Three beautiful things

Thanks to compulsive writer for providing a sidebar link to this wonderful blog. Some of you will remember that I loves me a gratitude list, and the idea of thankfulizing in threes has been coming at me over and over lately—from a YW lesson, from a conversation, from Oprah (I don't watch Oprah myself; that's just what the watchers tell me); from my memory, from blogs. Today, after reading some of 3BT, I say, Okay. I give. Three for me. Three at least, like vitamins every day. They may not always make it to my blog, or even to paper, but I'll try to shoot them out of my brain somewhere, somehow. This morning I tried 3BT in prayer, and it was a revelation to me—as in all relationships, in my communication with God it's just not necessary for me to (daily, twice or more) attempt the entire morphing litany of what I'm grateful for and what I'm hoping for; I can relax and be real and trust that it's an ongoing conversation and that nothing important will be forgotten or lost. Imagine, talking to God like he remembers and cares, and enjoys the time together in intimate discussion. What a novel concept! So then it's actually good to focus on a few simple things. I can express especial delight in a small handful of brightness rather than risk diluting my genuine pleasure by rattling on dutifully about everything I ever noticed that was good in my life. I can ask for help with some few specific pockets of darkness rather than nag for the absolute annihilation of the cold abyss. (Okay, I'm exaggerating. I don't actually pray like that. But you get my meaning, don't you?) It's not that this was a completely new thought. I just appreciated a small deposit of general enlightenment. Thanks, Clare, for being a catalyst for inspiration.

My 3BT:

1. I told God three things I thought were beautiful, and I really felt that he was listening and smiling.

2. I'd been standing outside in the cold, talking with a man who'd come to do some business with Rob (who hadn't returned home from morning errands yet). Rob eventually pulled up in front of the house and got out of the car carrying three small bunches of bright yellow calla lilies for me, and he greeted me with a kiss. The man said, "Well, that's a good reason to be a few minutes late." The lilies are the most beautiful yellow on earth, the same color that thrilled and cheered me in patches as we drove through wooded, autumnal Oregon in October.

3. My cares slipped completely away for a few minutes this afternoon when I lay down on the couch and closed my eyes for a nap.