Gratuitous Zen

I am grateful that I can choose to be grateful. There was a time in my life when thankfulness was a occurrence. You know.

"Why, thank you for that. How sweet."

Or just, "Thank you."

Today, I know that one can live that way, in a whole 'attitude of gratitude'. I choose that. I want to live like that all the time, not just some time. To stay so steeped in appreciation for the awe and the beauty that is my life, every single moment that I draw a breath, oh, to live like that.

I know where my zen is.

When my awareness rests in gratitude of, and for, the moment. That is my zen. Anywhere. Doing anything. Or doing nothing at all. Zen is my grateful awareness. It is me living in gratitude, for what is, just because.

What's your zen?

~ Olivia J. Herrell

What? You over here looking for another sneak peak? Wanna see some Emily zen? Okay. But just a little.

"The next morning dawned on one of those rare crystalline days usually reserved for the middle of January. Catalina Island loomed in the distance, but looked close enough to touch. Emily folded her hands to her chest in the opening pose of a sun salutation. Reaching for the sky she looked up at the point where her fingertips brushed together, then exhaled as she bent at the waist, arms out to her sides. At the bottom of the graceful dive she inhaled and arched her back, looking up."