Samhain \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Thanksgiving Moon<\/p>\n
Thankful. \u00a0Grateful. \u00a0Still here.<\/p>\n
Yes, that’s the \u00a0prerequisite to all that follows, my living presence to write these words. And, yes, damn it, I’m grateful to be alive.<\/p>\n
When I visited Constanta, Romania a year and a half ago, I went there as a pilgrimage to the place of Ovid’s exile. \u00a0This is a city that has Roman (Romania!) roots. \u00a0Outside an excellent museum of Roman and Greek antiquities (it was a Greek trading port first.), there was a collection of grave markers. \u00a0On one of them was this line: \u00a0Be Glad You Exist. \u00a0That’s what I would call ur-gratitude. \u00a0Thankfulness for living.<\/p>\n
It’s where I’ll start. \u00a0Beyond consciousness and good health in my own case I’m thankful for the same in Kate, the dogs, family, friends and even a few others. \u00a0Our home. \u00a0Our buddies and colleagues the bees, the soil and the plants which grow in it, those past and those to come. \u00a0The orchard and the trees in our woods. \u00a0All the critters, sleeping and active that call it home.<\/p>\n
Extending all that in a generally cosmic direction, I am grateful for the physics that allow us to exist at all, the sun for its energy, the planet for its hospitable climate (sorry about that hot pack, Gaia) and the North American continent for its wildness and its cities and towns. \u00a0Yes, the suburbs, too. \u00a0Even Andover.<\/p>\n
Language. \u00a0English. \u00a0Being able to communicate with each other, even through such a flawed and miraculous medium. \u00a0What would life be without language? \u00a0Western medicine. \u00a0Often maligned, but my fav. \u00a0Western civilization. \u00a0Also often maligned, but mine and yours. \u00a0At least most of you who read this. \u00a0And just as worthy a human artifice as anyone else’s.<\/p>\n
Of course the internet. \u00a0Cyberspace. \u00a0What a wonder to an old man raised with bakelite phones, 6 digit phone numbers, a time before tv. \u00a0So much. \u00a0So much to say thank you for. More than can be expressed in any list, no matter how long.<\/p>\n
How about, for example, oxygen? \u00a0Or the properties of water? \u00a0We are made of stardust, animated elements spun out so long ago at the birth not of our nation, not of our planet, not of our solar system, not of our galaxy, but of our universe. \u00a0And now they walk, talk, consider their origin. \u00a0How damned amazing is that?<\/p>\n
So. \u00a0Thanks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Samhain \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Thanksgiving Moon Thankful. \u00a0Grateful. \u00a0Still here. Yes, that’s the \u00a0prerequisite to all that follows, my living presence to write these words. And, yes, damn it, … Continue reading Be Glad You Exist<\/span>