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Dear Subscriber First Name, This week spring has finally made itself known. In the splendor of bright light and shadows, blue sky and an abundance of birdsong, my heart feels buoyant and more hopeful. It is amazing how much of a difference weather can make in my sense of well-being. But I have to also keep remembering that the tall daffodil shoots and tree buds about to pop have needed our many recent gray days of rain in order to plump themselves up toward bursting. And so it is with us - needing everything that has unfolded in our lives to be the fullness of who we are. Last week I celebrated a birthday I have been eagerly awaiting: 64. For me, it’s an age that has allowed the arc of my life to contain so many things both bright and gray. There is something reassuring for me about making it to “post-middle-aged” - I feel like I’ve earned the status. And I rejoice in finally having made it to being a “senior citizen,” and not just for the great discounts. Turning 64 means that I have now lived twice 32, the age I was when I was first hospitalized with what turned out to be stage IV cancer. Every day I have lived since then has been its own meaningful milestone of sorts, but having crossed the threshold into having now been alive as long since cancer as before feels poignantly and momentously meaningful. As I celebrate this birthday, I choose to remember: the dear friends and relatives who didn’t live long enough to reach my age, the places on the planet right now where people are not “getting to” get this old, and that many of you reading these words carry the grief of having lost loved ones far too young. In holding each of my birthdays - and every day in between - as a privilege, I honor those who would have cherished the great good fortune of this day, not to mention the gift of another year. Writing this, I realize that - for me - gratefulness is very much about remembering the bigger picture, concurrent truths, relative frames of reference, impermanence, etc. and then actually living our precious moments with the enhanced perspective this provides. Perspective changes so much of how we experience life. The practice is remembering that we have the ability to choose our perspectives, and returning again and again to that which supports what matters most to us. May the resources below and on my website help to nourish the things that matter most to you. From the deep remembrances of my heart, I am yours -
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