GRATITUDE MONTH #28: a SONG/PRAYER OF THANKS

This beautiful song by my dear friend Barbara McAfee is based on this quote: 

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." - Meister Eckhart 

Barbara hits the nail on the head and kind of seals this month of gratitude with a note of wonderful gratitude! How great is that she did this in the rain! 

thank you Barbara!

GRATITUDE MONTH--#24: SUNRISES & SUNSETS

My favorite color is sunset! Indeed! 

The bright orange and pink of a sunrise can send my nightmares away and invite me to the joy of a new day. What's not to like about a day that starts with a brilliant feast of color--apricot, cantaloupe, mango, coral, salmon, tangerine, purple, pink, lavender, pomegranate, raspberry--the list goes on and on!

And then, as if to reassure me all is well, the day ends with another feast of colors in the sky! My husband, who knows how much this feeds my soul, calls me on his way home to remind me to watch the sunset! It is such a treasure. 

I've literally taken hundreds of photos of both the sunrise and sunset. I will never get tired of watching the sun play with the clouds and sky. I will never tire of this endless gift of color and light! Never!

It doesn't matter where you are--the sun is always rising and setting. It's nice to have an ocean or a mountain but you don't need one. A cityscape is enlightened as well as a lake! The farm field, the roof of the humble barn, the trees and snow in winter, the skyscrapers, and your face all reflect the glow of the golden star that blesses us every day!

Wallowing in the joy, 

jules

GRATITUDE MONTH--#23: MYSTERIOUS MARVELOUS HOPE

GRATITUDE MONTH #23: Mysterious Marvelous Hope

I wake up to the light of a rising sun
Already my subconscious is calling me to the LIST
Already nagging me about how far behind I am
Could I go any slower? 
The obvious answer is yes!

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes
I ignore the piles I must walk around
to get to the next part of my day
Some days my life just seems
Like one long to-do list
Running through a never-ending pile
Of life's stuff

Then suddenly, the fog lifts 
I find myself working on a project
that's been on hold for two years!?!
It is a complete mystery to me
how this has come about 
And yet here I am making progress
AT LAST! and it feels GREAT!

The patience of our better selves
The patience of grace to plow through the mess
The tenacity of hope for the dream
I wish I could claim credit for it
But I can't. It's a divine grace.

I can only work with gratitude
for the energy and motivation
to tackle the task in the now!
I can only pray for more of this
MYSTERIOUS MARVELOUS HOPE
and the strength to follow through.

with gratitude for this day,

jules

GRATITUDE MONTH--#16: MY SISTER, VANGIE!

Today, I'm thankful for my sister Vangie! She was nearly 12 when I was born. She's short, looks like my dad's sisters. I'm tall, look my brothers I guess. She's got curly hair and bad eyesight. I've got straight hair and great eyesight but mom's bad hearing. Outside we look nothing alike but inside, there is so much connection! 

We also have 4 brothers but I have to say that without Vangie, our family would have lost track of each other long ago. Though we've never had much opportunity to live together or even near each other, I feel as close to her as I can imagine any sister being. She's the rock of this family. And what a beautiful rock she is! She's a mother, grandmother, artist, nurse, and a massage therapist. She makes laughing easy and the world light!

My sister has been my second mother, my adviser and when I grew up she became my playmate and friend. If it hadn't been for her unfailing effort to stay in touch over the long distances, and long periods without even seeing each other, I wouldn't know my family at all! 

My sister is love itself! I'm so grateful for this incredible person, this stunning woman. Thanks Vangie! I am so grateful!

love, jules

GRATITUDE MONTH--DAY #6: The Dragonfly Project

GRATITUDE MONTH/THANKGIVING--DAY #6: The Dragonfly Project

I'm in the middle of working on the Fall issue of The Dragonfly Buzzette, the bi-annual newsletter for The Dragonfly Project. It's my/our 24th issue. You'd think by now, I'd be tired of this work but the moment I dive in and start reading the articles, I am instantly reminded of why I've been doing this work for the last 13+ years. Hope. It's so full of hope. And the world needs hope, yesterday, today, everyday.

The Dragonfly Project is a small non-profit organization started in 2002 by an 11-year-old girl (Anne Brooker) with the goal of sending condolence cards, dragonfly key chains and the dragonfly story to people who are grieving. Fifteen years later, we've sent out 93,000 of these cards to people all over the country and even a few outside the United States. It's truly a community project, run completely by volunteers, with approximately 20 people behind every card. It's people offering hope to each other in the midst of something everyone has to deal with, the loss of loved ones. It's people finding hope in the symbol of the real life-cycle of a dragonfly, hope for life after this one and even a connection to those who have moved on through the process of death. It's finding hope in death. It's finding hope in nature. It's finding hope in each other. 

The more I'm involved (I also lead volunteer events), the more I work with the many volunteers who do this work, the more I read the stories of dragonflies arriving just at the right time, the more I believe in this miracle of hope. Hope for life, hope for love and community, hope coming through the death of a loved one, hope coming through compassion.

And beyond that, I am personally grateful for the opportunity to work for this amazing project. Over the last 13 years I have learned so much more about myself than I ever thought possible. I feel stronger, more peaceful and more hopeful about my life as well about the communities of people I encounter through this work. That includes even the lovely printing company in my neighborhood (Tracy Printing) who prints our newsletter. They are efficient and kind and loving and do great work as well.


And all of this started when our son Hans died 17 years ago and our family met Anne's family. Then Anne's family shared a story of a dragonfly's transformation and from there Anne decided to help more people. And dragonflies and The Dragonfly Project have been offering hope a chance to grow ever since.

Today, I am grateful for The Dragonfly Project. I am grateful for the hope that grows when we share our compassion with each other in times of grief. Today's gratitude: The Dragonfly Project!

You can learn more at www.dragonflyproject.org and some day maybe you'll even get a chance to hear my whole dragonfly story, The Miracle that Came in the Mail.