Gratitude

Gratitude

Grows with slowing down, stillness

 

Gratitude

Knows the nooks and crannies of our soul, landing gently like Sandhill Crane upon

Fertile

Feeding ground.

Flows

Over

Into

the places trampled upon by 2020

setting them 

anew

alive

awakened.

 

This week of thanks

                     giving

                     gave me a chance to hear beautiful answers to question

“What does gratitude sound, feel (heart and hands), smell, and look like for you??”

Enjoy the feast as you scribe your own answers and share them with loved ones!

                    

I am grateful for the eyes, 

the eyes of the heart,

as they look at the beauty within 

and the beauty not often seen in all of life.

 

I am grateful for the hands,

the hands that serve others,

as they reach out to lift others up and push them gently to positivity and inspiration.

 

I am grateful for the ears,

the ears that listen,

as they hear the laughter of the child, a parent's cry, a partner mourning, 

and Creator's way to live in happiness. 

 

Eyes of the heart,

Hands that serve others,

Ears that listen,

all working together to make one 

feel loved

give love

and not lose their way with Living in Love, Loving in Life.

– Shannon

 

Effortless breath; birds singing as if it was spring; a smile for no apparent reason.

Sun rise and set—one thing we can count on.

Still breathing.

-Amy

 

What does gratitude sound like?

        Thank you… You're welcome

What does gratitude feel like?        

        In your heart: peace…safety…love

        In your hands: sharing…showing…building

What does gratitude smell like?

        Cut grass…fallen leaves…rain

What does gratitude look like?

        Birds flying in unison…dogs sleeping…warm fire pit

-Michael

 

Gratitude for me is ubiquitous.

It is in the rising of the sun 

and the rising of the moon

and

it is observing the values you have

strived to live by reflected back by

your children and grandchildren.

-Allan

 

Delicately waking up to the aromas of love and lemon pepper

Stretching to the blessings

High fiving the transitioned

 

Nature is shut down but there are genealogical trees swaying, growing and smiling green leaves of joy in the room we live

Standing on the mountains of our ancestors

Gazing at each gift amongst the abode

 

Beholden the Creator!

 

Fully seasoned with warmth, comfort, paprika, life and a dash of salt

Family recipes ready to consume

Imbibing the earth’s hydrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen

Everyone safely encompassed in these four walls

 

Beholden the Creator!

 

Deeply,

          Inhaling a soul full of gratitude

For there is nothing more to want

 

Thankful

-Danielle

Bowls into Cabinets

 

How does a clean bowl get put back into the cabinets?

Not a trick question, but a real dilemma if you are a little one.

Dwarfed by the imposing height of the cabinets, my kiddos huddled to discuss.

Eavesdropping, here is what I heard,

Small legs.

Big cabinets.

Clean bowls.

Should we just go play?

I need to go potty.

 

Like any respectable adult, I tried to re-focus my mind on real things. Quickly move on from this frivolity to things adults should be thinking about

What shirt to re-wear for work from the couch today? Pajama pants again?

How to balance personal wellness and being up-to-date in my pandemic news consumption today?

Why aren’t there any clean bowls in the cabinet?

Should we just go play?

I need to go potty.

 

About a week later, not intending to get to the bottom of the mystery, I did just that. Catching a glimpse of the children shuttling clean bowls to empty cabinets, I snuck with fatherly deftness around the kitchen’s perimeters.

Channeling my inner James Bond, looking over my shoulders for any sign of “bad guys”, I crouched low.

Ouch. A bit too low.

Should have stretched out before trying that.

Here is what I saw:

When life gives you imposing challenges today and in these next weeks, become the child you still are. Throw away ego and figure out who it is around you who can help you reach the cabinets. 

As COVID roars, the cabinets seem higher than normal, the kitchen is lonely, and the bowls are staring at you. In those moments, become a little one again. Reach out, reach up for the support you need. Think about friends, family, neighbors who might be reaching for the cabinet, and offer a hand before they ask.

And finally, give in to those two nagging thoughts we adults so carefully suppress:

Should we just go play?

I need to go potty.

Writing to Heal: The 45-Word Edition

 

Calm

Peace

Tranquility

Breathe them in, slow and deep

 

Calm

Peace

Tranquility

Embrace your antidote

                                   4

                                    COVID Craze

                                        Virtual Daze

                                            Dizzying Maze

 

Calm fears with gratitude

Peace

Tranquility ur new attitude

 

Breathe them in, slow and deep

Grow your own healing

If necessary, use words.

This week, I wanted to play with a self-imposed challenge: what can I say in 50 words or less that is meaningful around the climate where election and COVID spike has everything stirred up. Take the challenge yourself - 50 words or less 😊

A vision for undoing racism + achieving equity in health

Thirty-three times I have written.

In gratitude.

In confidence that we can turn our world toward hope and healing. 

Of our planet. Of ourselves. Of our communities.

This week, I want to focus on someone else’s writing.

A long time ago, back in October when COVID numbers were low, we were asked to give a keynote address at the New Mexico Public Health Association (NMPHA) conference on racism and health equity. Adults speaking to adults.

It seemed like a perfect moment to get creative and bring youth voices into the conversation.

So, we asked young leaders from our Native Health Initiative partnership to meet at Robinson Park on a pandemic Sunday. Bring an open heart and dress in a way that reflects your cultures. No other instructions.

We sat beneath a tree. Air was calm, birds chirped their hellos.

The youth began to write, speaking to their experiences of what they had to tell the world on undoing racism, to working toward equity in health. They spoke about not being listened to enough by the adult world.

Their voices were captured on film, with my brother leading the way on the videography side of things. I had contributed the concept for the film, but the youth wrote all of their own lines.

Hip hop culture, both in the art and the music would provide the backdrop for the film.

The conversations were interesting as we moved from one location to another.

“Does mentioning this take away from our work, implying that despite the handicap of being young, that we still made big things happen?” they discussed.

Does focusing on healthcare miss the larger picture of what allows people to have health?

What does a healthy education system look like?

What does a healthy food system mean?

What does a healthy neighborhood feel like?

Without further ado, I would like to present their vision, their answers. This film was premiered at that NMPHA conference, saved as the last part of the address. 

Youth speaking. Adults listening.

Click here to watch the 2-minute film

After the film showed, Emelia spoke and we put up the last slide, to make sure everyone had heard their call to action: