it is in the homeless tents you see sprinkled off the freeway and under the overpass
gratefulness is in the taste of bitter coffee while sitting on a cold bench
it is in the trust that was broken by a close friend
it is in the sweat on your brow as you run with your body
it is in the sweet delusion of your untamed mind
gratefulness is in the turning over of your pillow to the cold side in the middle of the night
it is in the tear of your lover’s eye
it is in the roughness of your overworked hands
gratefulness is in the tyrants and the thieves and all the gods and beyond gods
it is in the wind in the trees, the leaves, the dust, the dreams
it is in your broken heartedness along with each and every heart that has existed before
gratefulness is in your faith and lack of faith
it is in what brought you to your knees and what opened up
it is in the diagnosis you have 3 months left
it is in the consistent purr of your cat
gratefulness is in the love you leave behind
it is in the moth’s anxious flight around the light
it is in the dry riverbed littered with bleached bones
it is in warm bath with lavender and lemongrass
gratefulness is in the wars of the past and the wars to come
it is in the realization that we are not here to prevail
it is in the daydreaming where time doesn’t exist and that we may not either
gratefulness is the simple touch of your dying parent who knows they messed up
it is in the corners of a room in Tibet where a monk prostates 108 times
it is in the billionaire’s aloneness
it is in the last kiss of a lifelong goodbye
gratefulness is in the memories that have been forgotten
It is in a melted snowflake
it is in your softening vision
it is in the children playing unaware of this fleeting life
gratefulness never comes and never goes
it is a truth like knowing the sun will rise tomorrow
it is in the in breath and in the out breath
and will exist well beyond that

Teddi Dean teaches all things Mindfulness here at MEA and has been with us from the beginning.