It started yesterday evening, as I soaked in the deliciously hot water of my evening bath ritual. I had the window open, and oh! the things I heard! Softened by the coolness of the evening air, I could hear children and a dog playing in the distance. The birds were singing their evening song-an invitation to come rest with them. My senses were heightened as if I had finally come into harmony with the universe. Each movement, each thought found its place in the tapestry that was being woven that very day.

I am pleased to say, that this “gift” is still with me this morning. The warmth and richness of my cup of coffee. The softness of my shawl across my shoulders warding off the morning chill. The beauty of meditation music drifting into my ears.  And I am at total peace and contentment in this moment.

And as I was starting my journaling, I asked myself what to be grateful for today. But a better question was…Is there anything that I should not be grateful for? For even in the moments that are not as peaceful as these, they are a gift, for you cannot know peace and contentment and joy without the occasional absence of those things.

So this is the gift. The present. And the ability to revel in it.  🙂