Grateful

Last night as I walked along a small street in the village everything seemed exaggerated. 

My footsteps echoed on a tarmac path but underneath I knew the path had been there for hundreds of 

years, long before tarmac had come into being. My feet shared the shoes of so many others. Ghosts of 

the past that had walked the same route, busy, excited with laughter or sad filled with their worries of 

long ago. Some not so long ago. This year too many in our tiny village have passed on, some much too

soon.

It was early evening, the cottages had their lights on but curtains had yet to be drawn. Inside homes

looked cosy and the smell of cooking lingered with wood smoke and a distinct October leafy spiced

scent. For a moment a veil seemed thin and stretched and the past felt close. The cool of the night made

me pull my jacket in tight, breathe deep and feel grateful to be alive.Today I am grateful.

Dear Universe..... 
Thank you..... I am grateful for the morning sunlight streaming in through tiny droplets of condensation
on the window. The light, a sparkly, white, silver, bright, hint of winter.
I am grateful for the red holly berries as I look outside and the blackbird's song.

   Letters from friends...

For Autumn's patterns.

And clever spiders.

I am grateful today that the sky is so blue and that I am here on this beautiful planet and am able to see

such a thing as clouds.

I am grateful that there is a good strong wind to blow the washing dry and that I am able to feel it cold

on my face. It's a north wind and has a bite, blown down from the arctic across the highlands. The same

wind that swirls around the greens and pinks of dancing Aurora. Now it chases the leaves off the cherry

tree.

I am grateful for the hot cup of tea that I have here while I write this and that I am able to taste it, and for

the beautiful music I can hear as my son practices his instruments and that I am blessed to be able to hear
them.  

I am grateful for the book I will finish later this evening when the house falls quiet with sleep.

Today I am also grateful for soup, warm socks, my camera, the smell of incense sticks and my sense of smell. Some of these things may not seem that important Dear Universe in the grand scheme of things, but I am grateful for them anyway.

P.S : I'm also grateful for the following things being in the world, written in no particular order....

Hot chocolate, my laptop, blogs, fire, candles, all animals, birds, my daughter, my son, my husband, my friends, kind words, kind messages, jingly bells, flowers, trees, the moon,  the planets, the stars, my family, the sea, rainbows, shells, music, forests, rocks, ice, butterflies, art, books, cats, compassion, love, peace, badger sabs, hunt sabs, planet earth, the sun, moths, mistletoe, wild meadows, wild verges, starry skies, northern lights, adventures, magic, miracles, health, life, pyjamas, hazelnuts, boots, mushrooms, snowflakes,  chestnuts, weather, laughter, baths, red wine, kindness, my garden, my home, eco warriors, promoters of peace, moonstone, moon shadows, moonlight, jonsi, bluebell woods, etsy, mountains,  sparkling clean streams, bees, strawberries, white horses, sunsets,  and a thousand and more other beautiful things ....