Ample

Living gratefully today, I say thank you for safe travels, family time, and meeting new people. I appreciate that even with inclement weather, we spent some time out in the fresh air.

I also appreciate the daily Wordle I play, courtesy of the New York Times. I am a bit obsessive and want to keep my “win” streak alive. A win is figuring out the random five-letter word for the day, with some helpful hints once you start, in six tries or less. I would like to think my vocabulary is ample—which just happens to be the answer to yesterday’s Wordle. Ample is a word that nicely complements and connects with gratefulness.

I am sitting in our living room in my recliner and here are some of the ample gifts I see and hear with a brief moment’s pause: our dog Oliver, running water, a view of trees starting to turn green, lamps to provide light when needed, a thermostat to help keep the temperature comfortable for us, a few live plants that my husband Darcy tends year-round, a sofa that is perfect for napping, and a print my niece created that has one of my favorite quotes on it.

That quote is “In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” (Brother David Steindl-Rast)

Finding ample gifts doesn’t ignore that there can also be ample concerns in a day, and in our world. But living gratefully gives me perspective and energy to face the challenges and solve problems with better clarity and clearer priorities. With gratefulness in my heart and mindset, I am more a contributor than a contaminator. It does matter.

A word like “ample” was begging for a little poem too. Here’s one to wrap up today’s post:

Ample

pause with open eyes

see this moment

teeming with

abundance

beyond sufficient

to plentiful

even lavish

colors, clouds

trees, pets

food, furniture

clothes, comfort

ample eyes

open with awe

to spacious splendor

LV 4/18/22