GRATITUDE RUNS: Counting My Blessings in an Uncertain Time

I think one of the most difficult things about this moment is the uncertainty.  You know the questions:  How bad will it be?  Will I get sick?  Will my loved ones/friends get sick?  How long will it last?

I have written before about my parents' experience in the UK during WWII, a time of great fear and uncertainty, a time when they were asking themselves:  Will we survive the bombing?  Can this rationing get any worse?  Will the Germans invade?  See: Joy in Dark Times.  I will not cover that ground again.  This, which I saw on Facebook, is a sufficient reminder that people have been through much worse:

      "To put things in perspective for those of us feeling a bit stir      crazy already--Anne Frank and 7 other people hid in a 450 sq. ft.   attic for 761 days, quietly trying to remain undiscovered to stay alive.  We can . . . spend a few weeks at home."

Today, I want to write about gratitude because gratitude is calming.  Gratitude puts things in perspective.

This morning, the words of a little song called Happiness Runs (what I could remember of them) have been running through my head.  With apologies to the lyricist, I am hereby changing happiness to gratitude:

     Gratitude runs in a circular motion
     Thought is like a little boat upon the sea
     Everybody is a part of everything anyway
     You can have everything if you let yourself be

If we did not already understand this, the pandemic is teaching us that we are, indeed, part of everything else.  Our actions affect the health and safety of others.  And, so, I am passing the time at this moment of isolation by listing below the people and things I am grateful for, in the hope that this list will trigger one of your own and help to calm our boats as we ride along on an unfamiliar sea,

Everyone in the healthcare field, all of whom are risking their health and facing shortages of supplies to keep us safe and well.

First responders, taxi, Uber, and Lyft drivers, who are taking risks to get people to their healthcare providers.

Governors and mayors, who picked up the slack before the federal government got around to taking this seriously, and who  continue to do their best to keep us safe.  

Researchers who are racing to find treatments and a vaccine.

Letter Carriers who continue to touch and carry our mail.

Truck drivers, shelf stockers, cashiers, and all those who are keeping us supplied with food.

Newspaper deliverers and all of those who continue to gather and report the news.

All those who are heeding the call to stay at home in the face of financial hardship.

My husband and my dog who are keeping me company.

Family and friends who are checking in on each other via:

                  Skype
                  Texts
                   Emails
                   Phone calls

I am grateful that we have all of these ways of being in touch at this time.

Good health - so far, so good

Sunshine

Spring!  So grateful this pandemic didn't hit us hard in the dead of winter.

Walks - They are free and safe.

My garden - Saving my sanity.

Birds, especially those singing outside my window and visiting my feeders.

Trees, especially the weeping cherry outside my home office window and the trees in the woods where I walk each day.



My home with its hot running water and central heating.

Music

My writing projects

Books, puzzles, and Netflix

I would love to see your gratitudes in the comments.  And, in closing, I would like to share a version of the Buddhist loving kindness meditation:

                    May we be well.
                    May we be free from suffering.
                    May we be comforted.
                    May we be at peace.