Gratitude

I paused on my walk today by a thicket of blackberries and ate my fill. Maybe one in three is actually good -- many are sour, occasionally there is the overripe/nearly-moldy berry which of course makes me spit forcefully. And then there is that perfect one.... You can usually tell when it's going to be good by the way it slips off the stem, no holding back, and no disintegrating in the fingers. And spiders -- they are the kings and queens of blackberries! I've made my peace with these spiders, and respectfully aim to let their webs be. Today one ran up my arm in a flash and I did the little spider-on-the-body jig to no tune other than a few suppressed shrieks. And the seeds, the seeds are mighty, and lodge between incisors, but a negligible hazard in the Arena of Hazards that life lays open before you. Give me seeds and a sour berry any day!

And then there was Dungeness crab, and romaine salad with lettuce from the farmer's market, and tiny sliced fingerling potatoes, and a Pugliese loaf, and a blended Argentinian white wine (Santa Julia). So often these days I'm flushed with a mindfulness that life is ample and abundant, and I sing my thanks to the generous universe. It has not always been so....