November 2017
What are you grateful for?
Zuki Abbott-Zamora
That I’m alive today! I’m grateful for my child and my grandchild being alive with me, sharing their life with me, and my husband, Nick, for being in my life and us finding each other. I’m very grateful for the food we can grow, eat and share, for these mountains we live in, and all our furry animals. I’m grateful for friendship, how we all connect and end up being in each other’s lives. I’ve got a circle of people that I really appreciate being in my life, my friends.
I’m definitely grateful for all the families I’ve been able to witness giving birth, who invite me to their birth and into their intimate lives. All those connections are definitely something I feel grateful for. It’s definitely a foundation of my life, working with families. I am definitely grateful for that path that was given to me that shows me to do that with them, these families that ask me to be a part of it.
Jessika Carpenter
I’m grateful for our community here in Crestone. In Texas, our neighbors of 7 years didn’t even know our names! Here, people come together often to help each other when they’re struggling, which I’ve experienced firsthand, and it’s beautiful. The love and space we hold for each other is not like anything I’ve ever experienced, especially not in a city environment.
In the city, I was on numerous heavy-hitting opiate medications to treat my chronic pain. Moving to Colorado to have access to natural, safe medicine in the form of cannabis has changed my life. In Texas, cannabis is a serious legal offense, with concentrates being an automatic felony. It’s great to be able to take control of my health legally and be surrounded by people who accept and support that decision, seeing it as a more acceptable form of treatment than pharmaceuticals or most western medicine procedures. That’s made a huge impact on my healing journey. I’ve had 15 surgical procedures on my spine. I’ve been fused twice. I have a special device implanted, where they put stem cells from my thigh into this trellis device to try and generate bone growth. Because of the way my spine fused, it’s now an unfixable, deformed bone mass, meaning there’s no way to minimize my daily pain. It’s very intimidating being 33 years old and the mother of 2 small children to be in that kind of pain, but I’m very grateful for the community support, and my ability to use cannabis medicinally has provided a level of freedom in my life I didn’t think would be possible again.
Glenn Ennis
I’m grateful to be alive, first of all, because it’s not a given! I’ve been through a lot. I’ve been dealing with Parkinson’s for 16 years. I had “Deep Brain Stimulation” surgery 4 years ago, so I’m grateful for all the scientists, doctors and engineers that developed those procedures and equipment because it’s really restored ability to at least do some things. I’m grateful to my spiritual teacher for showing me how to slow my mind and at least try to be peaceful! I’m grateful to my wife Meryl and her family for love and support over the years, and to Hanne Strong for creating this community where we’re free to be ourselves and focus more on the soul than on commercialism. To Neil and Terry Seitz, former owners of Valley View Hot Springs, for introducing me to the valley, which brought me here. For my caregivers during 2010-2013 when I could barely walk; specifically, Isaline Simms, Kirsten Schrieber, and my massage therapist, Elianna Krakauer, who lugged her table over here when I couldn’t drive! And people who took me to doctors’ appointments when I was unable to drive myself. Oh, and just recently, to EMT’s Denise and Harold. I fell and hurt myself pretty badly. They showed up very professional and efficient. To Dan Retuta and Sue Beck for their support through the Crestone Healing Arts Center. First and foremost though, is to my spiritual teacher because I didn’t expect to see 25 and I’m now 63! Major turn around there!
Keating Simons
I’m grateful for my health and the ability to make a difference in the world. I’m grateful that I’m not in the big cities right now, and for the sustainability here. I’m grateful for my studio and making really exotic new music. I’m grateful for the good times that I’ve had with people here, and for Colorado, the sunrises, sunsets and beautiful scenery. Grateful for letting the past go. I’m grateful for my Honda Civic and my iPhone!
I lived in Santa Rosa for 30 years, and it had gotten so much different before it burned. In the 70’s, it had much lower population, property values; hardly mentioned on the news. Then in the 80’s, everyone from L.A. bought up all the wineries with their big money and it changed. It’s like a big city now; it’s just like the North Bay. When I heard of all the devastation going on in Santa Rosa, I had mixed feelings. I was so grateful I wasn’t there, but so sad it happened. When Santa Rosa was burning, but just before I was personally aware of it, I pulled out this old Peter Gabriel song called Biko, and there’s a part that goes, “You can light a candle but you can’t blow out the fire. As you watch, the wind will only blow it higher.” And it was happening at the time I was reading that, so that was weird.
Aliya Alexander
In this lifetime I am most grateful for the Circle of Love, including life and death/rebirth. During the first half of my life, my adventures were physical; riding my motorcycle to see Key West sunsets and learning to jump horses in my 50s! Life was always about adventure and service. Having been a psychotherapist and breath work practitioner, death and rebirth have been significant themes in my life and work. In my 30s it was detected that my optic nerve was inflamed. I remained active while having a sense I was being “chased.” I understand now that the purpose was to accelerate my path of love by including a progressive illness. When I could no longer walk, I brought my adventures internally. Embracing a greater purpose for this illness was natural as my internal voice lovingly guided me. Relationships became deeper or fell away. I learned LOVE from the inside out. I found joy in stillness and could then teach others because I had the inner roadmap.
Facing my own death, I knew I wanted to die on my own terms, the way I lived. I educated people about the Aid in Dying law that passed in Colorado. I believe someone in the dying process, who can self-administer the medication and is competent to make the decision, should have the sovereignty to choose to die without needless suffering. Life and death are equal parts of the Circle of Love. I’m grateful I can choose to leave this lifetime how I’ve lived, with consciousness.
Nick Zamora (aka Nikki Z)
What am I not grateful for?! I am grateful for just about everything in my life, really. I have a beautiful, wonderful wife and family and great friends. I’m grateful for this beautiful place that we live in. I’m very grateful for the musical talent I was given, that I can do something I enjoy for my work. I’m very grateful for the life I have here. I don’t feel the need to want. I think I have everything I need here, and that makes me feel really good, that I don’t have to want for anything. So I’m very grateful for everything that’s come about in my life. I don’t really have too many regrets, so it’s nice!