thankful

give thanks and praise - monica lacey 2013

Gratitude is an important daily practice for me. When we sit down to eat together, my husband and I will each say 3 things we're thankful for that day. Before we go to sleep, we tell each other 3 things we're specifically thankful for about each other that day. When I do my daily yoga practice, I give thanks at the beginning and again at the end, to the teachings of yoga, the lineage of which I am a part as a yoga teacher and yogini, and to my own highest self.

Being thankful is a way of taking the time to pause, to absorb your life, your breath, the people around you, the nature around you, your path, your body, your heart, and to witness the abundant blessings all around you, both large and small. It uplifts the heart and spirit, automatically, and has great power to shift one's perspective and open the mind. You know the stillness of floating on your back with your ears underwater? That's what gratitude does for the soul.

In that spirit, today here are just a few things I am thankful for:

my snuggly cat who lays on my yoga mat while I practice

the sunshine on the snow when I went x-country skiing this morning 

the blooms on my orchid

my husband 

the vinyl cafe & their musical guest today, Joel Plaskett

the generous folks who are helping me realize a dream in my career

getting excited about planting my garden this spring

the fact that my internet was down today & the resulting letter-writing afternoon I had 

If you need some inspiration to find your own sense of gratitude, watch this.

See Juliana's photo here & Minka's here.