Thankful for Spiders

“We are living in an extraordinary moment. It’s extraordinarily extreme. It’s extraordinarily painful. It’s extraordinarily complex. It’s extraordinarily nuanced. It’s extraordinarily full of potential.” ~ Chani Nicholas

I got bitten by a spider (we think) about a month ago. I didn’t see it or feel the bite at the moment, but the next day my ankle swelled up and I had a fever. The lingering joint pain comes and goes.I was stung by a scorpion about a year ago. On my fingertip! That, I felt right away. It was an intense pain that lasted for about four hours.This is a time to appreciate not only the good people, plentiful things and pleasurable experiences in our lives—but also to be grateful for the difficult people, emotions and passages that we encounter. A plethora of amazing things have happened in this, my personal “year of the scorpion.”I am grateful for the love and friendship I share every day with my familyand family of friends, near and far. I am grateful for our little house and to always have enough food and water. I am grateful for my body and breath and life.I am also grateful for pain, both physical and emotional, because pain is a sign of growth and healing.I am grateful for having been fired from my job as a school teacher earlier this year, because that has paved the way for major improvements in both my career and my quality of life.I am grateful for the difficult people in my life, because they force me to see my areas of weakness and resistance. They hold up a mirror to teach me valuable lessons.I am grateful for impermanence, also known as change, which keeps things fresh and lively. I am grateful for where I now live and what I now do with my time.I am grateful for the lake, the sky, the volcanoes, the trees, the flowers, the incessant glory of nature.I am grateful for my fellow writers, my editors and my readers. Thank you for reading!Happy holidaze!