An angel is watching over me. At least I think so. And I’m really feeling grateful and lucky.
Last weekend I was dancing at a workshop with Five Rhythms Philly (I totally love them, see link below) and I was taking a moment to rest, sitting with my legs hanging off the edge of the stage.
Somehow that made me remember another time when I sat in that position, back in 2nd grade, when our school had gone on a field trip to a farm. I was riding on a flatbed wagon with my legs hanging off the front. A tractor was pulling us through a beautiful woods. I was looking up at the sun coming through the trees.
Suddenly I felt the teacher sitting next to me pull my legs to one side. One second later the front of the flatbed, exactly where my legs had been, hit a tree. There was a thud that made it clear that if my legs had been there they would have been crushed. Wow, so grateful to that teacher. My life could have been very different.
And then the thought/feeling comes in “There was an angel guiding him that day.” Yes, that feels right. Amazing to see how that one moment in time, decades ago, made it possible for me to be dancing here today. “Yes, I think that was an angel,” I say to myself. And then I “hear” (from my internal awareness) the voice of that angel saying, “And I’m still here today.” So amazed, and grateful!
Maybe you don’t believe in angels. That’s ok. To me, its a convenient - and feels like the most accurate - way to describe this experience. It doesn’t matter what you call it though, angels, God, luck, coincidence.... but what you should believe in is Gratitude.
Gratitude has been shown to improve our physical and mental health, to lead to better sleep and better relationships. Find a way to steep yourself in some gratitude today and everyday. Maybe you will remember a time when you were rescued from disaster and you may wonder what forces were at play, and realize how different your life could have been.
In my work as an acupuncturist, I’ve helped people at all different levels of health and ability. And my clients have shown me that everyone has something to be grateful for. And they’ve given me a deeper sense of gratitude for my own well-being - for being able to live and move in this body - to dance! If you can walk on two legs, can listen to music, can sway to a beat - be grateful. We all can take a breath, rest our weight on the earth and feel the warmth of the sun. For that and more, and for the angels that watch over us, I am grateful. Sometimes it’s the simple things.