McKenzie River Lessons in Gratitude

I find myself in profound gratitude today for the little gifts of life.
For the scent of autumn teasing my nose
For the breeze that carries pine needles like rain across the view in front of me
For the delight of waking in the middle of the night and, used to the light pollution and overcast skies of the city, being caught unawares by the brilliance of the night stars through the window
For the sight and sound of two amazing red-headed woodpeckers landing on broad trunk of the evergreen tree outside my deck and bedazzling me with their presence
For the warmth of the sun and the cool of the air on my skin at the same exact time
For the apparently limitless source of this river, that allows it to keep flowing, day and night, year after year, and what that tells me about Source Itself

For the ability to see and hear and touch and smell the beauty that is all around me 
- and, most especially
For taking the time to experience it.