There were several effects on me of Joanne's illness and death, now 3+ years ago. Obviously grief was a powerful effect that continues in it's own way now as I reside in its land. That is no surprise. What If found more surprising is the presence and power of gratitude. The ending of her life and my shift to a more solitary life has been accompanied with attendant gratitude for gifts received. Her departure has brought into sharp focus the amazing gift she was and how fortunate I was to accompany her for 50+ years. Many other blessings shone in brighter light.
These feelings of gratitude have sharpened my awareness of gratitude expressed by others. In Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer writes: "Even now, after more than fifty Strawberry Moons, finding a patch of wild strawberries still touches me with a sensation of surprise, a feeling of unworthiness and gratitude for the generosity and kindness that comes with an unexpected gift all wrapped in red and green. 'Really? For me? Oh, you shouldn't have?' After fifty years they still raise the question of how to respond to their generosity. Sometimes if feels like a silly question with a very simple answer: eat them....Strawberries first shaped my view of a world full of gifts simply scattered at your feet. A gift comes to you through no action of your own, free, having moved forward toward you without your beckoning. It is not a reward; you cannot earn it, or call it to you, or even deserve it. And yet it appears. Your only role is to open eyed and present. Gifts exist in a realm of humility and mystery...." PP 23-24.
In the Lutheran church we like to call that "grace."
Takk for alt,
Al
PS .2" rain in town and .4" at the field. 😀
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