On Gratitude, Nov 2020
You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.
-Pema Chödron
A few weeks ago I was feeling particularly scattered and unfocused. Some of my usual self-care practices weren't appealing. I felt overwhelmed with the news cycle, worry, uncertainty, the election, the pandemic. I decided to write in my journal for a bit, despite not feeling very inspired. At the top of the page I wrote, "Today I am grateful for...". I skipped forward two or three pages and wrote it again at the top of that page. And another couple pages, I wrote it again, And again. Every few pages until I reached the end of the notebook.
Days later I picked up my journal and began to write. I filled the entire page and the page after that. When I turned to the next page, I reread the words I had written at the top days before. It caught me by surprise actually. It made me pause.
What am I grateful for today? Some days, it's the sunlight. Others, it's the hope I feel about the future. The hope alongside the fear.
At times it can be helpful to set small reminders for ourselves--perhaps its a nudge into an action or simple goal, a walk around the block, or even a daily reminder to take a deep, conscious breath. For years my best friend had an alarm that sounded on her phone every day at 5:15pm. It was her "happy to be alive" reminder.
Today, I'd like to share my gratitude for you. I imagine if you're reading this, you've touched my life in some way, or I yours. Hopefully, it's been reciprocal. To those of you who supported me during the six months my Brooklyn studio was shutdown, thank you. To those of you who felt safe enough to return to the studio to practice in person, thank you. To those of you who sent me a text message, simply asking how I was doing, thank you. To those of you who challenged me, asking me to be more empathetic, thank you. To those of you who allowed me to be vulnerable, thank you. And to my beautiful staff, thank you for showing up for your clients with such dedication. Because of you, my doors remain open.