Precious

Life is precious.. sometimes its hard to feel this when eclipsed by certain states of mind, but lately I see the preciousness in the present moments, a late afternoon walk by a park full of other families having a picnic, being served in the local shops by the sweet young guy on the check outs, coming home and preparing a meal while taking some time to watch music artists performing on our Sunday evening program The Sound, the call of the birds in the distance.. So much that is precious and harder to see and feel the preciousness of in those darker moments.

And perhaps getting to experience a state of mind where we can drink the preciousness in is a kind of blessing anyway.. I was also thinking of the word ‘cherish’ as I began to write this post. I often listen to the song Cherish by Kool and the Gang to get me in that softer mellow mindset, some might find it cheesy but I love this song and it helps me to have touchstone songs I can go to when I need a bit of uplifting…that song always put into a heart centered mindset of gratitude.

I could not help think of my sister on the afternoon walk this afternoon. I thought of the small room and the closed door yesterday, of the curtains only partially open, I thought of her need for rest after so many years of struggle, I thought of the desire she expressed not to be here any more.. I thought of all of these things while preparing dinner a moment ago. How to keep fronting up even when we feel the light dying inside someone? For today I had a break and it was a good idea, but it doesn’t mean my sister is ever very far from my mind, today I had to put my focus on the life giving things, the precious things.. My sister is precious to me too, of course but the simple joy of sweet life that rests in these ordinary things and the simple abundance of what surrounds us when we open our eyes to see and our hearts to feel, surely has so much to give us if we just keep concentrating on all of the blessings. This is what gets me through the day lately and turns my thinking around to the good.