I'M GRATEFUL

I'm grateful. I got to swim in the river goddess as she flows around the tumbled stones and ancient boulders. She smoothes all their edges with her ferocity and persistence. I immersed my body and let her sweep away my edges, too. Thank you sacred waters, thank you.

I'm grateful. I got to the climb on the rugged crest trail, free of freshly made footprints, just my own. The clear blue altitude opened my mind and the alpine flowers lifted my spirits. Thank you sacred mountains, thank you.

I'm grateful. I got to gather heaps of deliciously aromatic wild sage and flat-leaf cedar growing in the resonance of majestic Shasta. The plants thanked me for making use of their medicine. It will be shared and released as smudge and smoke. Thank you plant spirits, thank you.

I'm grateful. I got to sit in a sacred ceremony with new family. Songs and healing traveled around the lodge and invoked embodiment of the heart's presence and full engagement. Thank you Karuk medicine man, thank you.

I'm grateful. Thank you.