Reflections

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  1. Ose
    Ose
    3 weeks ago

    Around ten years back a very difficult time started after a “wrong decision”, which now seems to turn and with deep gratefulness, life right now opens a path forward on which hope had brought me. It was a time with many moments of despair, much loss and deep sadness, all of which some small inner light of hope and someitimes, outward short flashes of it had carried me onward. I stll feel exhausted, or may be I just realize how exhausting this path was, but in the same time, perceiving that something now really is changing to the better and there is hope that I will be able again to serve my community in ways I may possibly be able to contribute. The light brightens up, for which I feel deely grateful. It is due to dear friends and loved ones, and due also to all of you who so kindly share here. Thank you dearly to all concerned for all your kindness and perseverance and for walking the path together. This made change possible and happening now.

  2. Carol Ann Conner
    Carol Ann Conner
    3 weeks ago

    I share a morning meditation from 2016.
    Morning Med, Sep 30 2016 Hope is a path we create

    Nothing to Hold On To by Pema Chodron
    “This is the picture I prefer: In the middle of the river, with the shoreline out of view, the raft begins to disintegrate. We find ourselves with absolutely nothing to hold on to. From our conventional standpoint, this is scary and dangerous. However, one small shift of perspective will tell us that having nothing to hold on to is liberating. We could have faith that we won’t drown. Holding on to nothing means we can relax with this fluid, dynamic world.”

    Good Morning…What a powerful image Pema has given us from her book, The Places That Scare You. It takes me back to the Summer of 1995. My husband and I had separated after 34 years of marriage. Just to be in his presence made my insides and my outsides shake. I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t sleep. I thought and felt like I couldn’t live with him and I couldn’t live without him. To this day if you were to ask my loving and caring best friend, she would tell you that I almost died that summer. I had failed. The word ‘relax’ was not in my vocabulary.

    What I did do at that time was pray for God’s will in my life and over the years I have come to understand that the definition of God’s will is very simple: It is to accept reality. “What is IS” and fighting it, fleeing from it, denying it just prolongs our suffering and in most cases makes life miserable. It traps us and holds us hostage–sometimes for years. I know this from experience and I also know that no matter how long it takes to wake up, to “shift perspective,” my intention to do God’s will was sincere and life kept and keeps offering me insights and inviting me to partake in the cosmic dance!

    Psychologist, priest and author Alan Watts said it best: Belief clings; Faith lets go. Unless your belief leads you to self-love you will find it hard to truly love others. You will cling and call it love. Unless you learn to trust yourself, you will refuse to join the dance.

    I repeat a quote by Thomas Merton from yesterday’s Morning Med below:

    “For the world and time are the dance of the Lord [Life-giver] in emptiness. The silence of the spheres is the music of a wedding feast. The more we persist in misunderstanding the phenomena of life, the more we analyze them out into strange finalities and complex purposes of our own, the more we will involve ourselves in sadness, absurdity and despair. But it does not matter much, because no despair of ours can alter the reality of things; or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there. Indeed, we are in the midst of it, and it is in the midst of us, for it beats in our very blood, whether we want it to or not.”

    As I shared yesterday, I hope you dance.

    1. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      I love your reflection,
      dear Carol Ann . . .
      you’ve included so many wise observations
      from people I admire.

      This one,
      from Thomas Merton,
      reminds me
      that life
      (and the dance)
      goes on. ♥

      “…because no despair of ours can alter the reality of things; or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there.”

    2. Michele
      Michele
      3 weeks ago

      💗

  3. EnnDee Gee
    EnnDee
    3 weeks ago

    Several years ago I needed to start on blood pressure medication. Then my cholesterol was high and I started another prescription. After that I found out I was pre-diabetic. I really hoped to change the trajectory of my health and I became passionate about reading and understanding nutrition research. I learned about more healthy ways to eat. I am no longer pre-diabetic and my other medications have been reduced. I enjoy preparing new foods and eating them, continuing the passion for healthy living.

    1. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      It all matters,
      dear Enndee . . .
      it all makes a difference.
      Bravo! ♥

      1. EnnDee Gee
        EnnDee
        3 weeks ago

        Thank you very much, Sparrow!

    2. Mary
      Mary
      3 weeks ago

      Well done, Enndee!

      1. EnnDee Gee
        EnnDee
        3 weeks ago

        Thank you so much, Mary!

        1. Mary
          Mary
          3 weeks ago

          ♥️

  4. sparrow51014
    sparrow
    3 weeks ago

    I read in an article today
    by Lauren Jackson
    in the New York Times ‘Believing’ section,
    that when you tell your story of redemption
    or share your journey through the dark night,
    it makes both you
    and the person or people hearing it
    stronger.
    You live more fully in that journey
    and others can feel hope–
    if she can do it
    I can do it.

    I’ve had hope before,
    fed by desperation,
    get me out of many dangerous situations.
    My problem
    was that the hope
    was misplaced into really bad solutions . . .
    sometimes
    solutions
    that seemed at the time
    to be the only option for me.

    Finally,
    when I really knew that I was going to die
    if I didn’t choose another path
    I made the decision to survive.
    Ir was while I was methodically making changes that were working,
    that Hope stepped in
    and showed me
    that there WAS light at the end of the tunnel.
    I heard other people’s stories
    and felt inspired
    to make my own,
    and through the Grace of the Universe
    I am here today,
    still struggling sometimes,
    but free of the demon that kept me down.

    I am grateful to you people,
    and to others who have inspired me
    and continue to lift me up over the years.♥

    1. Patti
      sunnypatti
      3 weeks ago

      You inspire me, Sparrow 🙏🏼💜

      1. sparrow51014
        sparrow
        3 weeks ago

        Thank you,
        dear SunnyPatti . . .
        I think we all inspire each other.
        That is the beauty of this place. ♥

    2. Michele
      Michele
      3 weeks ago

      💗

    3. Mary
      Mary
      3 weeks ago

      ♥️♥️♥️

    4. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      3 weeks ago

      Namaste, dear Sparrow.

  5. Robin Ann
    Robin Ann
    3 weeks ago

    As many of you already know, I was looking for more hope when i found this website. My daughter’s addiction more then 2 years ago became a huge nightmare. Through online support for families with addiction, taking a course called ” Invitation to Change” also for families, my faith and this website helped me navigate through that terrible dark tunnel. Hope & the Good Lord saved my daughter’s life who is now over 2 years sober. Happy Easter All ✝️🐇🐣

    1. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      3 weeks ago

      Namaste, dear Robin Ann and your daughter.

    2. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      . . . no small feat,
      dear Robin Ann.
      Both you and your daughter
      deserve this better life. ♥

  6. pkr29022
    pkr
    3 weeks ago

    “Keep Hope alive”.
    Gotta have Hope.
    Happy Easter to All who celebrate. 🐣🐰🙏🏻
    🕊️🩷

  7. L
    Loc Tran
    3 weeks ago

    Building upon my responses to members, their posts, and mine, I’m happy to announce that I, Loc Tran, won in the Shaq vs Loc battle. Moral of the story, our altar egos are our worst betrayal. They bring a feeling of protection. In hindsight, we come to realize that they take on our bad qualities, charm us and run off of that energy.

  8. D
    Deann
    3 weeks ago

    Here and now.

    Happy Easter to all!

    1. Patti
      sunnypatti
      3 weeks ago

      Thinking of you, Deann 🙏🏼

    2. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      Praying for hope
      and perseverance for you,
      dear Deann . . .
      your time will come. ♥

  9. Michele
    Michele
    3 weeks ago

    I went through a very difficult divorce and ended up moving from PA to FL. I was creating a new and different path for myself.
    This happened a 2nd time when my fiance broke up with me and I had to start all over again.
    Gotta believe in hope, and starting over…. makes one resilient.
    Happy Easter to those who celebrate.
    Wishing everyone a peaceful Sunday.

    1. Patti
      sunnypatti
      3 weeks ago

      Your resiliency comes through in your posts.
      “gotta believe in hope” 💜

    2. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      3 weeks ago

      🌈

    3. pkr29022
      pkr
      3 weeks ago

      Happy Easter dear Michele. Blessings to you. 🐣🌷🕊️🩷

    4. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      Making these changes,
      dear Michele,
      is very brave . . .
      having done it myself
      multiple times,
      I get it
      for sure. ♥

    5. Mary
      Mary
      3 weeks ago

      Moving from PA to FL sounds both creative and brave. ♥️

    6. D
      Deann
      3 weeks ago

      Thank you for sharing.

    7. L
      Loc Tran
      3 weeks ago

      Michele, Happy Easter to you too. I’m very happy for you. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel. We don’t usually see it in the moment.

  10. Patti
    sunnypatti
    3 weeks ago

    It was my worst day, but also my best, as it helped me see the truth that I was not stuck, that I could change my life, that I did not have to continue suffering. I was with my ex and had traveled down a deep dark hole that I wasn’t sure I would be able to get out of. We lived on a creek, and I used to go swim in it alone. It was like a sanctuary to me. When the weather was calm, I’d hold onto a rope attached to the dock and just float, trying to let go of the despair. I had a very dark thought one day, and that was it. I’m so grateful that underneath all of the darkness, the light in me was stronger. Strong enough to let me know that that thought I had was not the real me. And that I did not have to stay where I was, that I could get out of that hole and live a better life.

    And so I did. I prayed and meditated for strength and guidance, and at the end of January 2017, I packed up my things and got out of there. The last few weeks there were really rough, but I got through it. I did the right thing for me, and I worked really hard to heal and make a better life for myself. It was not easy, but I did it. I’m so proud of myself and am so very grateful for the life I am living today. It was a lot of unlearning and changing how I thought, and there are still things I’m working on, but I think while we are living in these human bodies that there will always be something to work on! I am still creating my path forward knowing that “everything is always working out for me” – my mantra for the past couple of years. I wish I’d have picked it up sooner, but it’s never too late to change your life!

    1. Patti
      sunnypatti
      3 weeks ago

      Thank you all for your responses. I feel the love and blessings… and the gold stars ⭐
      💜🕊️🦋✨

    2. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      3 weeks ago

      ❤️

    3. EnnDee Gee
      EnnDee
      3 weeks ago

      Thank you for sharing, Sunnypatti… and thank you for your message that it’s never too late to change your life!

    4. Robin Ann
      Robin Ann
      3 weeks ago

      Thank you for sharing your story and thank you for being here Dear Sunnipatti 🌞

    5. pkr29022
      pkr
      3 weeks ago

      I admire your courage Sunnypatti. 🩷
      Yes, everything is working out for you.
      Blessings to you….🙏🏻

    6. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      I think,
      dear SunnyPatti,
      that you picked it up
      at just the RIGHT time. ♥

    7. D
      Deann
      3 weeks ago

      Thank you for this!

    8. Yram
      Yram
      3 weeks ago

      Sending you hugs and gold stars for believing in you. I love the mantra.

    9. Antoinette88615
      Antoinette
      3 weeks ago

      I love – everything is always working out for me ! Yes 👏🌼 thank you and congratulations 🙌 get out of there ! Water has also been a life saver for me .

      1. L
        Loc Tran
        3 weeks ago

        Antoinette, I resignate with you there.

  11. Antoinette88615
    Antoinette
    3 weeks ago

    I think that when I have been in a deep dark time is whenever my mind goes into itself – my habits of mind of worrying or thinking in general. When I was at rock bottom, I found the meditation method and decided that I had nothing else.
    I had been to so- called religious organisations and studied as well as different philosophies, studied Buddhism deeply and had done many types of different Meditation, because I was a yoga instructor and dug deeply into many paths of transformation.
    When I heard or found the news that nobody had truly the answer that’s when I finally realised that I had nowhere else to turn and my sister in the United States, with her husband, had done this Meditation method and suggested why not try it.
    I decided after a few years of her telling about it I would try it .
    I think when I decided to truly let go that things have started to change. When I knew I couldn’t find answers to my questions about why we live and die that I was truly ready for the answer.
    The universe gave us the method to completely let go of our mind world : karma- the life lived , habits- inherited from the ancestors, and the body.
    So the way out is in and the only way is to let go and keep letting go of my mind world with all my doubts, worries, fears, and anything else the only way out is to completely surrender my false illusionary mind world and to let go completely.
    This has been truly a grateful experience and the last five years I have been practising it has changed my life. I’m not gonna tell anyone but it has been easy. I’m not gonna lie to you and tell you that I think it’s all super easy because looking at yourself in the mirror and actually looking at what’s going on in your mind an a truthful way is downright hard, in fact I used to do anything and everything to try to avoid it whether it would be shopping, love relationships, education and credentials, jobs, family, you name it and I have tried to run after it with full force of achievement . But fortunately, now I can see that this running around in my mind world has been of no avail.
    No matter which way I went – right or whether it be left it was all going to lead me back to this very path this path of letting go and truly surrendering. What can only remain when one has truly let go ?

    1. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      3 weeks ago

      Yes, to all I read Antionette.

      1. Antoinette88615
        Antoinette
        3 weeks ago

        The only thing that can possibly remain is Truth- the Universe. Letting go is the only way to fly . Thanks for being here letting go with me ! We all go together! What would be the point otherwise?

    2. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      So beautifully and clearly put,
      dear Antoinette . . .
      I always value what you write about
      and feel the wisdom in your words.
      Namaste . . . ♥

      1. Antoinette88615
        Antoinette
        3 weeks ago

        Thank you Sparrow . Very kind of you . Namaste to you too 🌼

    3. L
      Loc Tran
      3 weeks ago

      Antoinette, your answer just built on mine. And building on yours, I was able to fall back to sleep for a good 1.5hrs. Once I got up, I was able to record my comedy song request from god called “Loc Tran”(Who Are You?)

    4. Patti
      sunnypatti
      3 weeks ago

      💗

  12. L
    Loc Tran
    3 weeks ago

    First of all, I’m fortunate to be in an easier stretch of my life. Last night, I just came out of one of those weekly to by-weekly family gatherings on my dad’s side. Ngoc didn’t go, because she had a lot of studying to do for the end of the summer. To no one’s surprise, grownups still did their usual babying.
    I was facing a head and heart conflict. My head was able to accept the love older adults were giving me even if it was different from what I was looking for. Knowing the backstory on how my mom was being my gardian angel by seeing how I was hurt from the aggressive and Big Island girls, as mentioned before, and indirectly told her friends and extended members to make sure I was well protected helped ease the pain of the heart. My heart screamed “This is embarrassing! I’m a grown-ass adult!” Please excuse my language. I try to use that language as little as possible, especially being a Christian. God is forgiving but will still encourage me to use that language as little as possible. I was feeling frustration and embarrassment.
    My altar ego took over. I called my buddies up and left voice mails goofing around impersonating Shaq. As I came home, I made another song for him called “Most Dominant Ever”(My Buddy, Shaq.)That felt pleasurable, relieving, but also something didn’t feel right at the time, because I’m Loc Tran, not Shaquille O’Neal. As I’m typing this, I can feel my head and heart coming together.
    God woke me up at 2am and lectured me on staying true to myself. I needed that. He calls us up on the spot. We must stay ready. He’s forgiving and super compassionate. It’s why he’s such a loving god we go too no matter the weather.
    My piano passion returning is brand new. It’s just been a week. I’m also still new to the game with Christianity too. The gameplan is to be patient and trust god. I know he’s working on and has big things stored for me.
    As far as Shaq goes, this brings me up to Antoinette. She talks a lot about letting go. I’m with her on her journey by learning to let go of Shaq and my Locster business venturing altar ego buddies to live as “Loc Tran” through the good, the bad, and the evil.

  13. Joseph
    Joseph McCann
    3 weeks ago

    DESPAIR, some 4 plus years ago during the darkest time of my addiction to alcohol led me to HOPE “_ my passion for what is possible _”. I did not know then, that it was my passion for what was and is possible to open a path forward from the abyss of addiction. That path led me to this organization of the concept of gratefulness as a lifestyle. Namaste to ‘hope’ and its opposite ‘despair’.

    Our daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren traveled to Colorado Springs from Texas to say their goodbyes to Ben’s dying grandmother. They are stopping by for the night, Easter night, on their way home. The impermanence of life has brought the continuing spark of life, offspring of our offspring. A gift on a day that commemorates a day, many years past, brought about by death and rebirth. May all who read this have enough on this Easter of 2026. Peace, Love & Light.

    1. pkr29022
      pkr
      3 weeks ago

      Happy Easter dear Joseph…🐣🌷🕊️🩷

    2. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      3 weeks ago

      So appropriate,
      dear Joseph,
      as Easter celebrates both life and death
      and Rebirth as well . . .
      may your family
      be twice blessed today
      with love . . . ♥

    3. Yram
      Yram
      3 weeks ago

      Blessings back to you and your family.

    4. Michele
      Michele
      3 weeks ago

      Happy Easter to you too Joseph. Enjoy time with the fam.

    5. Antoinette88615
      Antoinette
      3 weeks ago

      Thank you for sharing this deep heart reflection Joseph happy Easter to you and congratulations on your sobriety. You are enough and you are a bright treasure to have here on this website. I always enjoy reading your post. Thank you for planting hope and more fertiliser to this website so that we all can share in this journey.

      1. Patti
        sunnypatti
        3 weeks ago

        So very well said, Antoinette. I agree with you!
        And thank you, Joseph 🙏🏼

        1. Antoinette88615
          Antoinette
          3 weeks ago

          💞

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