An Attitude of Gratitude

Wendie Donabie ♦ January 5, 2022 ♦ Leave a comment

2021 – Wake Up Call

It’s been a year.
Just that . . . a year.
When I’m asked how I’m doing,
I’ve replied, ‘okay’.

But why? Why just okay?
What have I to complain about?
I’ve stayed healthy, and all my basic needs met.
No disasters have befallen me personally.

Yes, a pandemic shut down the world
restricted our activities and freedom
kept us from living normal lives
and tragically, millions have died.

And we’ve zoomed and zoomed and zoomed
until we’re zoomed out
with short windows of opportunity opening, into our old lives,
only to be slammed shut once again.

While many I know used this time
to be productive and share their skills with the world,
I’ve floundered in a muddy puddle of my own making
with little to show for my iota of investment.

However, today I’ve been wondering.
Maybe I’ve looked at 2021 the wrong way.
Maybe my attitude has clouded my senses,
Maybe some good things happened.

In the last 365 days,

I’ve shared laughter and tears with family and friends,
and kept in touch and supported with my creative community.
I’ve traveled within Ontario,
to Quebec and the Eastern Provinces.

I’ve enjoyed our abundant garden in the warmer months,
grown healthy vegetables and glorious flowers.
I’ve created new recipes and enjoyed scrumptious home-cooked meals
and some tantalizing ones in restaurants when restrictions allowed.

I’ve filled and refilled our bird feeders
and for hours watched a variety of feathered visitors.
I’ve fed sweet apples to the white-tail deer
who’ve graced us with their presence.

I’ve only completed a few paintings, but I like them.
I’ve written over 40 poems, some of which are keepers.
I’ve read a pile of wonderful books that took me places I’ve never been
and introduced me to characters I would not otherwise have met.

I’ve opened my eyes to the rising sun
streaming its brilliant beams across my bed,
basked in the rich jewelled tones of summer sunsets
gazed up at night skies filled with endless points of diamond light.

I’ve been loved by many and have loved many,
and been blessed by a partner in the autumn of my life,
who daily demonstrates his love and commitment
with affectionate words and in thoughtful actions.

And, I’ve had time to think about what’s most important to me,
to take a serious look at the time I have left,
to consider how I’ll spend those years ahead,
to determine if there’s a legacy I can leave behind.

Wow . . . 2021 was more than just a year –
it was actually amazing – rich in ways I’ve taken for granted.
While others in the world suffered tragedies and crises
I can’t even imagine enduring, I’ve been more than okay.

NOTE: I am truly grateful for those moments when I’ve come upon with a scene like the one I’ve painted here. While on a short walk in an Ottawa Park, we passed by a tree with this beautiful mushroom growing out of a broken limb. It stopped me in my tracks.

This is my wake-up call of gratitude.

© Wendie Donabie 2022