Gratitude

Gratitude, where does gratitude fit in with grief and grieving? Why does it fit in with grief and grieving?
If the opposite of grief is love, the best way we can support the love that has no where to go is with gratitude. Remembering what we are thankful for helps so much with grief. I had forgotten that. Actually, I don't know if I have forgotten about gratitude or if it just hasn't been as available since my father's death. 
Yesterday, I received that reminder that I need to find my gratitude and my grace. With everything going on in the world, gratitude is my armour, my saviour, my knight in shining armour, and as I am saying this out loud, so was my dad. How fitting that he again comes into the picture. My dad looked at almost everything with humour. Near the end, not so much, but when he truly was my father, we laughed all the time. 
I also realize, as I'm writing this, that gratitude has been out of my grasp for the last bit. I am back to the beginning of my path. I am recognizing how much I appreciate trees, the lush bright and vibrant green of new growth, the fullness in the branches, the steadfastness of them. How much they have endured the last few years, how much they have sustained us, as humans. They give us shelter, the give us solitude, they give us beauty, shade and air. They filter our air of most of the pollutants, chemicals that can harm us. I am so lucky to have an abundance of them just outside my window.
I am grateful for the air, the way that it carries the birdsong, eagle calls, raven and crow caws, the way that it nurtures my lungs and my body, the way that in the springtime it holds so many wonderful scents of flowers, cedar, pine, the hope and vibrancy of spring. 
I am grateful for another spring!! I truly love this time of year! So full of life, so much brighter than winter. I am so grateful for the sun in the morning, coming earlier and earlier, beckoning me to get up earlier, be more present, be more accepting, be more open. 
I am grateful for my open mind, my generous nature, my ability to see beauty everywhere I look. I am grateful for the new day, the new dawn, the presence of hope. I am so grateful for the presence of hope. It carries me through such dark times. I am grateful for days that my dad didn't have, pain he didn't experience. Life was so hard for him near the end. I am grateful for my time with him! I am grateful for my strength and my love that supported him so well! I am grateful that I was always searching for ways to make his life better, even with the pain, discomfort and dis ease he felt. I'm grateful for the love we shared with each other and the view he helped nurture around family and doing what's right, not necessarily what was right in front of you. Standing up for those without a voice, standing up for beliefs and standing up for myself. I didn't realize where a lot of myself came from until I started looking at whose voice I hear when I feel the urge to step up, stand up and use my voice. 
Gratitude carries you far in this life and in this world. It softens all the sharp edges. It keeps the Boogeyman at bay. It keeps your mind calm, your heart from beating out of your chest, it helps with anxiety and depression, it helps to clear my mind of all of my fears. My fears are away, they are not in front of me. If I use gratitude as my shield, it keeps me focused on the present, reminds me the present is where peace lies, where power lies, where strength can take hold and guide us through. 
​Today, tomorrow and the day after, I am very grateful to be able to find my gratitude and show it to myself, show it to the world. Today, I will have more peace and love because I have found a reason to be gracious. patient and kind.