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I love to awake early in the
morning, around 6 am, so I can spend the quiet birth hours of
a new day on my deck, where I read and occasionally write, as
in this moment. I was reading from one of my favorite books,
A Touch of Wonder by Arthur Gordon and a short phrase drew my
attention. "I, too, a taker-for-granted..." It started
me to thinking. I didn't wonder if he was talking about me. I
knew, intuitively, that he was, to me and to everyone else reading
his book. No, instead I asked, "What am I taking for granted?"
For me, a much more revealing question.
Even as I walked quietly into
my office to get my laptop computer, I almost missed the masterpiece
of still life art before me. It was my daughter, Amber, asleep
on the futon in the living room. She's "going through a
phrase" where she doesn't want to sleep in her room upstairs
because monsters might climb in the window, so she sacks out
each night on the futon. There she was, lying peacefully asleep,
an angelic picture, ready for the taking, or for the taking-for-granted.
I paused for a moment and took
it all in. . . this time. I think the question could be a useful
one to ponder each day, perhaps for a week or longer. "What
am I taking for granted today, in this moment?" It's not
meant to be used to beat ourselves up over the degree to which
we're asleep to the miracles and marvels of life, but only as
a gentle nudge to awaken our senses further. For instance, it's
mid-October, and there's an amazing transformation happening
before my very eyes, as the summer greens turn to a blending
of reds, oranges, and yellows. Yet, easily missed if we're not
awake to the miracle of Fall. |
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