For me mornings used to be a blur of getting ready for the day, getting the kids out the door, etc. I was generally bleary-eyed and short-tempered. There was so much rushing here and there and bumping around in a small kitchen with everyone juggling cereal boxes and leftovers and schoolbooks and such.
My mornings now are spent with me in meditation on the soft carpet of my living room. I open the back curtains and let the sunshine pour in. Ellycat typically joins me there, sunbathing. And more often than not, curling up into a soft purry ball in my lap.
Right now, seeing the green leaves on the boughs of the trees overhead makes me feel my own excitement for the promise of spring. There is so much new and interesting and happy in my life. I feel so alive and present to the gifts of this day, and to those in my future.
This morning I realized that it’s been just about 3 years since the injury in the garden that led to my massive leg infection and surgery. As I told that story to a friend this weekend and showed him my scar, I marveled at the place that used to be sunken in (where the dead tissue and muscle was removed). It’s now a regularly contoured calf muscle and the scar has faded to a pale pink seam. There’s such satisfaction in knowing that old wounds do heal and that my leg (and my immune system) is now stronger than it ever was before. From that experience I found my love for outrigger paddling and began to learn the ways of the ocean. I never would have guessed then that such a hard time would eventually bring me so much strength, self-knowledge and joy.