In this very tumultuous year, we have experienced deep grief from the pain, suffering and loss that we have witnessed, and perhaps experienced personally.
And in this year, we have experienced a new way of being. One that, is both painful and difficult in the isolation, and perhaps for some of us, has brought relief from the normal overbooked, busyness of life. One that has brought a new way of being.
What have you experienced that has been different, new and good, that you would like to continue, even when this is all over?
We can call in the bright light of gratitude for this altered state and the lessons learned, the new perspective offered.
My spiritual group had a teaching on gratitude. It was already in the air for me, so I took it as a sign to write about it. My biggest realization from the teaching, was how I unconsciously get annoyed when something or someone takes me out of my blissful state of being. I see it as an intrusion.
The new possibility that arose for me, was to embrace it all—the whole catastrophe as Jon Kabat Zinn called it—as perfect and right for me to experience, and hopefully learn from, in order to be a whole human being. Another flavor of life to be experienced and to appreciate the gifts.
And the other reminder was that we don’t manufacture gratitude, but rather allow it to arise within us by exploring what is truly available to us.
Gratitude restores our faith that life can be challenging, but always offers a bounty of gifts.
No matter where you are in life, there are always many things to be grateful for: being alive and still breathing, having a heart that is capable of love and forgiveness of self and others, having a mind that can imagine new interesting things to be, do, have and create.
When we are able to tap into the vibration of gratitude, we can see beauty, wonder and awe in all that surrounds us: this amazing planet we live on, the emotional exchange with another human being, the wonder of who we are physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually; the creation of everything from phones, computers, bridges, gardens, instruments, musical compositions, cakes, stories, poems, the furniture you sit on. The list goes on and on.
In this moment, look around you at all the wonders that a human mind has imagined and manifested, things that allow us to have a richer more comfortable, existence.
“Gratitude turns what we love into enough.” Aesop
Living in gratitude effects the whole attitude of how we walk through life. How can an attitude of gratitude illuminate your life? Open your heart and feel the abundance that surrounds supports you.
We truly have a lot, my friend.
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