I Can But Try

November 17, 2024
Nogal House
Indian Divide, New Mexico

A thought thanks to my dear friend, Mary Katherine Rays comment, “We are so lucky to even exist. We need to cherish every day.
For Mary Katherine,

I Can But Try

I am grateful for every single breath
And express that each day
As I speak my morning prayer.
Every breath
This blessed earth beneath my feet
This home that shelters me
The beauty that surrounds me
In each and every direction
My nod to the Native American sentiments
Which say it all so well.

I am humbled to simply be alive
To exist in the here and now
To have been born
And to have lived
Having survived myself
Through those times
I may well have died
But somehow survived in tact
In mind, body, and spirit
Proud and grateful to have done so.

Life in itself so precious
The sun and the sky
The rain and the rainbow
Every single drop of rain
Leading me to ask how anyone
Could allow any measure of misery
To dominate their thoughts
Knowing that the joy flows
In equal measures
The moment we shift our attention
To this blessed gift of life
And exalt in every breath.

I spoke my prayer today
To a cloudy rain soaked sky
Raised my arms to embrace the universe
To say thanks for every breath
For the gift of life
The very grace of being alive.
As quickly as the words left my lips
The rain began to gently fall
The sun broke again through the clouds
Two ravens flew overhead
The whoosh of their wings
Like music to my ears
Bringing a smile to my face
With a greeting
And some words of thanks
For their passage
As a rainbow appeared to the north.
I am blessed. Ixehe. Thank you.

Even as I write
Yet another rainbow appears
Stretched on the horizon.
To what do I owe
Such gifts?
And how can I repay them?
I can but try.