Operation Oxygen Mask (OOM) Week 16: Gratitude #2

Welcome to week 2 on gratitude. To be honest, the emotion I am feeling the most this week is fear. I imagine many of you have been feeling that too. It is surprisingly helpful to recognize and name that feeling. To realize how it is affecting my body. To notice how it is affecting the way I speak to my loved ones. Once I recognize these things, I can be a bit more forgiving of myself, and of other people who are reacting in difficult ways. I can turn my attention away from the fear, without ignoring it or denying it, and focus on my breathing or the task at hand. And I can even feel thankful for my ability to do all of that, because it’s not easy.

Today, I have a poem about gratitude to share with you (read below). If you want to level up, try writing your own poem! Maybe you could use the things you wrote in your gratitude journal last week, or turn it into a letter of thanks to somebody special in your life (bonus points if you send it via snail-mail instead of email).

Three Gratitudes

Written by Carrie Newcomer

Every night before I go to sleep I say out loud Three things that I’m grateful for, All the significant, insignificant Extraordinary, ordinary stuff of my life. It’s a small practice and humble, And yet, I find I sleep better Holding what lightens and softens my life Ever so briefly at the end of the day. Sunlight, and blueberries, Good dogs and wool socks, A fine rain, A good friend, Fresh basil and wild phlox, My father’s good health, My daughter’s new job, The song that always makes me cry, Always at the same part, No matter how many times I hear it. Decent coffee at the airport, And your quiet breathing, The stories you told me, The frost patterns on the windows, English horns and banjos, Wood Thrush and June bugs, The smooth glassy calm of the morning pond, An old coat, A new poem, My library card, And that my car keeps running Despite all the miles. And after three things, More often than not, I get on a roll and I just keep on going, I keep naming and listing,

Until I lie grinning, Blankets pulled up to my chin, Awash with wonder At the sweetness of it all.

If you’d like to listen to the poem read by the author, you can link to that here: https://onbeing.org/poetry/three-gratitudes/