Can an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety cure be found in a journal?  $280 to apply for an apartment.  Run down trailers for rent for $1500.  The 10,000 people coming to Colorado every month for tech jobs and weed are making us Coloradoans struggle to live here.  It is easy to get overwhelmed and stressed about the next step.  Is it in another state?  Is it here?  Is a miracle around the corner?  Is…whoo!  No wonder I have been taking so much of my herbal anti-anxiety that we make in our charming shop!

I decided to start a gratitude journal.  So cliché, I thought.  What am I going to write?  I don’t have much to be grateful for.  The first few were the basics, my husband, my kids, my coffee.  But now they delve deeper.  The feel of my kitten’s fur against my cheek in the morning.  Maryjane saying, “I love you, Grammie.”  The deer outside the door.  The customers that trust me to help their family with their health.  So much to be thankful for.  I find that I am less anxious in the mornings.  I am even…happy.  The dawn seems brighter.  The coffee tastes better.

I also gave myself a challenge to write a poem every morning.  The beginning ones were sad and simple.  One paragraph, sometimes no rhyming at all.  Now they are elaborate stories or sweet inspirations.

I encourage you to purchase a beautiful journal.  Gratitude. Poetry.  Memories.  Trust me, you will be glad you did.

The Powwow

The drum beat sounded

of heartbeat and womb

the dancers took their place

Their colors swayed in grace

and pride

Their feathers told stories

as their leathered feet

rose and fell softly on Mother Earth’s breast

Singing in tones unheard

in other cultures

whirled the sound into reverie

Every drum beat my heart

every step my ancestors’ lives

every note a page in history.