Kukwstum’kacw to Holly Bikadi for permission to share this beautiful creative offering she composed.

She writes, “My Thank you song this song came to me when I started to get better after not being well for a few years. I used plants the creator showed me to heal myself. Thank You Great Creator.”

Imagine if, after something we longed for, took place, we took the time to listen for a song of thanks, to compile a slide show, to sing that song? I am so inspired by this approach… as someone who tends to operate in a constant scarcity-mindset (freelance life, I tell you), racing from one project to the next, this idea of pausing in between, after one thing you longed for came to fruition (through a combination of your own effort, yes, but also all kinds of benevolent aid you don’t know about), to really let gratitude express itself through you. Maybe by writing a note of thanks to someone. Maybe by holding a little ceremony. Maybe by thanking yourself in some way. Maybe by singing a song… A friend recently challenged/invited me to do something to celebrate the completion of our Active Hope Climate Squad, and it’s been something I’ve been sitting. It feels self-indulgent to me, but the more I probe the idea, the more I think, it isn’t. There are many ways I could express my gratitude and celebrate that project – writing notes of thanks to people who were instrumental in making it happen, treating myself to a massage (which helps someone else make their livelihood serving wellness), compiling some photos to acknowledge some of the beings that contributed (including the cottonwood tree I sat under and the hummingbird that kept showing up…)

So, thanks Holly, for leading the way and sharing your song.