Yesterday was my birthday, and what will be the last year of my 50’s. It started out appropriately for such an occasion, I was still sick with the grandson’s cold, thus a little tired and loopy. It was the perfect excuse to do nothing.
Nothing can, actually, be quite nice. No expectations. No rushing around. Just a blank slate of a day “to be.”
And my favorite Bundt cake.
We had a laid back dinner, opened presents, and then sat and visited for a few hours.
When I went to bed last night, it was easy to be thankful. As I’ve said before, I think gratitude is a super power. It is certainly good medicine, because today I feel almost fully back to normal.
One of my gifts was a favorite wine called, “God Only Knows” by Cayuse. I told them I’d save it and open it next year on my 60th.
“God only knows” what will happen by then, a lot can happen in a year, but I will try to remember to cling to thankfulness no matter what unfolds.
From the documentary, Path of the Horse
Small, small things:
One leaf touched by the sun,
One small smell.
When we are dying,
I promise you,
The memories you will have
In your last seconds
Are about these small things
Touching our skin:
One leaf,
One moment with your child.
Not the big things.
We will remember the small things.
These small things are added
To a fulfilled life,
Or not.
Klaus Hempfling
Happy Birthday. I agree with all of this. The big things can be great. But it’s the ‘small’ things that make a life worth living.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the birthday wishes.
DeleteI heard Klaus say that about “the small things” in the documentary Path to the Horse, and it resonated so deeply that I rewound it over and over until it was fully transcribed.
When I remember back at the people and animals I lost, it is the seemingly small moments that recall them most vividly to me. Probably those moments when our connection was most stripped down to the essential joy of being together.