No matter what accomplishments you achieve, somebody helps you.

How many people does it take to make one bowl of porridge?

Let’s start with my recipe:

¼ cup wheat-free oats

¾ cup hazelnut & coconut milk

1 apple

a pinch of cinnamon

Combine oats and milk, place in fridge to soak overnight (this makes the porridge more digestible). Grate in apple, add cinnamon and simmer for 10 minutes.

Now, back to the question.

Somewhere out there is a farmer (or farmers) who planted, tended to, and harvested the oat crop. Then there are people who processed and packed the oats and those who transported them to my local grocery store. It’s fairly safe to assume that the milk, apple and cinnamon were all grown, harvested, processed, packed and transported by different people. Then there are the owners and staff of my local grocery store.

But wait!

All these people couldn’t have done what they did without the families who raised them, teachers who taught them as children, and mentors who trained them in their occupations. And what about the people who designed, produced and shipped the stove, saucepan and spoon? And those who produce and bottle the gas that fuels the stove?

I could keep going but am sure you get the picture by now. It would not be far fetched to say that at least 100 people, most of whom I have never met, have worked to create this seemingly simple breakfast I’m enjoying his morning. Pondering this while devouring my porridge made it taste a whole lot better! I am so grateful for all the people who have chosen a career that I am not interested in, which allows me to live the life I have chosen. By buying and cooking porridge I am supporting them while they live the lives they have chosen.

When the spiritual teachers say that we are all connected, it’s not some hippy, ethereal, hard to fathom concept. It’s a real, concrete and practical hard fact. As are the dishes I now have to wash!

Enjoy your day :)

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Joy is the simplest form of gratitude

Today marks two years since my Mum passed.

This time has both flown by and felt like an eternity. Some days I feel gutted, ripped off. Other days I feel the full weight of gratitude for four decades of memories shared.

Two years ago Mum took her rightful leave of passage and left me to stand on my own two feet. At first, it felt as if the rug had been pulled out from under me, but now I’m starting to get a sense that I am, and will be, ok. As I write this, I can still hear Mum say “I’m so proud of you and the woman you have become”.

She mothered me as much as I needed. In fact, Mum had essentially stopped mothering me a long time ago, instead walking by my side. I know now that was difficult for her to take that step back from the role she chose and gave her all for so many years.

To anyone who is new loss, know that you will have days where you feel the full, suffocating weight of your beloved’s absence. There are also many days when it feels natural to smile and celebrate what you shared and what you have yet to experience for you are still here .... and that’s absolutely ok!

Today I choose to be joyful. Not just to honour Mum, because that’s what she would have wanted, but because I am still here and have the rest of my life to look forward to. For some reason things have worked out this way and I need to trust that everything happens for a reason even if it’s not apparent right now what that reason is.

To wallow in misery or guilt may be what seems to come naturally in a time of loss, but is actually going against your true nature, that’s why it feels so damn uncomfortable! My Mum loved to smile, dance and laugh, this is what is natural for all of us.

Joy is your true nature, and it is the simplest form of gratitude.   

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