November Gratitude–for stockings with legs

photo by Josh Scholten

“When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time.  Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?”  ~ G.K. Chesterton

Our nature is to ignore and take for granted the miracle of our mere existence.  We wanted more from the very beginning and look where that got us.

“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.  They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.”  Joni Mitchell

I don’t want to wait until my legs are no longer operational to acknowledge the wonder of walking and running and skipping and dancing and even standing still.   Mobility is a precious gift for those of us blessed to possess it.  It’s incumbent on us to walk far and long, simply because we can.  If I start out in the farthest corner of the parking lot, maybe, just maybe it will be paradise again by the time I reach my destination.

November Gratitude–Even More So

http://www.cascadecompass.com photo by Josh Scholten

You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink. –G.K. Chesterton

Chesterton has it right.  No matter what I embark on, I should say grace first.  Even my waking, my breathing and my sleeping.  Continual and constant thanks and praise.  Instead I am plagued with inconstancy and inconsistency, taking it all for granted.

So I plan to say grace daily before “dipping pen in ink” during this month of thanksgiving.  Even more so.  Ever more now.