Day 27, Pure brightness

Day 27
 (April 4, 2020)
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It’s late in the day but the mountain behind me hasn’t yet started to cast its shadow across the valley in front of me and outside my studio windows the moon is rising in the pale blue sky. My brother writes from Thailand to share that today is Qingming Jie, Pure Brightness, or the day for sweeping the tombs of our ancestors; for giving thanks to those who’ve gone before us.  I have no tombs to sweep but I call out my gratitude to all the ones who survived the insufferable, who handed down their faults and virtues; who paved the way for my birth and my life. I come from a very long line of farmers. When I first arrived here I knew it was them who called me back and though I still can’t say exactly why, I sense they’re trying to explain.
 
With the growing light and pure brightness and waxing moon, it’s a day for gratitude. I am so wealthy with space to make my work, with work I love, with inspiration, with sustenance (it’s a giving day for the garden), with freedom, with friendships, with good health; with love.