Today as July is ending, despite the continued sweltering days, I am reflecting on a new wave of gratitude. In past years, mid summer was associated with ease and the time to venture out and explore, but July 2023 is now alarmingly named globally as the hottest month in recorded history. It has not been an easy, nor carefree few weeks. But in reflection, I had several experiences in this heat that filled me with both gratitude and awe. Perhaps the extreme heat, along with all it's dire warnings and interpretations can be met with a broader range of possibilities through the kind of gratitude that inspires the human heart to creative adaptation and discovery.
On a recent trip through Arizona, I entered the Mohave desert at dawn to avoid the summer's predicted 122 degree heat. I traveled and returned through the bland, hazy commercial areas of the 2 entry points on I-40 (Needles and Barstow). That highway stretch is at first just emptiness. Then, it unexpectedly opens to this vast beauty of mountains in shades of reds, pinks, grays, blues, purples, greens, all brushed with tones of brown earth and sand. Each mile brings a new perspective; each curve in the road can expose yet another fantastic boulder or rock tower or hoodoo. The distant mountains shimmer and a mystical haze streaks across their base in shifting tones of wondrous beauty. There was no way to stop, since the car was pursued by the coming heat, but still, I drank it all in. And I was grateful to feel the mystery of life again, to see this stretch of nature's magic again that has been a landmark of my spiritual path. The drive itself becomes a reflection of that journey: Marked at either end by the two towns of worldly material needs and pursuits, the road spectacularly opens to this marvel of ancient beauty and silent depth, that in an hour or two, dissolves again into the world of people, place and things. This is the living, evolving earth.
My next wave of gratitude came while on I-210, headed to the eye doctor to pick up my contact lenses. There was a typical L.A. sudden slow down with cars and trucks quickly maneuvering for a lane advantage, while we all dealt with the heat! When traffic reached the stop and go, stop and go level, I looked across lanes and saw truck after truck after truck, all sizes and brands, and I was suddenly flooded with the realization of how much our lives are dependent on deliveries and the men and women that navigate the highways, the deserts, the weather with all it's changes--not just the heat--in our urban maze of transportation. Through out the Pandemic, throughout storms, upheavals, shortages, these people-- drivers and stockers, manufacturers and growers--delivered what they could. This was another kind of gratitude, gratitude for the human factor: for stamina, determination, creativity, bravery and care.
There have been other events this month--family stories of the coming generation, already at sincere, imaginative work and design for new technology and breakthrough concepts for meeting the challenges of the 21st century. As in any process, we can grumble and despair and blame, or we can positively participate and contribute gratitude for the Good that is here and the Good, even now, on it's way. (Susan Nettleton)
"When the image of the tree and the image in my heart meet, it's enough." Larry Morris
For more poetic gratitude: https://poetrying.wordpress.com/.../today-i-was-so-happy.../
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/.../when-the-sun-return
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