Very early this morning, I wrapped myself up in a thick blanket and with a cup of coffee in hand, I went outside on the front porch. I sat down in the rocker and gazed out at the gorgeous morning mist settling on the mountain tops. It was a beautiful grey morning as the sun hadn’t yet broken through the clouds. In the distance, I heard the sound that I knew would bring gratitude and joy into my heart… ravens cawing. It is the best time of day to hear them and they always make me grateful to be alive.
After a while, I returned to my room. The heater was on and it too made me grateful. These days, I get cold far too easily. The past two winters, I only had electric heaters and couldn’t run them for long because they upped the electric bill, but now I have a lovely gas heater that I can run on a very low setting and my room warms up so fast. It’s a shame that gas is still cheaper than electric, but on a chilly morning like this one, I am grateful for the gas heat.
And now, I am sitting here eating a warm blueberry bagel with cream cheese and feeling grateful to have food to eat. As I swallow each bite, I am aware that somewhere out there, there is a child starving, a mother unable to feed her family, and that times are hard for everyone, including myself. I barely had money to finish out my month of groceries and had to concede to the estranged one for assistance. Even though he never complains, I don’t like accepting money from him to make it through the month, but on the other hand, I am grateful that he is there on months that I am barely scraping by.
It is Thanksgiving in the US and people all over the country are celebrating what they are thankful for today. For today’s Inspired! I offer a TED talk on Gratitude by Jane Ransom
Do you practice Gratitude on a daily basis, dear readers? If so, share your experiences with us in comments. Let’s discuss.
As my readers may remember, I did a similar post last year, focusing on what a year of Acceptance taught me. I also posted my chosen word for 2015: Gratitude. This post will be along those same themes.
What a year of Gratitude has taught me…
Wow! What an incredible year it has been! By showing gratitude, I have opened myself up to so many blessings this year: love, forgiveness, and spiritual ascension.
When January rolled around, I wasn’t sure what would happen by focusing on Gratitude for a whole year; however, I soon discovered that I was not the only one doing this. People all over Facebook were focusing on this wonderful concept. I will admit that I was a bit skeptical at first, not of the process, but of my willingness to accept (what I learned last year) whatever would come my way as a result.
For the first few months, I kept a daily record of all that I was grateful for. This allowed me to use Gratitude as a habit. After those first few months though, I only wrote down my gratitude list on rare occasions, but I would wake up each morning and verbally state what I was grateful for that day and end each night with what I’d been grateful for that day. This became the practice that I followed for the remainder of the year.
So here are some highlights of my accomplishments throughout 2015, which I believe are a direct result of simply being grateful for life, those around me, and for my own self.
During the month of April, I completed my very first 46,000 word novella. I have mostly been a short fiction and poetry writer, so this was a huge accomplishment for me.
As many of you know, I held a lot of animosity toward my husband and pretty much blamed him for well… everything: mostly our failed marriage and my mental state. Some time in September, I began researching a Hawaiian healing technique called Ho’oponopono. During this time, each night as I went to sleep, I would repeat these words: “I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you.” As I repeated these words, I would get flashes of everything I’d ever done to others or others had done to me. I continued repeating these words, night after night (and still do!). Finally, I took 100% responsibility for my role in my marriage and mental state as well as 100% responsibility for my husband’s role. Forgiveness came easily after that and I am happy to report that he and I are now speaking once again and have moved to a great place in our relationship. We have come to the realization that we are in better places apart and able to help others as a result.
Using this same healing technique, I was able to mend an issue with a friend who I had parted ways with back in June. We are now in a good place again as well.
In late August, I took control of my health by beginning a new way of life and eating. My health has greatly improved as a result of this.
I have been working with my Reiki Master and others with spiritual ascension. I felt the Shift strongly on 11.11.15. It was amazing!
Overall, I have felt love so strongly this entire year. I have let go of negative influences and embraced light and love. Any time anything negative does creep into my life, I shower it with love.
For anyone interested in Ho’oponopono:
And if you would like to listen to Joe Vitale’s book ZeroLimits:
So there you have it… my incredible grateful year!
This has also been a year of research for me. Here are just a few topics that I have been exploring:
Low Carb/Healthy Fats lifestyle
The causes of Diabetes and how to reverse it
Anything WW2
general research on vitamins and minerals
topics related to The Secret
The Kennedys, with a special emphasis on Robert Kennedy
possible courses I want to take on Udemy
alternative health and healing techniques
And now, I give you my word to concentrate on for 2016: ABUNDANCE. And in order to activate this, any time the Universe/Cosmic Hoohah/Muses, etc. present an opportunity to me, instead of asking myself “how will I accomplish this?” I will just say “YES” and allow it to come to me through Inspiration and Abundance. My mantra for this year is: “I Am Abundance. Everything around me and within me is abundant.”
Thank you for spending time with me as I reviewed my grateful year.
Love and Blessings…
*Note* The idea for a Word for the Year actually came from Laurel Regan over at Alphabet Salad back in 2014. She has chosen her new word again this year and has called on others to join in. If you’d like to participate, just create your own blog post and click on the blue froggy below to add yours to the reading list.
It is all about words. Your words are enough to shatter someone's heart. Your words are enough to make a broken heart unbroken. Words have the power to change your life perspectives.
As the Fates Would Have It 