Community, our feline kin, bone broth (TGP Musing 5)

The Gratitude Project – Musing 5

Perhaps we live in an unprecedented age of misogynistic violence, imperialist plunder, colonial domination, and environmental destruction – or perhaps we live in an age of global mass nihilism and masochism (brought on, no doubt, by misogyny, imperialism, and colonialism) coinciding with an information explosion few generations past have seen.

Regardless…

I am grateful that Sus and I (and all our brilliant little ones, filled with love and light) strive to build nurturing communities in the midst of all this shit.

Indeed, it further serves to remind me that I really am grateful for my feline bffs, Faiz and Rumi – brothers and soul mates for life they will forever be.

On a slightly different and altogether mundane topic, I must say that the easy availability of bone broth (chicken or turkey – bless their sacrifice and their souls) has worked wonders for the fam – easy source of protein, collagen, minerals, and goodness.

Who’d have thought?

(I am fast beginning to take on a fit and healthy persona that I probably would have wanted to smack in the face a few years back.)

On being a pet lout to great souls, num nums, a good view (TGP Musing 4)

The Gratitude Project – Musing 4

I have never known a happiness, so deep and rich,  as well as a resiliency, so strong and unbowed, as that which emerges from the love and knowledge Sus and Daya bestow upon me.

(I think it’s as succinct as I can be in a sentence to describe just how lucky I feel to have the family I have.)

You know, I think I don’t express enough gratitude for the food we eat. Potential dangers from industrial farming aside (which can often be avoided with some mental application) we certainly have access to a lot of fruits and vegetables, not to mention a variety of proteins (vegetarian and carnivorous alike) as well as decent whole grains. A good majority of the world don’t eat the way we do, and that’s fucked up, because everyone should. We eat good, with a low enough carbon footprint wherein I know at least 10 billion human souls, if not more, can be fed on relatively little global, arable land (I’ve done the math to satisfy myself – but you are more than welcome to have a go with the nerdy numbers shit) if we just learnt to all fucking share and share alike.

I’m grateful for perspective. It can be humbling.

The strength of movement in oneself sans accoutrements (TGP Musing 3.5)

The Gratitude Project – Musing 3.5

As long as I have the ability to walk, run, trot, jump, shadow box, and/or otherwise do a shit ton of things solely based on the innate, multi-various gift of movement & mobility sans any other human-made tech – I will keep doing so in ever-strengthening fashions to the greatest of my abilities.

Needless to say (or rather in keeping with this project, very much needing me to say) I’m certainly grateful for that divine gift of movement in my being.

(Not to mention the fact that I do all those kick-ass movement-based activities in a house, community, neighborhood, and city that’s ever-so beautiful and interesting and gorgeously imperfect.)

Yeah, life is good yo…

Roofs we can call our own and my partner’s brains (TGP Musing 3)

The Gratitude Project – Musing 3

I certainly am grateful that my family and I have a roof over our heads (albeit one that we might need to fix soon, but one that still shelters us from the snow, rain, and wind as we sup on hot home cooked food and drink chilled, very much not home cooked Bailey’s Irish Cream).

You know what, despite it occasionally being a pain in the butt, I am grateful we’re paying off a mortgage (for the next 20 years, but who’s counting?) rather than renting – I’m at that stage in life where transnational rootedness is preferred over transient flexibility. And even if our savings dip a bit, I’m kinda excited at the possibility of having an all-season garden in the front yard and a mini MMA gym in the garage!

Finally, I don’t say this enough, but I’m so bloody grateful for Sus and her brains – she keeps us as a family and a community ticking in ways I cannot even comprehend. She is our grand matriarch and I will forever be her loyal pet lout.

All hail the goddesses of the universe – divine and earthly.

Possibilities (TGP Musing 2.5)

The Gratitude Project – Musing 2.5

I am grateful that there exists, in life, a multitude of diverse possibilities for goodness and fun, not to mention a cornucopia of culinary delights.

Life without flavor is boring as fuck.

Flow, crabby daughters, safety (TGP Musing 2)

The Gratitude Project – Musing 2

According to Wikipedia “flow”  is “the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity” – I say, hell yeah, gimme, gimme…

With that in mind…I am very grateful for the beautiful mental and spiritual flow that ever so often takes root with the creative process and with strenuous physical exercise. Now, if only the value of discipline could produce as stimulating an experience, I’d be awash in that flow.

I am also ever so grateful for crabby, whiny daughters when I need to remind myself that she is well-fed, hale, hearty, and ever so strong willed with her assertions.

And while we’re on that vein of thinking – I’m really bloody grateful that my family and I are safe, secure, happy, and totally in love with each other.

Life is good yo…

Family, generational communication, hot showers (TGP Musing 1)

The Gratitude Project – Musing 1

I’m so very, very grateful for Sus, Daya, Faiz, and Rumi – the most beautiful, amazing souls on earth (it’s a joyous wonder to me that they still keep me around as their pet lout).

I feel grateful for the beautiful conversations Daya is starting to have with her grandparents from the south Indian, Tamil side of her family, way across continents and oceans, in Bangalore – via the visual interface of video cameras and chat programs on our cell phones. It’s certainly nice to know that technology can occasionally create beautiful moments in our lives.

I sure as hell feel grateful for my health and fitness – not to mention the good food, hot showers, and privileged-ass, first-world–city-with-parks-and-greenery lifestyle.

(PS: hot showers are one of those luxuries we who indeed live in the more privileged parts of the world likely take for granted like there’s no tomorrow – and if you really think about it, tomorrow exists only in theory as of now, so I’m going to enjoy them hot showers while I can – but I sure as fuck am thankful for them too.)