Ukrainians are still fighting for their homeland. The former president has 91 felony charges against him and, as a lawyer, I've read every indictment. I'm hoping he won't be the Republican nominee. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been outed as a grifter. Maybe some others too. I've gone to two funerals this week, one a young man only thirty. Friends with cancer get good news and bad. And who knows what will happen tomorrow.
And yet . . . we're mostly happy, aren't we? I wake every morning feeling lucky. My gratitude list is long. This close to fall, in North Carolina the mornings are lovely. You can sit outdoors with coffee or tea. In the hotter afternoons you can find lakes and rivers and pools, or somewhere air conditioned.
Fresh air always lifts our mood. Being outdoors never makes us feel worse. When we're outside we remember what is eternal. Part of each day might be slow, or mindless, or even bad. But being outdoors helps, winter or summer. It's the easiest place to be mindful and find God; to be present in our lives in a non-judgmental way no matter what we are thinking. The birds and squirrels teach us to pay attention. The treetops teach us to listen for the breeze. The heat, to appreciate the buzz of insects. The rain to lift our senses and breathe. We learn to clasp our own one precious life.
We could savor these days. Children are back in school doing what they do best, socializing and learning. We are working at home or elsewhere, unpaid or paid. Or taking a last vacation over Labor Day. If our health is a concern, we are handling it. At the end of each day, we shut down and know that we love and are loved. Mindfully, we wake without letting our worries greet us. We know the things that cause us pain, chapter and verse. Why dwell on them? We let them pass through our mind and move on. We don't ignore difficulties, our own or others', but they do not define us. We do our best. We belong to God.
Nina Naomi
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