I was listening to Robin Wall Kimmerer speak about gratitude. When the world gives us something, the first thing we should do is be grateful. Because we are often so removed from the natural world that surrounds us, we may lose the opportunity to directly express our thanks to it for what we receive.
I make it a point to reduce my consumption of stuff, including energy. It occurred to me recently that, instead of drying my sheets in my clothes dryer, I could very easily put up a clothes line outside and hang my sheets on it to dry. It takes a while longer, but my sheets are equally dry, and I don’t use electrical energy. The Sun offers its energy right there for me to use. It’s how we always did it when I was a child. I felt satisfied.
As I listened to Robin speak, I realized that my act of using the sunshine to dry my sheets was an act of directly receiving a gift from the Sun. It was also an opportunity to be grateful to the Sun. The Sun is the source of all life on Earth, including my own.
Thank you Sun. I appreciate your gift. I shall remember to be grateful.