KNOCK ON WOOD and GRATITUDE

Basking in gratitude lately, I have repeated been advised to “knock on wood.”^* I do know that what I am basking in is temporary; but for however many days, weeks, months, or years this will last, I am going to bask with my whole being.

 “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”
— Cynthia Ozick

To live without worry, concern, or wanting/needing to spend extra amounts of times with friends and family because of illness is something I haven’t thought about before now. This is the first time in eight years that all of my friends and family close to me (or close to my husband) are basically healthy and thriving. For eight years, I had people with either Alzheimer’s disease, mental illness, pulmonary lung disease, or cancer. My husband and I have had seventeen people die within the last two years. Three days ago, I had a dear friend die of pancreatic cancer; she was my tenth girlfriend in our little town of 3,000 people to die in the last eight years.

But right now, “knock on wood,” my mind is feeling free, relaxed, grateful, and energized, ready to once again focus on my own work and projects. I took a two-hour walk on the beach today and took 166 photos, looking at my surroundings with new fresh eyes, up close and in the distance. It was an absolutely delightful, meditative and creative walk, imagining drawing on the photos in a new art form I just learned about.

Am I tempting fate (hence the advice to “knock on wood”) with my attitude of gratitude, or will the universe continue to reward me with more to be grateful for? I have been taught that the only real prayer is gratitude, for the more grateful we are, the more the universe responds to reinforce our gratitude.

“If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, that would suffice.”
— Meister Eckhart

 “Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.” 
— Christiane Northrup

I find myself “knocking on wood” whenever I talk about the gratitude filling me up, enfolding me, surrounding me; but my intentions are to stop “knocking on wood” and just bask with my arms outstretched, not touching anything but the energy of the universe radiating through me.

 And take my renewed energy to finish updating our website and increase my marketing skills for our many wonderful products, such as our poster, "The Path to Healthy Relationships!"

“Whenever we are appreciative, we are filled with a sense of well-being and swept up by the feeling of joy.” 
— M.J. Ryan

^*According to Wikipedia.com, “Knocking on wood refers to the apotropaic tradition in western folklore^{[citation needed]} of literally touching, tapping, or knocking on wood, or merely stating that you are doing or intend same, in order to avoid "tempting fate" after making a favorable observation, a boast, or declaration concerning one's own death or other unfavorable situation beyond one's control. The origin of this may be in germanic folklore, wherein dryads are thought to live in trees, and can be invoked for protection.^[1][2]