These Things Before Me

Thank you for this bed; this carpet; this table; this fan; this glass of water; this pen and paper; this bathroom; this cell phone; this window; this air. All these things are privileges. Nothing earns me the right to have them. I have done nothing to deserve them. I do not know a day of hard labor. I don't know what it's like to be separated from my family. I know no great suffering and, yet, here they are: my bed; my glass of clean drinking water sitting beside me. Here are all these things I don't deserve. For that I am grateful. I am grateful to have a place to sleep, water to drink, air to breathe; my life. Thank you for this and an infinite amount more; for things I haven't written because they don't even occur to me because you don't know what you have until it's taken away. Thank you for opening my mind. May I never cease being grateful.

Subway Trains

Public transit is an amazing thing. Just sit and ride. Effortless. Efficient. Do I have to walk to my job interviews from Queens? Nope. Just hop on the subway and it does the work for me. I don't have to show up sweaty and aching because I had to walk countless miles. Amazing. Thank you. You're a life saver. May I never complain when there is a delay because without you, the delay would be far greater.

Pillows

They are like an extension of the mattress and make sleeping more pleasant. From sawdust to down, they are stuffed with comfort. So comfort me tonight and may you grant me better sleep so that tomorrow I may better able experience the day.

Running

Thank you for the ability to run. It forces fresh air deep into my lungs as I experience this rich landscape. It is meditative. It is relaxing. It opens me up to the world. By doing it, I am using my body; making it work together. In return, my body becomes stronger and healthier. It becomes synchronized. Just as it becomes synchronized with itself, I become synchronized with the world and all it takes are a few steps on the pavement. I have this incredible body which is capable of amazing, amazing things and I am thankful to be able to use it while I still have it. Happy running.

Things to be Thankful For

I am thankful that I have so many things to be thankful for. An infinite list that already exists in its entirety. I am merely drawing attention to a single thing in this particular moment. This infinite list exists, always, all around me. I can only practice seeing it more often. This practice IS life.

This Fan

Without it, I would be hot and sticky and sleep would become difficult to find. It blows the natural air, already existing, toward my body. The air molecules collide with the molecules that form my skin. My skin communicates and passes on its energy to the air, cooling it down. So thank you for blowing, fan. Thank you for sending billions upon billions of your oxygenated friends to meet me. Keep it up.

Dirt

Thank you for dirt. You are the dirtiest dirt I know and you are the soil in which life is cultivated. Thank god we haven't paved the earth over and that you still exist and can be found everywhere. So what if I get a little on my shoes or pants. I say wear it as a badge of honor. I am walking around with a little earth on me. Blue Planet. So thank you. May I always carry a little bit of you with me wherever I go.