What a great time of the year!  Perfect weather, lots of energy flowing all around.  Preparing for this weekend's retreat and focusing on Sacred Rest, I find myself feeling particularly blessed and deeply grateful for the many, many gifts surrounding the Celebration Circle, as well as my life personally.  It makes me remember a favorite poem, written years ago and published in my book, Hurry Slowly:  Living from the Inside Out, but true for me in this moment, as well.   May it support you in feeling the power of gratitude too:
 
BEING GRATEFUL
 
Being grateful, you are almost too busy for anything else
tears well up, washing away old ghosts and shadows.
 
Being grateful, your mind is no longer preoccupied
with more pressing matters
you have no need to locate a ladder
to try to reach a higher, brighter, better spot
you feel contented with your lot
you've got no need to entertain the door-to-door salesman peddling his
shiny dreams of what might be if only, if only.
 
Being grateful, you're too busy to open junk mail or clean untidy drawers,
to put away dishes or answer yet another phone call.
 
Being grateful, you bite into an apple
and a waterfall of juice runs down your chin.
A thin wedge of salty cheese reminds you
of those two carefree weeks you spent
in the south of Spain way back when.
One single seedless grapes creates an explosion
in the middle of your tongue,
and suddenly you're feeling very young again,
and logic doesn't matter quite as much
as you thought it did, just a few moments earlier.
 
Being grateful, you are swallowed whole
and only your story remains.
 
With gratitude and blessings,