Friday, March 2, 2012

Out of the fog and into gratitude

I watched the fog roll in this evening.  It blanketed the marsh, reminding me of the times that I have spent on Cape Cod.  The eery fog horns were sounding in the Harbor.  And then, just like that, the fog lifted to leave a clear and cool evening.

We had dinner over looking the water.  I am missing my boat.  Hopefully, she will be back in the water next week.  Most of her work will then be done, and it will be time to get cruising on her.  Spring is so beautiful here and is really the ideal time to be on the water, before the summer heat comes on strong.

Tonight, I'm just going to offer a simple gratitude list.  Sometimes that's all that is needed.

  1. Life has been good lately--no major drama, just pretty mundane stuff.  I will take the mundane and ordinary because it is a steady state.  
  2. I am fortunate to have several people in my life who really love me.  And the one that I love and trust the most is my partner in this life.  She is also a steady state, a touchstone for me.  I realize how lucky I am.  I am grateful that I learned how to have a relationship before it was too late. 
  3. I am lucky to be the human to some wonderful dogs and cats. They provide a lot of joy. Right now, one of the Labradors is snoring away. Comfort sounds. 
  4. Knowing that a few people would miss me if I weren't here is comforting.  I used to think that no one would miss me.  But I have learned to be a friend which is something that I didn't have a clue about before recovery.
  5. I don't have disdain for those who are down and out or suffering.  I have a lot of compassion and empathy.  I am not a hate filled person.  In these times, being a person of compassion makes me feel good. 
I hope that you are having a good Friday evening.  What are you grateful for today?  

21 comments:

  1. i am glad your life is good of late and less stress man...that is def a big plus....

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  2. I love your attitude of gratitude.Big Time Hug my friend.it is really windy here tonight.

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  3. I am grateful for
    *one of the cats snuffling away beside me - steady companion in life
    *my daughter studying and finding her way in life
    *water from the tap and headache pills when I needed them at 4am
    *the www and ability to access it
    *my loved ones being alive and in good health
    *a lovely meal I shared with colleagues yesterday as a surprise birthday lunch for one of us
    *during the meal we all played with the baby of one of us - it was such good fun to join in waving hands and banging on the table together with him!
    *pillows, bed, peace in my neighbourhood
    *knowing the city wide public transport system will easily get me across town in a short while for work
    *the joy of having a kindle and access to so many books

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  4. Yay! a good excuse to count the days . . . I'm grateful for 23 days clean and all the good stuff that goes hand in hand with that(too much to list).
    I'm grateful I came across this "blogging" milarky via Gleds and his hamsters. It set me on a path which is good and I found some good people.
    I like your list and hope you get back on the water for the Spring. How lovely.

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  5. Syd, I am grateful to be sober... I am also grateful that somehow my sleeping patterns have shifted to where I must get up early and get moving in the morning. I get so much more done, lol. (including catching up on blogger friends)

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  6. I love the last sentence of #2. Obviously you have worked hard to earn such a wonderful relationship. Often we can take our relationships for granted, but they are not static. They continually evolve and it takes effort and thoughtfulness to keep them going in the right direction. I too really appreciate the calm boring portions of life and my program helps me to survive the interruptions punctuated by chaos and insanity

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  7. I am grateful that you let me know it's Saturday. I had lost (as often happens) track of what day it is!

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  8. My #1 lesson of the last decade has been to look the homeless, the suffering, and the downtrodden in the eye and smile and greet them. I realize now I was meant to learn that lesson.

    Your longing for the boat is a universal feeling also. We all long for spring and our "boat" to take us away, if only for a short while. Your post this morning was like the waves gently hitting the sand. Lovely.

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  9. I am grateful for having found your blog and Lou's blog. You both keep it real and have helped me many a days!

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  10. I am SO happy that you and C are together because I always thought you two had a very special bond which only comes along once in a lifetime, yet this was obscured by the haze of alcoholism.. It's a great testament to what the programme can achieve :)

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  11. I'm grateful for just about everything in my life. It's all a damn miracle to me.

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  12. Grateful for wife, family, Internet access, scooter, violin, friends, bloggers (even non-friends) and YOUR blog.

    Grateful in advance for your answers to some of those challenging questions. (What a terrific idea!!!)

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  13. I'm just grateful. About what, I don't know. It might not make sense to anyone but it does to me.

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  14. Grateful to have tools to help pull me out of the incredibly low and overwhelming moments of my slow recovery. After drinking down any kind of saddness or depression for my entire adult life, now I have to sit through it. Not easy. Thank god I am acquiring tools for this.

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  15. YOU - - -

    xxoo

    Anonymous #1

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  16. I am grateful I found your blog

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  17. Grateful for the cheesecake in the oven. We'll see if my granddaughter will like it tomorrow.

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  18. I am grateful for:
    *you and your inspiring posts.
    *My husband who is the most wonderful man on the planet.
    *That I have a loving family despite how alcoholism has affected it.
    *That I am in a position where I can make new career choices, and I have a sponsor and a husband fully supporting me.
    *That I have been introduced to sanity- I may not always harbor it, but I know it's there.
    *That I have a strong fellowship of (mostly) non-judgemental people
    *I have a solid education and will soon have more.
    * That I have the self-awareness to know when I am crazy (like now) and know I need to pursue a spiritual path in these times.
    *That I have many more years to figure it all out, and if I don't, I'm still living a life where I am striving.

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  19. I am grateful that I can detach with love sometimes and let some problems graze in wide areas answers often don't come quickly.

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  20. Syd, how amazing that you're watching fog roll in on the American side of the Atlantic while I'm watching it roll in over the English side. Nature and recovery both connect us. thanks for reminding me to be grateful today. love /g

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  21. That is a wonderful gratitude list. I'm grateful today that there are no musts.

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