Gratitudes

 Herself speaks.

Typically in November, Facebook abounds with a month of postings about gratitudes, in keeping with the Thanksgiving theme of the month.  I did not participate this year, because I am (as is no doubt obvious) still quite mired in my own personal morass. Nevertheless, it occurs to me that if I take a moment here and there to reflect on the things for which I am in fact truly grateful, perhaps I might find a way out of the mental quicksand in which I so often find myself floundering. 

Let's do bullet points:

• Moments of meaningful purpose at work
• A hug that feels both genuine and unrushed (especially because, in this culture of youth and thinness, and in my current state, I feel so very... untouchable)
• Occasions when I can pay a genuine compliment to a stranger
• Undivided attention, and feeling heard
• Being outside, to enjoy trees, animals, nature
• Taking a walk or a hike with good company
• The right words, at the right time: to give them, or to receive them. 

These things seem small, but they are not. At all. As I grow older, the fewer things I want, and the more intangibles I long for. These are the things that are the most important to me. The things that quiet the rage and the grief within me, that bring me momentary tranquility. That lessen The Void. 

I am grateful for the moments of Peace that I can find. And for the people who bring them to me.