It's the Little Things

   I'll never forget waking up in October of 1984 to hear that the U.S. had invaded Grenada.  My first thought was "Where in the heck is Grenada?"  but the second was a renewal of my desire to join the Navy.  I wanted to make the world safe for democracy and  President Reagan was paving the way.
   As that day faded into obscurity, becoming a footnote of Reagan's presidency, periodically I wondered if it had been a good idea.  There were 34 people killed and 175 people wounded.  As a mom, it just seems wrong.
      Then I saw something wonderful in the Olympics coverage.  There was a "get to know" piece on Kirani James, who went on to win gold in the 400m.  Did you know, in Grenada, they celebrate the invasion as Thanksgiving Day. As I watched the piece I couldn't stop crying. Are those deaths justified, I don't know.  Are they honored, absolutely.  I had no idea there was any inner conflict, but there you are.
     It is one of the seldom mentioned side effects of taking an energy healing class like I described yesterday. Not only do you learn to heal others, you are healed yourself.  In the midst, I'm still trying to finish all the case studies. My husband calls it drinking through a fire hose.
    So back to this invasion, how is it a little thing?  Well, in the big sweep of history, it is.  Neither of my teenage sons (one in college and one a senior in high school) had even heard of it.  The big sweep of history is like the whirlwind of work and learning I created by taking this class.
     This picture is one more of those little things.  It is my one of my favorites from our Chicago trip.  We were in Millennium Park.  Home of many beautiful public spaces.  This weed, randomly planted by the wind, was the best part of the park to me.  The effervescent, explosive shape and way that it caught the light was visible from the other side of the park even though it was only 7 inches tall.  Is the midst of life's swirl, it is important to notice the beautiful little things.
     Today one of my sons and I were taking a long walk, each of us needing to clear our heads from our studies, and we found a new path in the woods!  Okay, new to us.  But we have lived here for 18 years and the path is within 100 yards of our house.  We had both walked by it many times over the years.  When the woods wrapped around us we slowed down and stopped talking.  We were just present to the moment, living in now.  Now felt pretty good. Today truly became our Thanksgiving Day.