Day 3 - 136 -- Small gestures of gratitude

Today brought the elusive energy to tackle a couple of tasks that have been sitting for some time. Readying messages of thanks to send (though long overdue) and making a phone call to someone I hadn't spoken to for many years -- e-mails yes, but calls no.  Each of these took a lot of emotional energy. Positive feelings were involved, but saying things that you feel whether in written or spoken word can be both trying and freeing. Once that first step was taken, I wondered what had held me back so long. Perhaps it was dealing with the unknown emotions these tasks would bring to me. In the end, neither was as bad as I'd imagined. Waiting seemed to build up the angst about how I'd react and how others might view my words and actions. I understand that I can't manage someone else's reactions, but I don't want to cause upset when trying to say something that shows gratitude. Still more effort required in these areas, but for now I've moved along.

As I was thinking of washing my hair, the door bell rang and it was a former student with a delivery that included some of my favourite scones from a bakery down the highway. It was a lovely gesture and I appreciated that she recalled the exact flavour of scone that I must have sighed over during one of our conversations <smile>.  Lucky me <smile>.

So -- for a day when I was on the sending and receiving end of gestures of thanks and kindness, I found a song that sort of fits the feelings. It is sung in Spanish at a French music festival by a woman that I know best for her English language works. And for those who need some assistance with the lyrics, the notes include the original Spanish words and the English translation. Enjoy!

Gracias, a la vida -- Joan Baez