Finding Your Grateful

She was grateful for the little things. Clean water in the glass in front of her. A nice meal on the table, even if the company was less than stellar - or rather less to her liking. She found joy in the situation because she was truly grateful for the things that were within her control, or within reach of her control.

Life had been tough up until this point, tough for a while anyway, not always, but tough enough lately. She learned to face each day by simply being grateful for what was right in front of her. Gas in the tank, a roof over her head, some money in the bank, and a few souls she could count on.

Grateful for family and friends and the relationships that both kept her grounded and at the same time a little on edge. For that’s the way life is, isn’t It? Juxtaposed in such a way that it never fully quite makes sense. Highs and lows coming from the same source. Funny how something that can give you pleasure can also cause so much pain.

She sat and thought about this as she stared at the glass of water. In a room full of people yet utterly alone. Which is the way it had mostly been for her entire life.

This woman is me. And she is you – in some ways I think she is all of us.

Gratitude – true gratitude appreciation for what we have (both good and bad) is the key to living an abundant life.

Expectation -  on others, on ourselves -  is what thwarts us.

Yet, with gratitude, we find a peace and a knowing that somehow, some way, everything will be ok.

Despite our circumstances and perhaps the current state of our hearts.

As I sit and reflect this Thanksgiving, I️ am grateful for the pleasures in life and the pain. For the pain is what has brought me closer to myself. That knowing and the love that accompanies it, are priceless.  I’ve come to realize all else stems from that place. All I️ can give. Truly give without pretense and expectation comes from the acceptance of who I️ am, who I️ was created to be, and the divine I️ am to carry out on this earth.

That is me, that is you – that is all of us.
 

Gratitude is a source of life.

So -  grateful every day. Walking it, breathing it in. Knowing that every step, every breath is a reminder of how I belong to this world around me. Even if I️ don’t fully understand it yet. Even if sometimes, it causes me pain.

As I celebrate the harvest with abundance, I think of these things and I am grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving