Gratitude

I'm grateful when I wake up in the morning to the cat at my feet, my husband at my side, and birds singing out doors. I'm grateful for the green wall of leaves that surrounds our house this first Spring at Tam Lin, with the sunlight shining through.
I'm grateful for my warm feet on the cold floor, for steel-cut oats and tea for breakfast. I'm grateful for the warm sudsy dish water on my hands, and the hum of the washing machine in the basement. I'm grateful for the baby garden that I'm about to water, and for the second cup of tea I'm about to enjoy.

I'm grateful for the amazing gift of this true friend, this soul mate, this husband of mine who is my companion, my help meet, my best friend, who makes me think, laugh, listen, grow, and smile every minute of every day.

I'm grateful for this community, the friends that have been here all along and the new friendships forming. I'm grateful for the health and strength of my mother and her partner, who are glad to accept a spontaneous invitation and show up for tea (and then supper) an hour later.
I'm grateful for long-planned dances at the Town Hall, and spontaneous house dances planned in a matter of days.

I'm grateful for my own health, and that of my husband, for his hearing aids, my limbs that remind me to keep stretching them daily. I'm grateful for my grown-up children, for their maturity, kindness, and affection.

I'm grateful for this house, that I've longed for for 50 years and now have. I'm grateful for food on the table, most of the bills paid most of the time, and the gift of time. I'm grateful for the jobs that brought me here, the gift of self-discipline and a sense of duty that keeps me from sinking into a total couch-potato.

I'm grateful beyond measure for the music in my life- singing, instruments, dance, recordings, memories. I'm grateful for Robert J. Lurtsema, Sandy and Caroline Paton, John and Carol Langstaff, my parents, and so many others who showed me what music can be. I'm grateful for Animaterra, the folks in Nelson, my dear husband Hunt, and so many others who show me what music can be.

There's oil in the Gulf of Mexico, there's famine in Africa, there's war everywhere, my muscles ache, our bank account is diminished, I don't have health insurance, we have friends and neighbors dying at an alarming rate- but I focus on the joy and abundance of every day. I don't ignore the hard facts, but I try to have perspective and offer amazed and abounding gratitude for each and every gift, including the AFGEs (Another Freaking Growth Experience) that come each day.

I tried all through their growing years to teach my children about having "an attitude of gratitude". It's only truly sinking into my being now.

Joyful noise

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” Plato

As I rest here on the couch, on the Saturday afternoon between the Friday night Animaterra concert in Peterborough and tonight's concert in Keene, my head and my heart are filled with the music of these wonderful women. Music is always on my mind- my daily soundtrack can shift from the songs of the season, to contra dance tunes I'm working on with, to whatever was playing at the grocery store as I checked out. But the best times are when I'm immersed in the creation of the music, and that's what pours through me, lulls me to sleep (or keeps me awake!).

As a child, growing up in the Episcopal church, some of my earliest memories are of the thrill of the music- listening to my mother's alto harmonizing with the hymn melody, delighting in the power of a well-played pipe organ, impatiently waiting to be old enough to sing in the junior choir. I remained in the church for years because of the music, and most of my "spiritual moments" inside churches have been with my voice raised in song. Later, when looking for a house of worship, I would often think, "the people are nice enough, but I can't attend this place- the music is awful!". It took years before I realized that music and my spiritual life are so intertwined that I can do without church, but I can't do without music and a community of people to share it with.



Animaterra Women's Chorus is such a community. I am blessed with the opportunity to spend one night a week, at least two weekends a year, and countless hours of preparation, creating season after season of song for and with these phenomenal women. Last night and tonight we are performing our spring concerts, and looking forward to a few future dates before the fall. The joy I feel working and singing with these women is indescribable- truly a spiritual experience

Hunt and I also make music together. I hadn't considered myself much of an instrumentalist before he came into my life, but the challenge of mastering contra dance piano and accordion, and speeding up my fingers on the concertina, has been exhilarating. Making music with one's soul mate is also an experience of incredible depth and richness- again, spiritually fulfilling.



As a younger adult I felt largely fragmented: my spiritual life over here, my family life over here, my job here and my artistic expression over there somewhere. What an amazing blessing it has been to gather the fragments and feel the integration of body, mind, and spirit into a creative whole. How fortunate I am to be able to live my perfect life, seeing the spiritual in every day life.