solstice gratitude

i am tired today, and tired means bleak, but rather than another post laden with tragedy i have decided to honour the solstice by presenting five things for which i am grateful right now. in doing this, i am invoking a moment shared with a fellow-activist some years ago when he expressed his gratitude to me in front of a circle at a gathering. this blog will have to suffice as a circle for now, though i look to the new year to bring more of us together.

so… the list:

• i am thankful that people i love are able to share their burden with me in times of great need. i am humbled and honoured by their faith in me.
• i am grateful for the people who love and support me even when i am grumpy, short, teary, angry, and frustrated. i am grateful for an activist community who “gets it”.
• despite the fact they make me crazy sometimes, i am comforted that my family is all still living and reasonably healthy.
• i am forever indebted to all the radicals who ever thought it possible to make change no matter what the odds or the consequences were. it may not have occurred to me to resist if there were not others who showed the way forward, and my ability to resist has kept me sane.
• and finally, i am in deep gratitude to the people who talk to trees, lovers who make me smile, co-workers to whom i can confide in, and the friends who distract me from more serious matters with movies and beer.

happy solstice everyone. and thanks to all of you who know who you are.