This morning my alarm clock was the sun tickling my face softly with it's warm rays as I slowly woke up, smiling. I love waking up naturally like this. I lay in bed watching the tree limbs laden with green leaves sway in the breeze making sunlight dance across the ceiling and walls. Then after I was fully awake I had some cereal with soy milk, a half cup of blueberries, and a banana. I ate this while writing in my journal and listening to the WAH! cd. I feel a balance in my life that I want to sustain not just while I am off from work, but maintain this in the long term. This balance, cohesion, and synchronicity comes from my core, the core of my being - I can feel it that strongly. I feel anchored and grounded yet I feel a vibrant flow coursing through me. I love this feeling. This balance is not temporary, I am not limiting myself, this will be a lasting aspect of my life. I am abundantly thankful.

Yesterday I thought endlessly of my elderly cousin who is now in her mid 80s. She talks about the past, her past, a lot, almost living there and it makes me sad. I can't define the sadness, if it is for her because she is stuck there, or if thinking that one day that could be me sitting there talking about the glory days of the past, my past, when I'm well into my 80 years of life. Anyway, I had to purge these thoughts out in this poem.

She gazes at her
Gnarled past sitting
On the table; quick glances
Is all she can take, steal;
She used to think of it
As a ribbon, stretched out, smooth,
Thrown carelessly onto
A surface, curves and
Elegant folds, twists
After decades now she
Sees rough knots curled
Onto one another
Zigzag roads end abruptly
Only to eventually begin again
Then just in another direction
Others long, drawn out
Then giving way to a different path
Knobby contorted choices made,
Decisions led back to its source
Herself.

Thank you Christina, at Soul Aperture, http://soulaperture.blogspot.com/ for your wonderful idea of posting what makes us happy and grateful. There are so many things that make me happy and grateful. As I was writing and thinking about this topic I noticed that most of the things that make me happy are non material items. I love that and want to make sure that I live my life more from my heart and soul, rather than a materialistic aspect. I look forward to reading every one's ideas.
I am happy and grateful for:

this glorious life I have been given to live

God

parents

friends - L, R, M, C, J, G, J, R

memories of my cat, Maya, who passed a few months back

writing poetry

writing short stories

reading

praying

authenticity

honesty/truth

meditating

art

talks on the phone with friends late into the night (haven't done this in a long time, but still love it)

laughing and laughter

listening to music - I'm really loving Natasha Beddingfield, Wah!, Norah Jones, some other Sanskrit cds, Cold Play, the list could go on and on about the music that makes me happy

teaching 5 year old children

children

laughter of children and their carefree spirits and ideas

laughing

soy peppermint mochas and hazelnut lattes

reading on a rainy day

reading in the sunshine

everyday in nature

sitting in the gazebo watching the sunset

hearing bird's song

watching birds fly, soaring free in the blue sky

feeling the breeze on my face

feeling the sun warm my face

sitting in a window when it is a winter day with the sun warming me

hot chocolate

walking barefoot in the grass

feeling the dew on my bare feet

sand on bare feet

the beach

painting

painting a canvas full of vibrant colors

dancing

chai tea

in bookstores, finding a comfy seat, a good book, and good latte

autumn/fall

Sunday afternoons

soup

Rumi poems

the mountains

staying up late

sleeping late

curling up with a good book or my journal in a blanket on a rainy, cool day

walking in nature

Mexican food, any food that is hot, salty, and spicy

peaches, pears, clementines

going to parks and walking the wooded trails, being in nature

sitting in my gazebo at dusk in the summer with candles going, their scent mixing with the scent of nature is yummy

learning new things daily

open to new possibilities and experiences that expand horizons

traveling on the path, the journey of my life, embracing all that comes my way

smiling

sunlight glittering off the green leaves of spring and summer

antique browsing and antique shopping, knowing each object has a history - interesting and intriguing

delving into getting to know myself daily, this is an ongoing process that never ceases

popcorn, chips, and salsa

animals

architecture

old houses

gardens and botanical gardens

the scent Warm Vanilla Sugar from Bath and Body Works

Japanese maple trees, especially in the fall

flowers: especially lilies - bright fiery orange lilies, lotus, jonquils, buttercups, daisies, sunflowers, and jasmine

the scent of lavender

Vincent Van Gogh's paintings

Italian Renaissance art and architecture

apricot jam

the smell of rain

smell of burning leaves in the autumn

stationary, pens, pencils, crayons, that new smell of them all

hearing children read for the first time, stringing slowly that first sentence, connecting it then realizing they have read, so rewarding

manicures and pedicures

horses

optimistic people

jazz music of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, the flapper era - I think that is a time when a lot of people found their creative nature and let those talents shine - a very carefree bohemian time in history

From making this list of the things that make me happy, I find it is the simple things that do bring me happiness and joy. Once we know our true nature, what makes our heart's sing with happiness and joy, our true self, our true heart and soul, what lies in us that surpasses, our body, mind, emotions, feelings, in finding the essence of who we are, this will allow us to have lasting happiness and ultimate joy.

Love, peace, joy, light, happiness, and truth to all!