I hardly notice my clenched grip around the steering wheel

as I speed to make a coffee date.

Late I am and questions are being lobbed around my head, such as

will there be enough to make dinner out of leftovers,

did I ever return that email 

and a host of other items on my invisible to-do list.

Suddenly my eyes scan farther in the distance than the next stop

light and catch a glimpse of a beloved sight.

A dream vaults into view.

The reality of a dream now absorbed into daily life.

I suck in my breath as I behold my dream.

There is no missing Mt. Hood in all its snow-clad glory lifting out of the hazy blue sky.

Growing up among rolling hills and wheat fields,

I had once dreamed of being in the presence of mountains

and near enough to see the ocean without needing the assist

of an aircraft.

Oregon has provided these wonders and tosses in waterfalls,

lush trees and great food beyond measure.

I am living and breathing in a dream yet I forget and lament

those dreams which lay unfulfilled.

I  loosen the curl of my fingers on the wheel and lift my eyes up.

Up to the hills where my strength comes.

Up to the place where every blessing and good thing

has its origin.

I say thank you.

Oh how I want praise and gratitude to be a non-negotiable in

my life.

I wish I could tell you that it is my default response

and that it didn’t take a mountain to cross my path to remind me.

It is so easy to rehearse my perceived lack and not the

blessings strewn about my head to toes.

If giving thanks was a non-negotiable in our days,

how different would the world look?

Give thanks for dreams.

Simply give thanks for this blessed life.

**********

Happy May Day!

Enjoy the following May desktops.
Some are available without a calendar like
the bike image above.

One (dozens)

Two

Three

Four