Giving Thanks

After one of the most beautiful and exquisite summers on memory the air has gradually cooled and the landscape has come alive with the richness of Autumn. The countryside is a wash of crimson, orange and yellow and we are now in the throws of one of the loveliest Falls that I can remember in Southern Ontario. This is the time for family, friends, food and fellowship. A time when we are all getting together to enjoy each other's company, have a few laughs and celebrate the bounty of the season with some incredible feasts and quality time with our loved ones. 

The energy in the air begins to change around here in the Fall. Quite noticeably. Fall is a busy time as the farmers harvests abound, the cooler nights have us indoors more and you can feel a coziness that no other season quite compares to. My fridge is full to overflowing with some of the freshest local produce and all I want to do is cook and entertain friends. It's a festive time.

There is much to give thanks for this Thanksgiving. So so much. Looking back on 2012 it's been a pretty wild ride. Unlike the stagnancy of last year, things are moving quickly and changing so rapidly it's sometimes hard to keep up! There's a vitality, an aliveness, to this year that has been very exciting. A little unnerving at times, but definitely thrilling. It feels to me as if there's an electricity in the air, an unseen power that seems to take thoughts and materialize them into reality with lightening quick speed. More than ever I am aware of the power that's available to us when we live mindfully and turn our attention to our wildest dreams - all the things that have seemed out of reach, impossible even, feel so much more accessible this year. The magnitude of that keeps me up at night as I sometimes find it difficult to slow myself down. There is so much I wish to create!

I give Thanks this Thanksgiving to my wonderful family that is a never ending source of strength and comfort for me. I am so blessed by your unconditional love. My niece Nika, is an endless source of joy and humor and I give Thanks for her innocence and the hope I see in my family's eyes when she is around. I give Thanks to my friends who, as you guys know, are an extension of my family. My soul sisters and my brothas from different muthas - you keep me grounded. Thank you for your support and for not letting me slip off the edge when the darkness comes. You know who you are and I am so grateful to have you in my life. And as cliche as it sounds - I think it's great that this building has turned into a scene from "Singles". It's reassuring to know that my Besties are just a few doors away. 

 I give Thanks to this wonderful lil' town that I call home. The Farmers Markets, the orchards, the safety, the picturesque Norman Rockwell-y-ness of it all, and just enough nightlife to give us all something to talk about in the morning. Ah the hilarity! I give Thanks to the couple of you who have broken my heart this year. I never really wanted you to go. And you know that I would be the last to let you know that. But thank you for helping me to soften into my vulnerability enough to discover what I truly want. Thank you for reminding me what my vision of a real man actually is and for helping me realize that I will never, ever settle for less than the love that I am willing and ready to give.

I give Thanks to The Good Earth and to Nicolette Novak for being a truly inspirational woman. A woman who has had the courage to unabashedly follow her passion, opening her heart and her home, creating a sanctuary for all to enjoy. I love going to the farm (the FunnyFarm as I now refer to it) as it reminds me of my Grandparents home in the country where I would spend summers gardening, playing with frogs, fishing, picking fiddleheads.

 My lil' "part time job" there has been an unexpectedly heart opening experience. Even though the chickens think they're dogs, the dogs think they're people and the staff is all a little left of center - I am so amused every day at how much I learn there. Working there inspires me to follow my own passion and makes it seem possible to create the life I long for. My job there this year has afforded me the great opportunity to meet some of the loveliest people I've met in a LONG time and to be surrounded by some of the finest wines and culinary offerings this area has to offer. It's a joy and a pleasure to work in an environment with zero pretentiousness where I feel refreshingly normal amidst the silliness and the quirkiness of my co workers. 

I give Thanks for the miracle of my body, my ability to move freely, to feel, to heal. I give Thanks for my Yoga Practice for being somewhere to turn when nothing else makes sense and for being the compass within me that guides me at every twist and turn. Thank you, humbly, to all my Teachers, to their Teachers, and to the Teachings themselves that continue to come alive in my life. What a blessing this practice has been. I humbly bow to all of you who have guided me to the deepest depths only to reveal to me there is still so much yet to discover.