Q. "What is is the one thing that you are most grateful for in this life?"
Here is a link to the challenge posted by ecoTrain this week:
@ecotrain/ecotrain-question-of-the-week-s710-what-is-is-the-one-thing-that-you-are-most-grateful-for-in-this-life

This week, the Ecotrain community asks a question that really makes the participants dig deep. Every life's tapestry has so many things to be grateful for, should the self choose to look from the heart through humble eyes. Come with me, dear reader, as we embark upon a journey to discover which treasure I hold dear that might be the answer to such a query...

I do my best to be grateful for as much as possible in my life, to recognize no regrets, to trust in spirit that each colorful aspect of my path is there for a purpose whether I can see it or not. I have learned to be grateful for the antagonists and struggles just as much as the heroes and riches, for without the former we never truly grow, we miss the opportunities to temper our very spirits and sharpen our tools for building a better life for ourselves and those who come after us.

A lovely exercise that I have used for this task on again and off again is writing down things I am grateful for. One year for Yule our gift to each of our community members was a jar, a pen, and a stack of small papers. The instructions were to write one thing at a time you are grateful for on a piece of paper, fold it in half, and stick it in the jar. No answer is too small! Over time the jar fills up with these little notes of blessings, and on a day when you are feeling particularly down you go and pull one (or all, if need be) of the papers out of the jar to remind yourself of the beauty that is in your life.

A very dear friend found this in a book form and gifted it to me a couple of years ago, and I keep it on a shelf within easy eyesight and reach for when I want to add to it. I made a commitment to myself that I will not be perusing through the pages of this particular book until it's full. Once or twice I have handed it to very special people in my life to ask them to add a page, so that when I make it to the opening of these treasures I will find a couple of gems from others as well.

There are so many things to be grateful for in life ~ my children, my partner, my family, my true friends, my home...would not all of these encompass love as perhaps the winner? There's music, and laughter, and memories of the myriad of places I have traveled to. The very Earth herself, in all her natural beauty, life-giver and sustainer! There's gratitude for my needs always being met, even in those moments where I am unable to realize it.

There's the simple things, too, like the comforts food can bring - the taste of a juicy watermelon on a hot summer's day or the satisfaction of a crusty loaf of sourdough bread along with stew in the winter's icy grip. Perhaps the very elements themselves? Air, fire, water, earth ~ surely we should include them in the list, the riches of such perhaps without equal!

Knowledge is certainly a contender, and on it's heels communication would follow. The flow then leads to the source of knowledge in our lives, which can range from reading the words of others to experiencing our successes but more often our mistakes, our failures, our tragedies. Perhaps these are the place to stop our meandering? Or perhaps we can pause at our ancestors and their wisdom passed from generation to generation, like a torch in the deepest of caverns to guide our way through the darkness and into the light of day...

The longer we peruse the halls of gratitude the more challenging it becomes to decide on a clear winner. Each doorway leads to more to be grateful for. Even the most painful of memories in my life have led to greener pastures, and I am better for having experiencing those moments. I have long understood that I am rich beyond measure, the only thing I am not rich in is monetary cash ~ upon which I place little to no value outside of the constructs of the society that forces the use of such.

Ahh, dear reader, we could journey together just shy of forever and I could continue to name things that I am grateful for. Autumn's last flower, spring's first bud, the dew on a blade of grass in the morning, the first steps of a newborn fawn. The very free will that makes this meandering possible deserves honorable mention. But the more we wander, the more becomes clear in my mind's eye. There is one winner above all, one that has been with us every step of the way, one that makes for all others to be caressed and contemplated on our journey through gratitude...

Life

Life itself is the best gift we could possibly be given, as without such there is literally nothing ~ no existence, no contemplation, no journey. Regardless of the choice to worship one god/goddess, or many gods/goddesses, or none at all, regardless of any demographic that could be applied to any of us (location, gender, genetics, preferences, et al.) we are all given life to do with what we will. We can choose to accept what is around us or we can embark on an adventure to seek the unknown or any combination between, but whatever we choose, it is indeed our choices that create our reality.

Listen to your heart, apply your own knowledge and intuition, and believe in yourself. The only limitations in this life are those we place upon ourselves, or allow others to place upon us. Whether through a physical journey or a journey of the mind, we can reach any destination we desire, if only we believe.