30 Days of Gratitude: Day 1

My dear friend Kathleen, brought this to my attention via a facebook post this morning.  It's a 30-day practice of gratitude:

http://blessherheart.typepad.com/bless_her_heart/2010/11/30-days-with-a-grateful-heart-2010.html

And as Kat pointed out, this seems to be the perfect time of year to begin this practice.   And who knows, maybe I won't stop after 30 days.  

I'm grateful to be alive--to breathe, to move, to think, to experience life through my senses. This dance with cancer hasn't been much fun, but I've learned from it.  I'm grateful that my cancer was caught early, that the surgeon was able to remove all of it, and that the chemotherapy and radiation treatments ensure that there's is an 89% chance that it won't recur.  There are a few post-chemo days of flu-like symptoms, food tasting crappy,  shortness of breath, and depression.  Then I wake up in the morning and the sun is shining in that clear blue winter sky and I notice that my body doesn't ache.  I take my temperature and I don't have any fever.  The bad taste in my mouth doesn't seem so bad.  Ah, this feels more like what feeling good feels like.  And then I realize that by spring I will feel good again.   I'm grateful for the days of feeling strong and for all the future days of strength I'll have.  Today I'm grateful that my body doesn't ache and I don't have a fever.  That's a very good way to start the day.