May 7, 2012
7:30 am
by: mark

beautiful gratitude

grateful for this beautiful day. when progress is just wondering how many hours will pass before compulsions kick in, instead of even thinking about it causing despair. is that progress? it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. grateful the hound is not barking incessantly, wouldn’t want to disturb the rabbits. grateful I woke up in only little pain instead of a lot. grateful ram dass is still doing what he does, on maui no less. grateful I didn’t go get some really bad food for breakfast. now that’s beautiful.

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May 2, 2012
8:27 am
by: mark

tired gratitiude

through exhaustion i can be grateful for:

  • alive another day
  • beautiful blue sky
  • that I recognize I am mortal
  • for Peg, that i get to love her.
  • for the hound, he’s such a rascal
  • this coffee
  • breath
  • willingness to continue
  • that i can work from home

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April 14, 2012
8:48 am
by: mark

saturday morning gratitude

  • another day of life
  • have food
  • have shelter
  • a nice cup of coffee
  • someone who loves me
  • a wonderful pooch
  • a way forward even if I don’t like it
  • I’m sober

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April 9, 2012
7:05 am
by: mark

Everything Is a Present

12 minutes well spent:

Video from KarmaTube

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March 9, 2012
7:19 am
by: mark

glorious gratitude

Last night I saw the Aurora Borealis for the first time. Northern lights. Thank you universe for the privilege of witnessing this rare display. How lucky I am.

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February 18, 2012
9:39 am
by: mark

simple gratitude

grateful and thankful for having food to eat.
grateful and thankful for having clothes to wear.
grateful and thankful for having a roof over my head.
grateful and thankful for the love in my life.
grateful for the pooch. and his smile.
grateful for the willingness to move forward.
grateful for another day of life.
grateful for the awareness I possess.

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February 10, 2012
5:31 am
by: mark

today’s gratitiude

with the pain of this isn’t what I was hoping for, this isn’t what I want, comes being grateful for what my life is today. the kind of gratitude that lets go of a need for change in this moment. the pain of knowing that how I am has harmed another gnaws at me.

  • grateful  I have enough to eat
  • grateful I have shelter
  • grateful I have relative health
  • grateful I have a partner who loves me very much
  • grateful I get to love her
  • grateful I have an opportunity to make at least some very small positive difference in the world.
  • grateful I’ve had the opportunities given to me
  • grateful I’m sober and don’t want to be intoxicated.
  • grateful I was able to get sober and stay that way for 27 years.
  • grateful I have clothes to wear and a car to drive
  • grateful to be alive another day

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February 6, 2012
6:38 am
by: mark

grateful I see the apparent effects of choice

How much do I choose my life? Who knows, but how I handle that question does affect my life. And I keep forgetting that. If I choose to eat a coffee cake, the outcome and path of my life are different than if I drink raw juice instead. Total choice and total predetermination both seem naíve and short-sighted. I do see when I choose differently than what I intend for myself, it takes the wind out of my sails. that is worth taking notice of. I’m grateful I can see that. Awake enough to see that. That puts a little wind back in my sails.

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January 30, 2012
11:31 am
by: mark

peaceful gratitude

feeling at peace this morning for no particular reason. grateful for that.

grateful  I was able to shop at the market and get fresh vegetables. the day may come when that will be a luxury.  grateful to all the people who worked to grow and transport the food. the clerk helped me by going in the back and getting some larger bags of carrots. appreciating his enthusiasm for his job.

still breathing another day, another chance to live.

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January 26, 2012
6:47 am
by: mark

getting back up

“If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down.” —Mary Pickford

Today, I’ll pick myself up again. fall 7 times, get up 8. Maybe I needed to learn that even if I do fall and break and can get up again and go.

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