I hope this finds you enjoying your health and connection with loved ones this Thanksgiving!
After the sudden loss of a friend’s life recently, I am extra sensitive to what an incredible gift it is to be alive! And what immense joy I feel when I realize that my chosen profession is in the service of life!
And to quote my friend who just lost his wife, “Savor the special moments with the ones you love, it could all be gone in a blink of an eye.”
So, I am now inspired to ask, “How can I can be grateful for everything? Bad stuff happens in life, and it doesn’t feel good… so how can I still be grateful for it?”
I have learned over the years that if I can slow down, close my eyes, and be curious and welcoming to the uncomfortable, yucky, even painful places, that there is wisdom there.
Underneath an aching neck might be a little voice that says “please don’t forget to speak your truth.”
Or a sad place in my heart might show me a vision of a loved one hurting which encourages me to reach out and connect.
Or my aching back might say “can you just schedule a massage for yourself” and once I have that massage scheduled, it softens a bit.
Or the aching pain of grief… even that pain can open you up to gratitude for the love for the person who was so dear to your heart… and to the miracle of life itself.
There might be a strong part that speaks up with resistance about not wanting to sit with these painful places… and you can welcome that part too… and eventually find gratitude for it too! If you didn’t experience pain, your body would have no way to communicate with you that something is wrong…
And almost 100% of the time, I find that after I sit with these places, I feel grateful. I feel grateful that these parts came into my awareness and for the spaciousness that I feel once the part that is resisting these feelings has relaxed.
When I am practicing being grateful for everything, it is easier for me to find gratitude for my relatives that I might have normally gotten irritated with. I have more spaciousness in my being for myself, which means that I have more spaciousness in my being for others to be as they are.
Aaaaaaahhh, space feels so good!
If you’re feeling like there isn’t enough space within you for yourself or someone around you, try saying these:
