Gratitude Journal, Day 3

On Friday, November 19, I attended a “Day of Gratitude” at Mercy Center in Burlingame, California (www. mercy-center.org). I wasn’t sure I was going to make it there, since I was up in the middle of the night again, and couldn’t get back to sleep. Still, I persevered. I have learned that it is usually valuable to stick to my commitments, even if I didn’t sleep well. And I am so grateful that I went.

Gratitudes for Friday, November 19

1. Grateful to slow down and take a mindful walk, looking at the trees with appreciation and wonder.

2. Grateful to receive support and encouragement for my insomnia from trusted elders — grateful not feel alone.

3. Grateful to have time and space at Mercy Center to nurture my spiritual life and to see my difficulties from a spiritual perspective.

4. Grateful to come home and cook a delicious fish dinner, and then sit by the fireplace, hearing the sound of the rain outside.

5. Grateful to tap into my need to feel more inner compassion.

Hope you are finding time to keep a simple gratitude list at the end of your day.

Warmly, Colette

Here’s a poem from the retreat.

Prayer for Presence, by J. Phillp Newell

In the gift of this new day

In the gift of this present moment

In the gift of time and eternity intertwined

Let us be thankful

Let us be attentive

Let us be open

to what has never happened before.

In the gift of this new day

In the gift of this present moment

In the gift of time and eternity intertwined.