Gratitude

I spent a few more hours in the studio last night and was thinking on the word 'gratitude'. I was downstairs with hubby looking after settling our little man into his crib, i completely trust him and our house, no bombs whizz by in the dark and i trust almost everyone i meet.
i was standing on legs that are strong and straight, my soul is wrapped in care, all the bills are paid and planned for and my bed is warm and clean.

we were up in cumberland on sunday, dave was invited to do the road-bike-leg of a relay race called "snow to surf" and as he looked at a friend of his also doing the race he realized that he was lined up to race against Peter Reid (the several time ironman world champ).

i was walking around the forest pathways with our little guy and the dogs and enjoying the magical town that cumberland has become. a few people had an idea to build a fresh new town out of the ghost town, a town made of bicycles and local food and love. go ahead and laugh that it was a town made out of a kindred spirit but my prana was charged back up walking around reading chalk graffiti that said "know peace, share love" and "the world is a beautiful place".

we drove home safely to our own house and put the diapers in the automatic machine that cleans our clothes. i was building up two teapots that i had thrown a few days earlier, trimmed the day before and was now caressing the clay into the very best little teapots i know how to make.

the man who had asked race dave to help out in the event, offered that he and i and our baby stay with them for the night! when we showed up they welcomed us warmly and gave up their son's bedroom to our little family (including the dogs). we ate their food, used their bathroom and were shown such lovely respect that we were deeply honoured to be their guests.

I actually had a lump in my throat as i listened to the parents talk about how proud they are of their children, now grown and gangly, right in front of them. i love people that have absolutely no pretences. they are so genuine that you can actually see the warm sunshine right through them and i feel honoured to be warmed by them.

as i age, one pot at a time in the studio, it becomes more and more apparent that to give is better than to receive, not on a mental or physical level, but on the soul level. when hubby gets up and brings me the breast milk monster for the 6am feed and then takes him out for a play time so i can sleep for half an hour, the rest of the day i feel my prana reaching out for ways to repay that simple kindness.
warm cookies sit cooling now on the counter, baby is asleep and the grey cat is curled up on our grey carpet. the dishwasher is started, the radio plays softly and i practice sitting up straight while i type.

i know that i have time once again, in the studio tomorrow to throw mugs, that tomorrow will bring more opportunities to create, to love and to laugh, to watch our little man learn to roll over, to feel his tiny soft finger tips against my skin while he sips our shared milk.

i know that i wax poetic about my simple, blessed life, but there is a lot more to it. i, we, struggle and snap, we have time-outs in the corner, rage rides to gain perspective and harsh words are exchanged but if we leave our thoughts in that place- we not only look for that but that is what we see. i have lived a few years of both and creating your own peace in as many moments is a truly sweeter taste on the soul.