this video as part of my morning meditation this morning. It moved me to weeping. What a beautiful and precious gift to have these blessings in Brother David’s own voice, accompanied with such beautiful images and gentle music. This will be added to my list of regular inspirational meditations.

Thank you, Kristi, for your leadership and vision, and thanks to the whole Gratefulness Team for your good works. You make a difference, and I am grateful for your presence in my life, and for giving me so much to share with others. May your work have an unending ripple of goodness into the world. Thank you!

Dear Kristi and friends,

I love a Network for Grateful Living, and I am so grateful for your presence in my life. This “Who We Are” is a beautiful piece. As someone who has spent a number of years in non-profit administration, I have such an appreciation not only for the work that you all do, but the way in which you are doing it: your simple yet profound organizational mission and vision and how you share that with the world, your leadership,Kristi, as ED, your fundraising approaches, and your beautiful open and grateful hearts. I also love your website and social media presence. Sites, posts, and emails are easy to read and navigate and beautiful to look at. Lots of white space…that’s what I love in graphics!

I wish I were a gazillionaire to fund an endowment (?!), but I will certainly continue to contribute as I am able.

Btw, I am enjoying the Gratefulness in the classroom eCourse.

Thank you for all you do. Sending love and light.

Amy – thank you so much for sharing this story. What a gift that you had that time with your Mom. Your story resonates deeply with me, as I am getting to a similar phase of life and relationship with my own Dad. I find myself aware, in a whole different way, of the preciousness of my time with him, and my gratitude for all that he has given me throughout my life. He lives far away, and I struggle with worry about him, and am hoping to be able to do just what you did so that we can be closer. Your story inspires and encourages me, so thank you!