65 THINGS I’M GRATEFUL FOR On My 65th Birthday

Today I begin a journey into a new year — a year that I trust will be filled with its fair share of adventure, love, challenges and opportunities for growth and expanded awareness. As I begin this new chapter of my life I want to share with you this list of gratitudes that I felt compelled to write today. I hope you will honor your life with a list of your own.

Life doesn’t end as we get older. In fact I find it becomes far richer, and more packed with meaning and purpose with each passing year. For me, aging abundantly includes the acknowledgment of and expression of gratitude for all that we have and all that we are.

Today, on my 65th birthday, I feel inordinately blessed and deeply grateful . . .

1. For 65 years of living and loving,
2. A loving, caring, kind, compassionate husband,
3. 34 years of mutual commitment to “working it out”
4. For the gift of motherhood and universal mother love
5. For two sons who make me proud every day
6. For the gifts and strengths that they were given at birth
7. For my health and the health of my family
8. For my beautiful new daughter-in-law and the love she has brought into our family
9. The kindness of strangers and their willingness to make the world a better place
10. For green grass and sunshine
11. The ocean – sand and surf
12. Sandpipers, seagulls and starfish
13. The wind in my hair and the sand between my toes
14. For puffy white clouds over vast stretches of earth
15. And mountains that reach out to me and lift my eyes toward heaven
16. For sunrises that remind me that every day is a new beginning
17. And sunsets that remind me that it’s good to rest, to sink low in the earth and into oneself
18. For music – music that lifts my spirits, music that touches my heart, music that stirs the unknown within me and draws me toward what is beyond
19. For fresh fruit in summer, veggies straight from the earth, and the smell of baking bread
20. For rain that refreshes the earth
21. The feel of raindrops on my face that remind me that I am a part of the renewal process
22. The feel of my body when it moves, it’s strength, it’s rhythm, it’s ability to carry me up a hill or down a ski slope
23. For deep, restorative massage, the power of energy to heal
24. The heat of a sauna that relaxes my body
25. The wisdom of teachers and their willingness to share all that they have learned
26. For springtime in North Carolina
27. And the scent of honeysuckle, magnolias and wisteria
28. The softness and beauty of a rose
29. For gardenia blossoms, Iris, day lilies, hydrangea and all that blossoms and grows
30. For Long walks in the woods, and woodland creatures
31. For birds whose songs that fill the great outdoors
32. and the beautiful little creatures that provide the music; the thrush, cardinal, goldfinch, and chickadee;
33. a special gratitude for the little Carolina Wren whose gigantic sound reminds me that big things come in small packages!
34. For my senses, that life without them would be so flat
35. For birthday crepes, Christmas Eggs Benedict, and a husband that cooks circles around even the best Chefs.
36. For a sister who delights me with her caring, giving, enthusiastic nature and doesn’t hesitate to remind me that I am loved, even if I am her “little sister”
37. For a sister who links me to my roots and inspires me to step beyond what is
38. For a brother who tempers my creative exuberance with stability, order and reason
39. For a brother who always makes me laugh and has taught me to see the fun in life
40. For friends who willingly provide perspective and understanding; support, encouragement and unconditional love
41. For the innocence of children … and the love the call forth from all of humanity
42. For technology that allows me to stay connected to my loved ones, near or far, night or day, and see their faces, their live energy in real-time,
43. For the tools that make it easier than ever to put words on a page and freed the writer within me
44. For avenues of connection that have allowed me to create bonds with wise and loving women from one end of the earth to the other
45. For a home that keeps me warm in winter and cool in summer;
46. For life’s challenges and the opportunities they provided to forge strength, resilience and wisdom
47. For puppy dogs and kittens and the companionship they provide
48. For laughter and the ability to see the humor in difficult situations
49. For trees … tall and broad, strong and tender … for pines, and birches and aspens … for maples, oaks, sycamore and tulip trees.
50. For pine needles that make soften and quiet the forest and unleash a child’s imagination
51. For fall leaves and their gift of color
52. For the first winter snow
53. Icicles , maple syrup, ice for skating, snowmen and snow ice cream
54. For Broadway shows, Lincoln Center, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway
55. For the gifts of actors, singers, orchestras and performers of all kinds
56. For beautiful and creative arts and crafts and all who express their souls in such a way
57. For writers who seek the truth and those who enrich our lives through story
58. For the beauty and majesty of the earth itself and all its riches
59. For a benevolent universe and the belief that good will always prevail
60. For love and friendship
61. For hope and charity
62. For kindness and generosity
63. For understanding and compassion
64. For learning and understanding
65. And for being a part of all that is.

© Dorothy Sander August 14, 2016

ENERGY – WAKE UP WITH MORE OF IT! 

OVERWHELM THE WORLD WITH GOOD