Wednesday 22 September 2010

Today is Gratitude Day!

Continuing my list of '100 Gratitudes', I am grateful for...

9. The Pyramids of Giza - I lived a dream come true when I travelled to Egypt in 2005. I'd been fascinated by all things Egyptian since childhood and I fantasised about seeing the Pyramids with my own eyes. At that time it was the grandest dream I had for myself, something I pledged to achieve within my lifetime. Back then, as a little girl growing up in Australia, having never even been on an airplane, I assumed it would take a small miracle to get me to Egypt. As destiny would have it, I was fortunate enough to holiday in Egypt not once, but twice! It seemed dreams really do come true!
When I first laid eyes on the Pyramids, I cried. It was as though everything in my life had led me to that one particular moment in time and I was absolutely flooded with joy. I now use that feeling of stomach-twisting excitement as a benchmark for signalling my heart's desire. Whenever I get that feeling I know I am living a moment of magnificence; a moment that I'll remember forever.
On that first day in Egypt I went to the roof of my hotel; there was a clear view of the Pyramids a short distance away. I sat and watched the sun set behind them, its crystal light shining on their tips, the pink hue of the horizon blending with their golden stones. I sat there and watched until darkness fell and the city’s lights began to come on around me. All the while those three magnificent pyramids gazed over the land as they have done for thousands of years, and I felt at peace.

This is a photo I took at the time -


And the Great Pyramid by day - just look at the mind-boggling size of it! :-)



10. horses - I was the little girl, like many others, who dreamt of having a pony. I wanted to gallop with the wind in my hair. I read about horses and I drew horses everywhere. I went on a couple of shaky rides during a family holiday and a school excursion. As an adult I did a short course at a stables in Sydney. But I am still, to this day, a novice rider who knows very little about the realities of horse ownership. That doesn't stop me from loving horses though! I think they are the most beautiful creatures on earth.

11. tulips - my absolute favourite flower. There is a precious quality to the tulip's beauty; an innocence. The buds are so perfectly shaped - curved and delicate. They awaken something in me; a remembrance, perhaps, that nature's gifts are pure expressions of the divine.

12. pens - or pencils even, anything that let's me get my words and thoughts down on the page. Of course, I use my computer to write the majority of the time. But I still love the art of sitting down with a notebook and allowing the pen, as an extension of my hand, to record that which I hold dear to me. Writing longhand is a direct link to creative energy, one that puts my physical body to use as well. In that way, writing becomes a complete 'being' experience - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Today is Gratitude Day!

Continuing my list of '100 Gratitudes', I am grateful for...

5. dogs - their loyalty, their carefreeness, the cute way their tails wag, and their wonderful intuition; dogs just seem to know when we are feeling down and need some cheering up.
I have vivid memories of the three dogs who are no longer with us - our first ever pet, Tip, the kindest, gentlest dog there ever was, our little dog Maxi who lost hair by the bucket load but was the cutest thing alive, and my sister's dog Indy who used to spoon with me on the couch, just like a human, and was my buddy when I really needed her. I'm grateful for the time I spent with each of these amazing animals and I'm so glad they were a part of my life.
These days I spend some time with my Mum's dog Bobbie, a real teddy bear of a dog, so charming I just want to eat him up! :-) And I look forward to the day, sometime in the future, when my partner and I will bring a new dog into our home.


6. affection - touch can heal and inspire, it can be romantic or platonic, but it is never without tenderness. Touch can remind us that people care, that we are loved, that we are not alone. Touch can help us feel safe and strong. Touch can help us overcome grief. Touch can remind us we're alive.
I am so grateful for my ability to give and receive affection, to reach out to others and have them reach right back to me. A hug can invoke more joy in me than anything else.
I do like witnessing public displays of affection. Not overly passionate kisses, but those intimate moments stolen between lovers, friends or family - his hand resting on the small of her back, a peck on the cheek, an intertwining of fingers, a piece of hair being brushed from a face, a child reaching up to take her mother's hand. These innocent affections, whether experienced by me or witnessed in others, are what life is all about, to me. They show love.


7. aquariums - I love the peacefulness of watching a school of fish circle in the water. Back when I first started writing I was inspired by three striped fish swimming within a crowd of others at the Sydney Aquarium. At the time, I wrote a poem about them -

A glass wall, from
floor to roof
displays this underwater world

All blue and aquamarine, all
coral
and fishes
and bubbles.

Three fish, all striped in black and white,
swim
back and forth

Across the glass in
unison,
as though choreographed.

The invisible energies of life guide them
from
side to side

Where one goes,
the others follow
A dance made just for three.



8. laughter - the kind that has the tears rolling down your cheeks, the kind where you grasp for air, where your tummy tries to jump right up out of your throat with unadulterated joy.

Wednesday 8 September 2010

New Blog Project - a weekly Gratitude Day

I have come across an exercise entitled '100 Gratitudes' - this exercise allows you to reflect on your life by having you list 100 things you are grateful for. In need of a regular blog project so Healing Scribe does not continue to go untouched as she has done in previous weeks, I've set myself the challenge of my own Gratitude List. I've decided to compose this list over the course of the next six months and post it here once a week.

So here begins my very own '100 Gratitudes' List - Today is Gratitude Day!

I am grateful for...

1. Waterfalls - the cascading water has a calming effect on me. This photo was taken in 2007 during a holiday in Australia with my partner.

2. Ben and Jerry's ice cream - there is nothing better than curling up on the couch with a tub of B&J's. Not so healthy, but oh so yummy!

3. 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold - the novel that inspired me to write.

4. 'The Time Traveller's Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger - the novel that inspired me to write about love.