On the heels of Thanksgiving and the start of the Holiday Season, I wanted to touch on the power of Gratitude and how amazing the thought of being grateful for what you have in your life can heal your soul and breathe new life into you.
Ending this year of a never ending rollercoaster of emotions, ending a marriage, navigating my new life with the ups and downs that naturally brings, I have been faced with many days in that proverbial “funk.” Days of sadness and loneliness have not been hard to come by. I know this is all very natural and healthy to feel and sit with. It would be unhealthy to put a fake smile on every day and pretend that my life is peaches and cream. I have also had some really EXCEPTIONAL days and am grateful for that.
However, I was reminded that feeling grateful and starting the day (or ending it) with a conscious thought of what I have to be grateful for, can really make a shift in your soul. Things become clear and you are able to move forward with contentedness, happiness even!
We are all faced with the down times, whether it is in relationships, work, children, you name it, and it can get us down. Many of us are on that treadmill of life and we feel like we have to finish, accomplish, prove, posture, etc… and we lose sight of ourselves. What our heart is saying, what our dreams are and what truly makes us happy. Is it that job that you have to stay 3 more hours at work for in the evening while things at home seem to crumble, is it the worry of how your children are developing, coping, transitioning to school, and how that impacts us as mothers and fathers, is it the relationship with friends, spouses, lovers that feel unconnected and unfulfilling or have gone awry?
All of it, can be consuming. None of it should. I am reminded that if I move my thoughts towards gratitude for what is good in my life and connect with my heart on what is REALLY my goal in life not what is expected of me, I inherently feel peace. Since I don’t practice a strong faith in god, this morning before I got out of bed, I clasped my hands and held them to my heart and I said, I’m grateful for this warm cozy bed, I’m grateful for my healthy, smart, funny children, I’m grateful for my thoughtful friendships, I’m grateful for the job I need to get up and go do, I’m grateful for the rain even! Makes Seattle beautiful!
Another couple really great things I learned from dear friends this week:
“I am the creator of my life, the artist, and I need to decide what kind of collage I am creating.” And this, “When the intellect is detached from the light and love in your heart, loneliness sets in. A calm heart manifests into a calm mind.”
The last thing I want to share on this is a song that I heard today, “A Beautiful Day” by India Arie. The words just lift me up and if you really digest them, they will lift you up too!
I love that this song reinforces the fact that I take risks in life and sometimes those decisions have consequences of heartache…but I don’t regret a dam thing, because I know I’m always striving for truth, honesty, sincere connections and love in my life and I know I will have it, I have them NOW! If life was easy all the time we would never grow…it’s just up to us to learn from the hard times and take life by the horns and make it what we want it to be! Don’t be a robot and look back and say, wow…how did this happen to my life.
Life is a journey,
Not a destination,
There are no mistakes,
Just chances we've taken
Lay down your regrets cause all we have is now
Wake up in the morning
And get out of bed
Start making a mental list in my head
Of all of the things that I am grateful for
Early in the morning
It's the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how life will surprise me today
Early in the morning
It's the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my heart and
I'm gon' do my part and
Make this a positively beautiful day
Not a destination,
There are no mistakes,
Just chances we've taken
Lay down your regrets cause all we have is now
Wake up in the morning
And get out of bed
Start making a mental list in my head
Of all of the things that I am grateful for
Early in the morning
It's the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how life will surprise me today
Early in the morning
It's the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my heart and
I'm gon' do my part and
Make this a positively beautiful day
Life is a challenge not a competition
You can still smell the roses and be on a mission
Just take a moment to get in touch with your heart
Sometimes you feel like you've got something to prove
Remind yourself that there's only one you
Just take a moment to give thanks of who you are
Early in the morning
It's the dawn of a new day
New hopes, new dreams, new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how life will surprise me today
It's the dawn of a new day
New hopes, new dreams, new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how life will surprise me today
