Walking in Gratitude

It’s a chilly clear morning here in Wisconsin but no doubt, spring is inching its way in. I started out on my walk, my feet returning to a well worn route but the sound of a crane’s call pulled me right instead of left. As I strained to locate the voice my feet kept moving in that direction. It wasn’t long before I spotted him, a solitary crane on a little berm at a nearby park. I wanted to move closer but worried that I’d frighten him. I stopped to think. And there, in the sky were two more cranes, swooping in overhead, calling out to my single friend. They called to each other until the two others landed nearby. A bow of gratitude for these graceful creatures, so close to home.

Throughout this morning’s walk the sound of so many birds filled the air-cardinals and robins with their distinct songs and then, so many others, like the chorus here to welcome spring. With each bird I said a silent thank you–for their presence, for their song, for their message that spring is here, for the simple fact that I can walk out of the door and hear the birds.

And a hawk! Her great wings a necessity, propelling her body as she scanned the ground for prey, prepared to lift whatever she found into the air. When she landed I couldn’t believe her great size! A wonder!

Tiny green shoots are everywhere, pushing up through the dark, moist earth greeting the waiting sunlight. Spring, we’ve been waiting for you.

More bows of gratitude in the span of an hour than I could possibly count–each a gentle wind filling my sails. The fact that I’m fortunate is not lost on me. But really, we all are. The trick, I believe, is scaling down the size of what we’re grateful for to the size of, say, a tiny tulip shoot breaking through the earth. Seeing things in this way, there are a million things to be grateful for the minute we walk out of the door. It’s recognizing each and every one for the gift it is that shifts our consciousness, that fills our sails. And if we forget, there is a bird song to remind us.