teddiebears
11-26-2008, 03:10 PM
Hello everyone! :)
oops - I used the wrong date in my title -- SORRY!
Are you all keeping warm??? Temps have been lower than normal for this time of year here - but no measurable snow, so I'm not going to complain, not too loudly anyway! ;)
I did it! I will be completely out of my rented storage unit by December 5th. It will be nice to have that little extra cash in my pocket each month. :D Not to mention how good it feels to have finally finished sorting through the things I had left (for the past 8 years) from my mom's estate!! I am relieved (and grateful) to be done with it all. There were many of her things - as well as my own things - that were simply no longer necessary to keep. :rolleyes:
Here's a reading --
You are reading from the book Touchstones
If the only prayer you say in your whole life is "thank you," that would suffice. --Meister Eckhart
"An attitude of gratitude," we sometimes hear, will help us on our path. There certainly are enough things for us to worry about, grieve over, and complain about. They have their place. But as we mature and no longer use addictive escapes, we learn that joy can exist side by side with grief. Gratitude is a tonic for our self-pity. Saying "thank you" actually opens us to receive more of life's blessings, which sit there waiting for us to notice.
In a pleasant moment we can look around and say, "Aren't we lucky!" That's a kind of prayer, and it connects us with our Higher Power. No matter how painful or worrisome a day may be, we can be thankful for our growth. Gratitude is so simple we sometimes dismiss it while looking for a more complicated answer in our lives. We can say "thank you" for all the simple things like trees, cool air, food, and love between people. It is a risk to be so grateful. Who will be in control? Perhaps God.
God, thank you for all that comes to me without my efforts.
~~~~~~~~
As I read this, I felt it was very appropriate as we approach Thanksgiving -- the day set aside for us ALL to say "thank you".
"But as we mature and no longer use addictive escapes, we learn that joy can exist side by side with grief." This is SO true! At some point in my life - several years ago - I began to realize that I could experience both thankfulness and joy while I was also experiencing sadness and grief. And I also came to understand that this is how my life was meant to unfold. I was not meant to feel only one or the other at any given time. I was truly meant to allow myself to feel all things together. It was not productive for me to exclude any one feeling while feeling another one. What helped the most was learning that even in tragic times, I could find something -- just any one little thing-- that I could be thankful for and that it felt better to focus more of my energy on that ONE thing, than to complain and/or focus on worry, grief, and/or sadness. ;)
"Saying "thank you" actually opens us to receive more of life's blessings, which sit there waiting for us to notice." When I can remember to do this (on a regular basis), I have been more blessed. And I've also found more things in my every day life that are true blessings, as well. Things I might have otherwise missed! :)
"Gratitude is so simple we sometimes dismiss it while looking for a more complicated answer in our lives."
This is true for me!!! ;) I have often spent (no, wasted) a lot of time looking for a more complicated answer for myself. If need to remember that expressing my gratitude really IS quite a simple 'answer' to many of the issues I'm dealing with. :rolleyes:
So - on this Thanksgiving eve - it was very nice to be reminded that it's good for me to express my gratitude regardless of how big or how small the thing is that I'm grateful for...... :)
Here's one example -- I am thankful for this forum and all who post here. :)
oops - I used the wrong date in my title -- SORRY!
Are you all keeping warm??? Temps have been lower than normal for this time of year here - but no measurable snow, so I'm not going to complain, not too loudly anyway! ;)
I did it! I will be completely out of my rented storage unit by December 5th. It will be nice to have that little extra cash in my pocket each month. :D Not to mention how good it feels to have finally finished sorting through the things I had left (for the past 8 years) from my mom's estate!! I am relieved (and grateful) to be done with it all. There were many of her things - as well as my own things - that were simply no longer necessary to keep. :rolleyes:
Here's a reading --
You are reading from the book Touchstones
If the only prayer you say in your whole life is "thank you," that would suffice. --Meister Eckhart
"An attitude of gratitude," we sometimes hear, will help us on our path. There certainly are enough things for us to worry about, grieve over, and complain about. They have their place. But as we mature and no longer use addictive escapes, we learn that joy can exist side by side with grief. Gratitude is a tonic for our self-pity. Saying "thank you" actually opens us to receive more of life's blessings, which sit there waiting for us to notice.
In a pleasant moment we can look around and say, "Aren't we lucky!" That's a kind of prayer, and it connects us with our Higher Power. No matter how painful or worrisome a day may be, we can be thankful for our growth. Gratitude is so simple we sometimes dismiss it while looking for a more complicated answer in our lives. We can say "thank you" for all the simple things like trees, cool air, food, and love between people. It is a risk to be so grateful. Who will be in control? Perhaps God.
God, thank you for all that comes to me without my efforts.
~~~~~~~~
As I read this, I felt it was very appropriate as we approach Thanksgiving -- the day set aside for us ALL to say "thank you".
"But as we mature and no longer use addictive escapes, we learn that joy can exist side by side with grief." This is SO true! At some point in my life - several years ago - I began to realize that I could experience both thankfulness and joy while I was also experiencing sadness and grief. And I also came to understand that this is how my life was meant to unfold. I was not meant to feel only one or the other at any given time. I was truly meant to allow myself to feel all things together. It was not productive for me to exclude any one feeling while feeling another one. What helped the most was learning that even in tragic times, I could find something -- just any one little thing-- that I could be thankful for and that it felt better to focus more of my energy on that ONE thing, than to complain and/or focus on worry, grief, and/or sadness. ;)
"Saying "thank you" actually opens us to receive more of life's blessings, which sit there waiting for us to notice." When I can remember to do this (on a regular basis), I have been more blessed. And I've also found more things in my every day life that are true blessings, as well. Things I might have otherwise missed! :)
"Gratitude is so simple we sometimes dismiss it while looking for a more complicated answer in our lives."
This is true for me!!! ;) I have often spent (no, wasted) a lot of time looking for a more complicated answer for myself. If need to remember that expressing my gratitude really IS quite a simple 'answer' to many of the issues I'm dealing with. :rolleyes:
So - on this Thanksgiving eve - it was very nice to be reminded that it's good for me to express my gratitude regardless of how big or how small the thing is that I'm grateful for...... :)
Here's one example -- I am thankful for this forum and all who post here. :)