“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.” Melody Beattie
Thanksgiving weekend for me is a chance to hangout and catch up with rest, refresh and rejuvenate and of course plenty of food to fill the belly. I try to live my life in gratitude every day not just one weekend during the year.
To live one’s life in gratitude also means living your life with a wholesome perspective. If your view of the world is always negative, never admitting to faults, never picking yourself up from your falls, then you are approaching your life with a pessimistic, cynical and gloomy view leaving you open to disease and creating havoc with your spirit.
To live with gratitude doesn’t mean that every day you have to be the happiest person on the planet, it doesn’t mean that you never grumble, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have negativity in your life, and it certainly doesn’t mean that human relationships are not a source of frustration. We all live with these emotions and frustrations, but how the individual approaches and reacts to life’s struggles is where gratitude can take hold and change one’s perspective ultimately creating a fulfilled and happy life.
I am an empath and the very nature of an empath makes it difficult for me to deal with negativity as I wear other’s emotions as they are my own. As a child and a young woman I did not understand this chameleon ability and at times thought I had lost my way as I didn’t understand why I was so chaotic in my emotional makeup. Once I understood that I was taking on other’s emotional state, I changed my approach and looked inward to gain a better understanding of my spirit. I discovered many things about myself and I believe others can discover the same. The most critical discovery for me was that I was stronger than I realized. I believe this to be true for everyone, I think if we connect to our spirit, or our inner child, I believe we all have strength beyond our dreams. I discovered that I have the ability to walk with light rather than walk with darkness and I also discovered that when you walk with light you attract light and the same happens when you walk with darkness you attract darkness.
When I walk into a dark room my senses are closed, cautious, on guard, insecure and hesitant. However, when I walk into a room filled with light my senses are open, happy, free, confident and assured. It is possible to always be filled with light even when facing darkness and the best place to start is with gratitude.
Today we have more technology than ever and most of us fill our space with commitments and agendas and we allow our phones and computers to distract us from the very essential elements of life. We don’t take time to just sit and talk about nothing in particular, we don’t take the time to walk with nature and we don’t take the time to notice our breath. It is vital to our emotional and our physical state to take the time to relax, breath and give thanks for what we have today and give blessings to the many bright lights that fill our lives leaving the darkness behind.
To all my Canadian friends and family, I wish you a Thanksgiving weekend filled with light and gratitude.
MOMWHEARINGLOSS 