Radical Gratitude
It's been six months since I last wrote. I haven't had anything to say until now.
This is The Meadow, a place to create space for those seeking to be more fully awake and alive in the world.
It’s not quite autumn, and yet I’m already sipping on pumpkin spice chai tea. I’m ready for the change of seasons. Summer was brutal for many reasons, and not just the Florida heat and pounding rain. Aaron started college and all of us left behind felt like we were in a dream. Everything felt unreal and incomplete. Our family has a hole in it, and we have been limping along. Then, I got very ill for a few weeks. And Aaron got COVID. We are all doing ok now, but then we lost two more relatives this summer. One was just a little older than me. These are hard times.
And yet, when I went outside this morning, after last night’s hard rain, the grass was spongy and green. Tiny purple flowers carpeted the entire yard. It was magnificent. I may not have noticed, but my friend Stacy had recommended a book called Radical Gratitude, and I fell asleep reading it last night. I woke this morning determined to pay attention to the beauty around me. To practice noticing the good and resting in having enough rather than in wanting more. Mary Jo Leddy, the book’s author, says we are seduced by the Western world’s song of consumerism—constant dissatisfaction.
I am delighted by the idea of an economy of grace, pained by how I’ve gotten sucked into the sense of not being enough, not good enough, healthy enough, not smart enough, not published enough….And yet, if we are all walking toward a cliff (our eventual death), what is the point in hurrying to get there? Might as well stop to smell the flowers or have tea with a friend while we can….
I have forgotten so much of what I once knew. The pandemic and political divide in the U.S. have caused my fears to rise to the surface. I’ve forgotten joy. I want to remember. I want to be in community that helps me remember. Mary Jo asks, “How can we live so that gratitude is not only an intermittent awareness but also a habit of being?” I want to know that too. I want to know community that uplifts and supports. I do not know how to find this community, but I know I started this little newsletter to try and create it.
I am open to ideas, dear friends, if you want this too. I am wrapping up edits on my book and finishing up a couple major work projects, then I plan to turn my attention to community. Maybe that will be my Advent project? All I know is that I have no desire to do this alone. And that there must be other folks out there tired of doing things the way the world expects. Preferring, instead, a world that is focused on being over doing, connection over competition, and purple flowers over productivity. If that calls to you, I’d love to hear from you.
With much love and gratitude that you are reading this,
-Michele
I look forward to your thoughts and comments. It feels wonderful to connect with others who share a similar commitment to waking up and living life more fully alive. I want to learn from your experiences, and I hope what I write is of some help or comfort too.
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This book continues to speak to me in such a huge way. I'm glad that we have it to share now, as well as our hunger for community. Much love, friend.