Where I often spend Thanksgiving is pretty rustic with no internet. The smart phone I got a little over a year ago has changed that for me and I'm no longer quiet as 'disconnected'... but it's still lovely to have an excuse to not check email or post to my website. These things are possible, but slightly annoying on a phone, so I practice my connection in other, more solitary ways. I take my camera with me and record for myself. It also means I can later update you on what I saw and was grateful for:

Waking up on a lazy morning with nowhere to be and nothing to do.

2. Feeling the sun and quiet while meditating without any of the pressure to 'get started with the rest of my day.'

3. A cozy fire in the fireplace and a relaxed study buddy.

4. Abundance in food and family with lots of love and laughter and nourishment and an awareness and gratitude for where this food comes from and everything that went into growing it and preparing it for me to eat.

5. Sun coming out after several days of rain, providing warmth and a different light in which to see things.

6. A walk in the woods and my grandma's stories of elves and gnomes and magic echoing through my head.

7. Messages left for us by nature... if we're listening in.

8. Familiar spaces and all the memories that go with them. A sense of history and connection without obligation or attachment.

9. Cozy shelter, surrounded by plenty of fresh air and wide-open spaces. Home and wild, all rolled into one - just the way I like it. And gratitude for the love of others that keeps it maintained and enjoyable.

10. Trees that teach us to root down, stand tall, grow upwards, bend with the wind, die to be reborn. There is something beautiful in how they stand and yet flow.

Coming out of this holiday and this month of gratitude, I know I have much to be thankful for everyday. I hope you had a wonderful celebration and as the focus now turns to gifts and giving, I hope you find it in you to give to those who challenge you, to love those you're not always sure you're able to (especially yourself), and to receive all that the Universe wants you to be open to. This is a time of unrest in our country. May we all be a listening ear, even when we think we 'know' and may we stand like a tree or a mountain, in the name of Love, when it comes to what is right.