Thanks

i have begun again to give thanks before i eat and drink, pausing a moment to hold in my awareness all of the beings who worked and gave so that i can be fed. thanks to the animals and plants who give their bodies, milk, eggs, fruit for our food. thanks to the insects who pollinate the plants. thanks to the earth, who holds and nourishes the plants, animals, all of us. thanks to the sun, whose light feeds the plants who feed us all. thanks to water, which feeds the plants, animals, us. thanks to all of the humans who worked with the food, who carried it over miles, so that it could be here for me.

i haven't given thanks in a long time in this way. living without others who give thanks when they eat, at least in a visible way, i have slowly shied away from it, opting over time to take the quieter route, to not stand out. as i return again to this more full version of myself, as i again pay respects to my inner calling by paying respect to those things that let me live, i return to myself in a profound way.