Feeling the Most Alive

A friend recently asked me what makes me feel the most alive. While the answer came immediately, I spent weeks examining my heart to see if I missed something. No matter how I look at my life past and present, the answer is this ~ feeling and expressing the deepest gratitude for simple moments. That's it. This photograph is one of those moments. Soaking my bare skin in a water trough in the back yard on a day in the 100's, sipping iced mint lemonade and listening to the cicadas sing their lazy hot song, the wind gently swaying the Kantha cloth I spread in the tree for privacy. Or the joy of being able to move my body in the ways I would like, having healed a broken metatarsal in my right foot, hobbling around in a boot and doing PT to strengthen this happy body. Or making art in such a way that makes me smile. Or a delicious meal. Or a love poem that belongs only to me. Or the first conscious breath of the waking morning.

And always, family. I'm beyond grateful my son and his fiancée decided to move here from Maine to be near family and affordable housing. They are five minutes from my house. My sister is two minutes. My 99-year-old mother is seven. Daily visits with her fill my heart with longing and gratitude. My father often pointed his finger to his other palm saying, "This is all we have. Just this day. Just this moment."

Joy. Strength. Courage. Peace. Moment by moment.