Gracias (exclamation point)

Gracias por el sol aunque no lo veo hoy, gracias por la luna, aunque está escondida, gracias por el aire fresco que respiro en la mañana, thank you for the sky, the clouds, the trees that smile upon me with bare branches, gracias por mis pies que corren por el laberinto, gracias por mis músculos tan fuertes que me llevan dónde quiero ir, thank you for my beating heart that sends its energy throughout my body, thank you for the colors of the earth, the varied shades of green, los rojos y azules, las hojas anaranjadas ya acabadas, thank you for the beauty my eyes receive when I look upon you, earth, gracias por el arroyo que corre con una urgencia de llegar lejos...lejos...lejos.

Thank you for the people in my life who share with me their thoughts and dreams, thank you for my feelings, my hopes, my curiosity and my optimism, gracias por mi casa que me da amparo, gracias por mi ropa que me cubre y me protege del frío, gracias por la comida que me alimenta, thank you for vegetables and salads and fruit and chocolate, thank you for water, for tea and for coffee so satisfying at the right moment, gracias por la música que me sosiega, thank you for my piano that takes me to another level of existence with her beautiful singing voice, thank you for the earth that supports me and never lets me down, gracias por las cartas que me llegan de los países lejanos, thank you for parents and children and grandchildren and cousins and lovers and dreams and fantasies.....and for all the abundance in the Universe which is infinite. GRACIAS, GRACIAS, GRACIAS, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Did I leave out anything? I'm sure there's more.....what are you grateful for?

Soy Lorena
11/29/06

La Amistad

La amistad es para mí algo muy importante porque soy hija única. No conozco lo que es tener hermanos, y aunque he tenido cuñados, no es lo mismo.

Friendship, when it is deep and caring can be the most wonderful thing because along with the friendship goes a kind of love, different from Romantic love or love for your children or parents even. Friendship is chosen, escogida y a veces no sabemos por qué brota la amistad con esta persona pero no con aquella.

Recently, I met in person a woman with whom I have been emailing for five years. She came to visit from a faraway place and because we had been writing for so long and kind of knew each other's position on a number of things, we knew we would get along...but I don't think we knew to what extent we would connect. La verdad, sentí que la conociera toda la vida. We just clicked. We had the best time together, we chatted, we laughed, we ran around the city seeing everything as if for the first time. It was hard to say good-by, but I know that now I have a friend for life.

Sometimes a friend's words can do so much. Me llegaron unas palabras lindas de otro amigo hace poco y me inspiraron tanto sus palabras que compuse una canción con ellas. Me tocaron sus palabras profundamente, me hicieron llorar y me hicieron dar las gracias por esta amistad tan bella en mi vida.

So, yes, well, gratitude is one thing I'm feeling a lot of these days, gratitude for these friendships, gratitude for this life, gratitude for my children and all of the abundance that the Universe has given me....and especially GRATITUDE for my parents....finally, por fin.

Isn't it appropriate this time of year when tomorrow is THANKSGIVING?

I wish everyone good friendships and may Gratitude be with you always.

Soy Lorena
11/22/06