Day 38 in Gratitude

My oldest son is expecting his first child and I couldn't be happier. I adore the woman in his life. She is beautiful, grounded, full of love and makes my son happy. Within three months they will bring a miracle angel into this world to bless us all and for that, I am grateful.

I have wonderful friends. I know I blog about that topic quite a bit but I'm okay with that. Over the course of these 365 days, I'm sure I'll blog over and over again how thankful I am to have my friends in my life. They make me smile, they challenge me, they love me unconditionally, they make me feel whole. You know who you are - Thank you - I love you!

I am grateful that I continually stretch myself to grow and become more of my true self than ever before. We're all conditioned by others in our lives; teachers, parents, loved ones, friends. We are born with dreams and aspirations and sometimes those around us will tell us those dreams are silly, or we should focus on what can be accomplished, or we should take the safe route. I get so charged when I hear someone tell me to dream the impossible. To stretch beyond the imaginable, to reach for that which I never thought possible. Those are the people I want close to me in my life. That manner of thinking is what I want to convey to others. I have always believed that we are here for so much more than what we end up settling for. Why? I am glad I keep asking myself that question.

What are you grateful for?

Day 35 in Gratitude

As Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree waiting for enlightenment, two musicians were arguing about the sound they were trying to get from their stringed instrument and distracted him. He was weak and tired from not eating or taking care of his body, but he wanted to see what was causing the commotion, and so he dragged himself closer to hear them. One musician would tighten the strings, and the other would cry, "Not too tight because you will break the string." The other would counter by saying, "Not too loose because the string will only buzz and rattle - in the middle is just right." The master heard the wisdom contained in their argument and declared, "That's it! That's the key...perfect balance!" Not too tight yet not too loose, not too high yet not too low. The middle path is the way!

For the past 11 days I have worked without a day off. Today, I could have gone into work, exhausted and unproductive, but I could have gone in nonetheless. I chose to stay home and rest providing myself a well deserved respite. Too much work leaves me lifeless and too much rest leaves me unmotivated. I chose to strive for perfect balance! I am thankful for taking today to rest and recharge.

Over the past few months I have been trying to develop the capacity to observe rather than analyze. This includes observing people rather than analyzing, observing situations rather than analyzing, and observing conversation rather than analyzing. This is not an easy task (and many times requires me to bite my tongue) but one that I believe will only help me grow mentally and spiritually. I am a work in progress but for that alone, I am grateful.

My husband and I have great conversation. Today was no exception. We're both dreamers by nature and sometimes can come up with the most outrageously decadent dreams! I love that about our relationship and I am grateful to have him as a partner.

What are you grateful for?