Who or What are You Secretly Thankful For This Year?

There are times in life when we are blessed with circumstances that at first glance seem catastrophes, obstacles, disasters and major flops. We think that we’ve just been dealt the most sour hand, that we have just been confronted with the most disappointing betrayal and any sense of pride that we had up until that point has been shattered. And we’re right, in some way. Life as we know it, is forever changed. But just as we wipe away the tears that ironically usually last less than 30 seconds at a time regardless of the immense pain we may feel, our eyes inevitably open up to a whole new world. And THAT is a good thing! Unless of course you want to continue being stuck in circumstances that don’t truly support who you are, don’t honor your essence and that don’t have your best interest in mind for what could be a truly fantastic and purposeful life.

What Changes are Going On in Your World?

How do you prefer to feel heartache? Slowly or over time? For example, pretend that you have a wonderful and exquisite 16-piece china set that you totally love and treasure. Would you rather have 16 different kitchen accidents for 16 pieces to be destroyed in their own way and make you suffer a loss 16 times? Or would you rather just drop the entire darn set once, cry for 30 seconds and get over it? I would say that the majority of us would just prefer the set to be shattered once. However, when we face what to us may seem catastrophic losses, we chicken out. Sadly, some of you don’t realize that the earthquake, tornado, tsunami and hail that you experience simultaneously is something that even your MOST sabotaging thoughts and patterns couldn’t have created… and that you’ve been “spared” multiple prolonged painful experiences that drag over the span of several years and/or decades in order to just experience the china set shattering once, pick up the pieces once and then move on peacefully without breaking a single glass in yeeeears. We think that we can’t handle life’s letdowns. But you know what? You CAN. As the saying goes, what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.

So, regardless of whether you’ve experienced little losses lately or HUGE losses, little pains or HUGE pains, little disappointments or HUGE disappointments, isolated negativity or in one unified and glorious shebang, be thankful. Maybe you’re one of the “lucky” people that only get little negativity and have a generously glorious life. Or maybe you’re the type of person who can manifest the sympathy of a higher power to face one difficult, but single downpour of crap that forces you to soften the grip of what is negatively affecting you and you’re so foolishly holding on to and acts as a laxative that allows you to release all your crap and the pain, waiting, suffering, shame and guilt that goes along with it.

You must let the autumn leaves of your life fall as they need to in order for your life to showcase its magnificence and its beauty.

 

Regardless of which reality you’ve been a part of, KNOW that what you experienced was so that you can learn a lesson from this earth school that life represents. Some of you may resist the idea that life is in fact a school, but note that if you aren’t learning from the lessons that the Universe is HELPING you to notice, the lessons will keep on repeating themselves in different circumstances, until you learn the them. Instead of seeing this as unfair or tedious, focus your attention on trying to be an A+ student, and accept the Universe’s help in being one. And why not? Borrow its notes once in a while, you might find purposeful treasures that you hadn’t contemplated before, and wouldn’t discover otherwise.

Whether you believe anything that I’m saying or not is irrelevant. After all, you create your own reality. The important thing is that you’re here. Alive. Powerful. Standing. You may have a scar on your knee, but you have a smile on your face. And you know what? The saying that there is always light at the end of the tunnel is also true. Even the most prolonged crisis has an end. One day. For every one. Somehow. Hopefully the end is a happy one. And even when you think that there’s no way out, that nobody cares, that nobody knows, that other people have greater problems that deserve more attention, and you question why these types of things “always” happen to you,  you’re not alone. So smile, and feel my hug. Better yet, feel the hug of the Universe that is reassuring YOU that no matter what, if you listen to your intuition and try to seek the healthiest way out of the situation that you’re in, things will be alright. Really! Don’t take my word for it, though. Try it.

Blessings to be Thankful For This Thanksgiving

We can dwell on your issues, try to convince you about their potential blessings in disguise that they represent and even brainstorm solutions to your issues. However, if you want to see some things start to shift NOW for the better (in your mind and in what you attract into your life, mainly), start with giving thanks RIGHT NOW for what you have. Give thanks for the good things and give life for the challenges because the sooner you learn from the lessons that the challenges are trying to teach you, the sooner you can move on to a hopefully much easier and less painful lesson. Repeat this gratitude exercise daily or as often as you realistically can (I know, I know, life gets in the way). Let this become you’re catharsis, which the dictionary states is “the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions.” By cleansing your mind of the negative, and projecting thanks towards that which is there to make you happy or make you stronger, you will obtain a greater sense of relief. It’s as though you and the Universe will help you chip away the excess marble… sometimes softly, sometimes not so softly, so that the end, both you and your life are as much of a masterpiece as they can be.

So think about it… what are you thankful for? If you’re drawing a blank, analyze if these examples below may be some things you’re thankful for. Then think of some of your own.

• Your family, those people that you can REALLY call family, who may seem distant, but who are always there, a phone call, a text or a social media post away. The blessings of a family include the newest and youngest members of the family who make you forget about your woes, the most senior members of the family (whom, if they’re admirable people, have a lot of wisdom of the universe that you can learn from if you’d only stop to really listen to them) and everybody in-between
• Your friends, those near and far, former and actual, who valued you or had the misfortune of failing to value you despite you knowing how special you are 😉 yet taught you, without knowing, who your friends truly are. Those ‘friends’ who are just a number on your social media profiles or those you really want to spend time with you face to face to share what they’re doing lately, their inspirations, their physical photos and their interests, and what’s going on in their circles
• Your life and all the positivity it has given you– much more than you can even wrap your brain, heart and soul around
• Your dreams, both accomplished and soon to be accomplished, if you trust and put the hustle and backbone in them and in you that’s needed
• Your essence— for being you, period
• Your possibilities and the expansiveness and elation that that realization evokes in your soul and imagination deep down
• Your strides so far (they’ve been great by the way =) )… hopefully you’re still on the right track, and if you’ve gotten off course, get back on, PLEASE, for the love of whomever you most value and wish the world for
• Your health that is unfailing and if it has failed it’s simply as a request for you to pay better attention to yourself so that you can have the perfect health you’re meant to have
• Being able to enjoy your favorite meal this Thanksgiving or any day, for that matter
• Having people who want you sitting with them at a Thanksgiving table
• For all of the lessons that you’ve learned, the hard or the easy way
• For being part of this human race, part of your “species family”, that is some inexplicable way is connected to you and you to it, if you simply stopped to notice and feel in your heart
• For being able to be loved and for having the capacity to love
• For seeing the wonder, growth and evolution of the people or pets you cherish the most.
• For all the good causes in the world attempting to straighten this place up
• For all the lifelines that God, the Universe or whomever you believe in gave you unconditionally. These lifelines have given you a greater sense of peace that allows you to be more present in your life today.

Now It’s Your Turn to Share What You’re Thankful For

There are many ways to ponder upon what you’re thankful for. Some of you may prefer to pray, others to meditate, others to do yoga or tai chi, or simply take a walk to think. Regardless of your preferred method, instead of just thinking about the things you’re grateful for, jot them down in your own physical journal/diary or in the storm-proof electronic Penzu Journals that you can get at 20% off and that you can keep under “lock and key” in an encrypted online environment and be able to access from anywhere using the internet or a web-enabled mobile device. The power of the written word is enormous. And, writing down the things that you’re grateful for will allow you to consolidate them as things that you’re truly thankful for and the Universe will reward you with even more things to write on your journal. Why? Because what we focus on, expands.

If you’re willing, share what you’re thankful for below. Can’t wait to read and be inspired by the many things that all of us are so blessed to have, that are right there in front of us, but that we so often fail to see! Happy Thanksgiving Day today and always!