Gratitude and Joy

We live in the Cuchara Valley, surrounded by the joys of nature. The sounds, smells and sights of the forest and the mountains. Yet, sometimes I grow restless for no apparent reason. Perhaps it is excitement I feel nowadays when I wake up. I’m so delighted with the path I’ve chosen and the direction God has given me. I look around me and see an abundance of beauty in every direction.

I’ve stopped asking for directions, especially from those who have not walked my road. Do others begin the journey I have found while they are still young? Is it age that makes me appreciate how far I have come?

I am at a point where I want to stand on the mountain and shout to those below, I’m here! Look up! Look to where you want to go and set your course! Dream it, feel it, know it is coming!. Even you, where you are, can dream. It is free, it costs us nothing but hope. Hope in the future, hope to rise above, hope to keep you going in the midst of our failures!

It is not evil that can override good. It is not our toil that cannot bear fruit. It is our dreams which keep us alive. Our faith that one day, one day, we all will arrive at a point of pure fascination. A day that will burst through the clouds like calves released from the stall at a new dawn!

We all struggle with life, we’ve all had setbacks that inflicted pain for days, weeks, or decades. But joy is never lost. It is always always available. Gaze at the sunrise. Walk in the forest, breath in the mountain air.

In this beautiful valley, where some of us call home, and other choose to spend their summers, let the best of what nature has to offer fill you mind and your spirit. Revel in it. The leaves are turnings and once again nature shows us what it is to be alive. There is always, always something to be grateful for in this world!