“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
– Melody Beattie
Gratitude: The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness
Today's theme was gratitude and I hope that remains the theme every day. For you and for me.
Tonight I watched the sunset over the ocean in Del Mar, California. The picture is the one I took today. I spoke out loud with my friend the things that I was grateful for. We played a game where we went back and forth and I could have gone on for hours. What am I NOT grateful for? My list went something like this: I am grateful to be sober. I am grateful to have choices. I am grateful for two arms and two legs that allow me to move about freely, to work out, to run, hop, jump, skip, and walk. I am grateful for my family, I am grateful for my amazing friends and all the friends I have yet to meet. I am grateful for my job. I am grateful that I wake up every morning and I love who I am. I am grateful for my life in Boston. I am grateful for the sun. I am grateful for yoga. I am grateful for a safe place to go home to, for a roof over my head and food in my stomach and clean water to drink. I am grateful for YOU. I am grateful to love, to give love and receive love...
My life is unbelievable today. Not because of the “things” I have, not because of money in the bank and not because of anything I have achieved. My life is unbelievable because I wake up every day without shame, or regret, or dread. I wake up every day happy to be who I am, excited to be living my life! I aim to be of service to others, to be a light in the world and I know today that my purpose is to give back what has been freely given to me.
My life has not been easy, and it's not meant to be. Where is the growth in "easy?" There is none. Life is meant to be messy and difficult and challenging because it is in these moments that you grow. For as much messiness and difficulty, there is just as much, if not MORE, love, joy, happiness, and excitement. Every single one of my experiences has led me to become the woman that I am today. I believe today that everything that has happened to me up until this point is because God wanted me to grow, become strong and then be able to share it. To inspire, empower, encourage and motivate others to courageously create the life of their dreams. Because I am living mine.
Today's theme was gratitude and I hope that remains the theme every day. For you and for me.
Tonight I watched the sunset over the ocean in Del Mar, California. The picture is the one I took today. I spoke out loud with my friend the things that I was grateful for. We played a game where we went back and forth and I could have gone on for hours. What am I NOT grateful for? My list went something like this: I am grateful to be sober. I am grateful to have choices. I am grateful for two arms and two legs that allow me to move about freely, to work out, to run, hop, jump, skip, and walk. I am grateful for my family, I am grateful for my amazing friends and all the friends I have yet to meet. I am grateful for my job. I am grateful that I wake up every morning and I love who I am. I am grateful for my life in Boston. I am grateful for the sun. I am grateful for yoga. I am grateful for a safe place to go home to, for a roof over my head and food in my stomach and clean water to drink. I am grateful for YOU. I am grateful to love, to give love and receive love...
My life is unbelievable today. Not because of the “things” I have, not because of money in the bank and not because of anything I have achieved. My life is unbelievable because I wake up every day without shame, or regret, or dread. I wake up every day happy to be who I am, excited to be living my life! I aim to be of service to others, to be a light in the world and I know today that my purpose is to give back what has been freely given to me.
My life has not been easy, and it's not meant to be. Where is the growth in "easy?" There is none. Life is meant to be messy and difficult and challenging because it is in these moments that you grow. For as much messiness and difficulty, there is just as much, if not MORE, love, joy, happiness, and excitement. Every single one of my experiences has led me to become the woman that I am today. I believe today that everything that has happened to me up until this point is because God wanted me to grow, become strong and then be able to share it. To inspire, empower, encourage and motivate others to courageously create the life of their dreams. Because I am living mine.
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life, it turns what we have into enough and MORE.” The FULLNESS of life! What is life about to you? What does it mean to you? If you are not grateful for what you have, it doesn't matter what MORE you get, it will never be enough! I never stopped to enjoy the things I had been creating or achieving, when I was drinking; I never paused and thanked the spirit of the universe for all that had been given to me.
So much of my life I focused on all the things I DIDN’T have, or instead of celebrating the success of others in my life I just got angry or jealous about how that wasn’t happening to me. 3 years ago gratitude was NEVER a part of my vocabulary. And now today, when I become fearful, or insecure, I can change my focus and recognize all the gifts that I have in my life, how blessed I am, how honored I am to be in the lives of my friends and that I am going to be able to coach and spend the rest of my life dedicated to being of service. That I want EVERYONE to succeed, everyone to be living their dream, everyone to wake up fulfilled and living a life of purpose.
When I focus on what I do have, when I focus on where it is that I am going, the world looks a lot different. You can change your focus in an instant, in a SECOND. So pause, reflect, and recognize all of the gifts in your life. Be grateful for everything that you do have, everything that is to come, I am grateful for possibilities and I am grateful for YOU, for your participation, your creativity, your magnificence, your spirit, your contribution to the world by just being exactly who you are. May you find the light within you today and always. YOU are the one you have been waiting for.
So much of my life I focused on all the things I DIDN’T have, or instead of celebrating the success of others in my life I just got angry or jealous about how that wasn’t happening to me. 3 years ago gratitude was NEVER a part of my vocabulary. And now today, when I become fearful, or insecure, I can change my focus and recognize all the gifts that I have in my life, how blessed I am, how honored I am to be in the lives of my friends and that I am going to be able to coach and spend the rest of my life dedicated to being of service. That I want EVERYONE to succeed, everyone to be living their dream, everyone to wake up fulfilled and living a life of purpose.
When I focus on what I do have, when I focus on where it is that I am going, the world looks a lot different. You can change your focus in an instant, in a SECOND. So pause, reflect, and recognize all of the gifts in your life. Be grateful for everything that you do have, everything that is to come, I am grateful for possibilities and I am grateful for YOU, for your participation, your creativity, your magnificence, your spirit, your contribution to the world by just being exactly who you are. May you find the light within you today and always. YOU are the one you have been waiting for.
In love and service,
I am grateful for this blog post. Namaste <3 Beautiful heart. Beautiful spirit. Light up the world!
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