Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thankful.

This morning, I woke up to the warm body of Bodhi snuggled against mine as the sun rose, hitting Pyramid peak. The valley was dark blue, and the tip of Pyramid was staining pink, the alpen glo growing and lightening in color.

We crawled out of the enormous pile of blankets and Bodhi went to his legos, he's building a Jabberwoky, and my little sister and I got ready to go to Yoga.

We drove through two feet of fresh snow and around the corner, there it was, Pyramid was now full white, its ancient shape reaching indomitably for the sky, the sun reflecting off of it, radiating back at us. The sky was bluebird, clear, and it was cold. The temperature on my Subaru said 1 degree.

The tires of this wonderful car, an incredibly timely gift from a client of mine from last year, crunched and gripped safely through the slick snow as we headed into town under a canopy of snow laden trees. This car has a heater, and windows that open and close, and a drivers side door that opens and close, and a rear-view mirror, and is safe, and comfortable, and reliable.

We pulled up at 02, the yoga studio and spa in Aspen where I practice, where I am thankful to be doing massage in the spring this year. Liat had gamely agreed to come along, and we found our space in the room amongst twenty or so other practitioners, and class began.

Breathing, moving, feeling strength, healing, heat generating in the body, feeling heart opening, truth settling, presence.

After class we smiled at each other and said thank you, thank you for healthy bodies, for the power of this incredibly special place that we live, this tiny little mountain town tucked in against the body of the ski hill. We drove over to City Market, relieved and grateful to have a paycheck from a massage I did yesterday in my pocket with which I could buy food for our gathering tonight. Friends are coming to eat, to be together, to celebrate friendship and hearth.

As we walked toward the entrance of the market, you could see skiers coming down Ajax, carving big, sweeping turns through the deep, chalky snow. The buckets were moving, its the first day of ski season, we are open, we are open, we are open, and people are out sliding, feeling freedom in their bodies, playing on the mountain, living.

We came home to hot showers, coffee thick with cream and a good breakfast. We filled our bellies and snuggled with the kids. Liat began winding yarn to knit with the kids, and I began pulling Pumpkin Pie stuff out of the pantry.

Sometimes, when there is difficulty, its easy to forget how blessed we are. There are things in my life that are really hard right now. There is confusion, there is doubt, there is question, there is uncertainty. There is fear.

There is family, even in flux, Marley, Cyrus, Ethan and Michael, such big love always there. There is my beautiful and giving mama, who now lives in California, where new adventures are unfolding for her. There is my big sister, Beth, who shines a light on my heart when I get distracted from it.

There are friends who are there whether the wind is blowing or not, my circle of women, Nkem, Mama Jen, Virginia, Megan, Liat, Beth, my mom, Cindy, Angela... there are new friends forming, there are old friendships strengthening.

I am so thankful for my readers, who come by and share life with me, I feel amazed to be so honored by people working hard to grow and become and being so willing to share with me. I'm thankful for the companies that believe in me and help me pursue this incredible dream. I'm grateful awed and thankful for so much trust and encouragement!! It inspires me to make sure that I give it back at every chance, in every way.

There is opportunity everywhere, there is work to do, there is an ambulatory, strong body, capable of wrestling with the kids, capable of carrying me up the mountain and back down it, there is Weems, who is like wind in my heart, whose smile feels just like Pyramid in the morning. There is wisdom to be found everywhere I look, and for that, I am grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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