Gratitude

Christmas or more accurately, the holiday season which rightly must include Thanksgiving,
when we give thanks for stealing the lands we now inhabit from native Americans, who
already had established nation states here, is a time to reflect and more importantly to realize
our gratitude for what we have. And if we can’t have what we want then we can learn to want
what we have. While no one wants the pandemic, it is yet another opportunity for us to
appreciate and express gratitude for what we have or even what we not longer have.
Some things I am grateful for: The pandemic has gotten many of us outside to enjoy the
beauty and grandeur of the world around us, outside of artificial walls built by man that while
providing shelter, imprison us and make us more susceptible to those devices that purportedly
keep us in touch with the world and get us to shop for things we may not need. And being
outside is a gift that comes with no price tag. It is free for the taking and requires only some
means of getting us there and then propelling ourselves along, whether it be our feet, kids in a
stroller, skates, bikes and trikes and any other means of locomotion that may come to mind.
If you need suggestions just read Dr. Seuss’s Marvin K. Mooney. It’s time to go, Marvin K.
Mooney! I don’t care how you go, just go…. And many of us have gotten going and been the
better for it.
Then there are those who don’t like to stray as far, and we can find our place in the natural
world right around our houses in gardens, or just in cutting grass and raking leaves. Due
probably mostly due to obsessive compulsive disorder, I have a quarter acre raised bed
garden that continually says: do this or that; don’t let these weeds take over, mulch me. Put
something in here to take up the space that weeds will grow; pick me and take me to the
market or give to a friend. But mostly, my garden says, feed me. We can even be grateful for
our disorders! Bring me leaves and grass clippings and just a little dusting of minerals and
nutrients and I will produce lovely things. This year I let a variety of greens go to seed, and
when mature, I harvested the stalks, hung then up where they could dry with a tarp
underneath to catch the seeds as they were released from their pods. 3 gallons of seeds: a
million seeds per gallon. So, if you want some seeds to make your own garden, just send
me a stamped self-addressed envelop and I will send you enough to feed yourselves and
your neighbors within walking distance. I have greens that came up in the yard that I harvest.
Try sprinkling them in any bare space you see in your city or country and they will grow.
Become a Johnny greens seed! Greens are good for you! Chlorophyll is an exact copy of
hemoglobin which carries oxygen in our blood, except for the central atom. Iron in humans
and magnesium in plants. Chlorophyll helps us absorb iron as well. Do yourself a favor and
eat your greens! Didn’t you watch Popeye when you grew up?
Phones. I am grateful for phones. I have my regular phone buddy. And we keep up a
regular phone conspiracy of talking or in some cases not talking on the phone. It is nice just
knowing there is someone on the other end of the line listening. There is a certain art to
conversation; that is when you really have nothing to say, getting the most mileage out of
saying very little if nothing at all. We indulge in a good bit of this nonsensical conversation
which borders on either hilarity or great seriousness. That is the secret: to take to great
lengths discussing what really can’t be rightly discussed but with some effort can be made
controvertible. I’m not sure I even know the meaning of that word and so it would be a great
starting point for another conversation. This means taking on a position which whether you
agree with it or not, yet you won’t give up on it until your last dying breath or until you realize

you have wasted an hour or so and it is really time to go to bed and you can’t go on any
longer. You concede, something Trump will never do, that it is really a draw and that
whatever it was you were discussing, and you may have already forgotten, you are finished
with it, have exhausted all possibilities or just need a break until the next round. Phones
make all this possible!

Cats. Besides being the light of my life, Gypsy, the philosophical cat, brings me great comfort
and encourages me to be a better person. About dogs: People say they want to be the
person their dog thinks they are. But cats are here to instruct us in being better people,
mostly by example, but far more if we take time to listen to them, just as we might listen to the
wind in the trees, or the buzzing of a bee, or sounds of the night replacing those of the day.
Cats teach us now, and now is the time to take time to enjoy the moment, whether that is
being a personal masseuse for your cat or taking a nap or sitting by the fireside. Cats teach
us to realize that we can accomplish the most by doing nothing or almost nothing except
breathing and the beating of our hearts. Gypsy says: don’t just sit there, do nothing! They
are experts at conserving energy and finding a place to soak up the sun or snuggle into a
smaller space to keep warm or cool. They teach us we can fight global warming by doing
absolutely nothing except being here and now (Ram Dass). They place grooming above any
ambition to be anything other than a cat. Their ambition is just to be. They offer these
lessons to us at very little expense: a couple of handfuls of cat food a day and a dish of water.
They lower our cortisol level which will reduce our risk of inflammation, which could lead to a
heart attack, stroke or other modern day ailment. I have two cartoons (if you can call them
that) on my fridge. In one, the man says to the cat: Never think out of the box(kitty liter). In
the other, a man is reclining with the cat on his chest saying: If not for you, I could have
conquered the world! What cats teach us is that we have to conquer ourselves and get out of
the box we are trapped in: living in a world in which we are always preparing for a future that
cannot be, instead of enjoying the present moment which is really all we have. Cats teach us
that acting in the present can expand the possibilities or the potential for a more just and
livable future … Cats are the ultimate quantum physicists. When I expressed my sadness
over what we have done to the earth, Gypsy replied: what if an asteroid hit the earth and
destroyed it, who would you blame? And I suppose who should feel guilt? Perhaps nature
has created us to prevent that from happening!

Some of you know that Gypsy’s bid for the 2020 presidential election is over, but not the joy
that her catpaign brought to many, young and old. And her platform will be adopted in one
way or the other by our incoming president. I am grateful that gypsy lost the election because
I gained her love and attention back, or maybe she gained my love and attention back from all
the campaign chaos. Running a catpaign on a low budget was a challenge, considering that
Gypsy refused to take any campaign contributions not matter how small. I printed and gave
out what seemed like thousands of stickers to kids and adult alike, I printed t-shirt transfers
and ironed them on t-shirts (gypsy insisted on organic, made in America; and luckily I found a
deal on overstocked t shirts at about a buck a piece). She was busy typing up and sending
out press releases to our local papers and was published in our local paper. She refused any
interviews, so I handed out literature at the farmers market and sent emails far and wide. Her
catpaign, based almost solely on word of mouth, reached far and wide and even to other
countries. No slick mailings or tweets or radio or TV interviews. Maybe that is why I have
been exhausted lately. Once the election was over (it is over isn’t it?), I could finally relax and

realize I would get to spend the next 4 or 8 years with Gypsy who still has so much to teach
me. Her conversations with me have reached some pinnacle of success. Some dismissing
them as nonsense while a good contingent of folks rely on her wisdom on a daily basis. I
believe that she is revered. I’m wondering if she will start an Ashram and lead others in the
fine art of meditation in the Budhist tradition. The future is now, so I won’t stray to far from
what is, now.
The Roof: If we knew what we were getting into, we would never start half of what we do.
That seems to be the case of much of what I do and how I get myself into trouble. After
deciding to have solar panels installed on the roof, I decided I should do the roof myself,
including adding insulation. Now, the roof is finally at the point of putting the insulation and
standing seam roofing on. A date has been scheduled and a crew lined up. We’ll see what
happens!
I realize this letter is way too long and many of you may have given up before reaching the
end, so I won’t belabor any longer and just wish everyone a very happy new year with great
possibilities to come, now, in the moment of course!
Much love and peace,
gypsy and paul
We give you our blessings and wishes for a bright new day!
May your way be easy and light!