What positive changes have I noticed in my life since beginning a gratitude practice?
Over the years
it has become obvious
to even a hard-headed and stubborn person as myself
that if I don’t do something
nothing will happen,
and that there are consequences
to everything I do or don’t do.
Being thankful
and practicing gratitude
has gotten me through many dark days and nights.
I have learned to do the work.
If I don’t apply myself
the results will not be positive.
I tried an active gratitude practice
as a last, last resort,
and forced myself
to put a real effort into it,
even on days
when I felt there was nothing to be grateful for . . .
but I discovered,
that if I looked,
there was always,
always
something.
Unexpectedly,
I got results,
and getting those results
inspired me to practice more,
and so my practice
grew into a Lifestyle,
and has become my anchor.
The sun may not shine tomorrow,
things might not go my way,
the soup might burn,
I might be robbed . . .
my house might burn,
but I’m pretty sure
that tomorrow
the birds will sing,
and if I sit with it,
be present to the gift,
I might find that,
as strange as it may sound,
I am thankful for the song of the birds. ♥
I have a better focus on the things that matter the most. Last night I went to see the movie” Heaven in stone and glass” which only had a few nights available to see. Part of me wanted to just not go because I would be driving into Providence and parking in a parking garage but I went and it was so worthwhile. I have always loved catherdrals and stain glass windows. I was pleasantly enlighted.✨
I have noticed it just is a lot harder to be unhappy. It is a lot harder to focus on an issue whether than the solution. I tend to always look at the glass half full, I tend to worry less, I tend to appreciate every piece of life.
I think the biggest change is that I can pull myself out of negativity and anxiety by focusing on all that I have. Another change is that I appreciate the quiet moments more. Just being in my living room in the quiet, I can feel grateful. So nothing even needs to happen for me to feel joy.
It’s easier to perceive things to be grateful about, and to find joy. I particularly like that I can find and verbalize gratefulness in the moment in relation with others.
Practicing gratefulness has enriched my mindfulness: Stopping to observe, and also to appreciate. When I practice gratefulness I am better at showing up at the kind of person I want to be.
This site has provided consistency with the morning check-in, and all of you have provided a community I value. Thank you.
So many positive changes, the greatest being the ability to trust Life and to trust myself and the ability to respond to it instead of react. It has helped me find the true and powerful meaning of willingness. It has helped me maintain and open mind and open heart. I love today’s quote from Peace Pilgrim: “It isn’t more light we need, it’s putting into practice what light we already have. When we do that, wonderful things will happen within our lives and within our world.” The world needs more gratitude and less bullying.
Today’s poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer reminded me of the importance of being willing to be vulnerable so love can grow. She’s not saying “Be a doormat.” She is reminding me not to turn my life situation into a problem but to let my agape love grow through it all.
Dear Heart,
I remember those months
when you were naked,
when the pain was so great
and you were so tender
not even the flimsiest
slip of protection would stay on.
This was how I learned
your true state—
raw, porous, vulnerable—
the only place in which love grows.
How did I ever think
I could protect you from pain?
Why did I ever believe
that that was the goal?
As if breaking is not inevitable.
As if loving doesn’t
always involve a flood,
a drought, a drowning,
a dearth, a blessing.
Now, no matter how many
layers I try to wrap you in—
there is no not knowing
that your emptiest, loneliest,
places are also worthy
of love.
Now, I have learned to be grateful
that even when I wrap you
in an armor of busy-ness
or coats of competency,
you are always naked underneath.
Carol, I feel I can learn about willingness from you. I’m reacting to pain today … but I am also responding to my reaction by beginning a journal to help ID the cause. Then I’m reacting by feeling despondent, then responding with self-compassion. Seems like an endless cycle. But as Rosemerry suggested, there is no possibility in protecting oneself from pain–any kind of pain. So if it’s here, how can I be willing? I am pondering this today.
Drea, I’m so sorry you are in pain. I hope you can be self compassionate. A friend of mine who suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis use to say that she brought it to the foot of the cross. That image reminds me that sometimes all I can do when in pain is surrender. I don’t have to like it or rise above it. I do my best to relax and release, to let it be. Sending loving energy your way.
Oh boy. Practicing gratitude has been so good for me. Taking some time to ponder, is such a gift.
Even a few minutes of reflection, is so good for me.
It has helped to bring some balance to, my otherwise, negative and pessimistic attitude.
Stopping for a moment just to take in the gifts all around me, is now a normal and regular occurrence.
And I am so grateful for this community. 🙏
For the most part, by living and practicing gratitude I am able to give a wide berth to situations that would evoke verbal frustration in the past; such as while driving. Update on banking scenario from yesterday. A phone call to the manager provided verbal assistance and info that she’d make some phone calls to higher ups about the scamming. I’m grateful for her assistance and yes still frustrated by her informing me she doesn’t have the authority to close overdraft (of $500) though I was told by two supervisors she “could” resolve it. The saga continues and I’m needing to detach. And wait for her next phone call. Thank you supportive people here!💕🌻☮️
Oh my, I’m feeling quite irritated about all of this, and I’m not the person who has to deal with it. This sounds like such a trying situation. I hope that all will be resolved soon. Sending love to you, Carla. 🩵
Since I practice gratitude, my view of unwanted occurrences in my life shifts from “it’s all good” and “it’s all bad” to “there are good and bad in everything.” Not all or nothing.
Thank you so much, to everyone, participants and to those who keep the site alive.
My Ngoc, “Loc Gets Straight to the Point” is polarizing with either high risk or high reward. All or nothing thinking is bad taste. It can look that way, but one must look beyond the surface. Trust between 2 people is being able to keep it 100 with each other without having to go back to dot is and cross ts. It’s that “You say 1, I get 10” dynamic.
I feel much more grounded in the present moment than ever before due to meditation and letting go great- fullness flowers and blossoms. I’m grateful for having a method that nurtures letting go which is natures flow. It’s 100% natural for a method to this enlightenment of the origins undying, everlasting and unchanging foundation which is our birthright. Without a way home to this everlasting freedom of mind/body we would be lost in our mind world of pictures/ falseness.
For me due to this natural flow I’m able to completely surrender this false self and BECOME one.
Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity I’m eternally grateful.
Good morning from Kingman AZ. One of the many positives changes has been relinquishment of my slavery to alcohol. I discovered Br. David and this site through a link an addiction therapist gave me to an 8-week course from Palouse Mindfulness. I have not stopped ‘showing up’, being present for what is, since. I also will echo Michele’s “how everyone uplifts each other on here”. Gratefulness grows and expands through the collective wisdom and essences of all who participate. For this I Am grateful.
On a side note, we drove through rain from home until Grants NM and it rained again in Flagstaff. The parched southwest has received beneficial moisture from the sky. Agua es Vida.
Peace, Love & Light.
I was listening to an interview today,
dear Joseph,
with a man who let go of self-medicating
to make his life more bearable,
with alcohol and tobacco.
During the course of questions
he commented
that he still self-medicates
(as he believes we all do),
but with positive addictions,
like doing what he loves
and getting his high
from good outcomes . . .
made me think.
Perhaps we all need a buffer
to give us grace
in a sometimes frightening world (?)
Maybe it’s gardening for me . . .
maybe it’s your ranch for you . . .
ps. I’ve happy that you were able to feel some rain on your face
in Flagstaff.
Agua es vida. ♥
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What positive changes have I noticed in my life since beginning a gratitude practice?
Over the years
it has become obvious
to even a hard-headed and stubborn person as myself
that if I don’t do something
nothing will happen,
and that there are consequences
to everything I do or don’t do.
Being thankful
and practicing gratitude
has gotten me through many dark days and nights.
I have learned to do the work.
If I don’t apply myself
the results will not be positive.
I tried an active gratitude practice
as a last, last resort,
and forced myself
to put a real effort into it,
even on days
when I felt there was nothing to be grateful for . . .
but I discovered,
that if I looked,
there was always,
always
something.
Unexpectedly,
I got results,
and getting those results
inspired me to practice more,
and so my practice
grew into a Lifestyle,
and has become my anchor.
The sun may not shine tomorrow,
things might not go my way,
the soup might burn,
I might be robbed . . .
my house might burn,
but I’m pretty sure
that tomorrow
the birds will sing,
and if I sit with it,
be present to the gift,
I might find that,
as strange as it may sound,
I am thankful for the song of the birds. ♥
🎶🐦⬛🌞
Beautiful, Sparrow. Thank you! 🩵
I have a better focus on the things that matter the most. Last night I went to see the movie” Heaven in stone and glass” which only had a few nights available to see. Part of me wanted to just not go because I would be driving into Providence and parking in a parking garage but I went and it was so worthwhile. I have always loved catherdrals and stain glass windows. I was pleasantly enlighted.✨
I have noticed it just is a lot harder to be unhappy. It is a lot harder to focus on an issue whether than the solution. I tend to always look at the glass half full, I tend to worry less, I tend to appreciate every piece of life.
”I have noticed it just is a lot harder to be unhappy.”
I’ve thought about it,
dear Valerie,
and I think you are right. 🙂
I think the biggest change is that I can pull myself out of negativity and anxiety by focusing on all that I have. Another change is that I appreciate the quiet moments more. Just being in my living room in the quiet, I can feel grateful. So nothing even needs to happen for me to feel joy.
♥
I don’t notice anything different in my life. It’s just a nice way to start or end the day for me.
It’s easier to perceive things to be grateful about, and to find joy. I particularly like that I can find and verbalize gratefulness in the moment in relation with others.
Practicing gratefulness has enriched my mindfulness: Stopping to observe, and also to appreciate. When I practice gratefulness I am better at showing up at the kind of person I want to be.
This site has provided consistency with the morning check-in, and all of you have provided a community I value. Thank you.
Coming here as ritual,
dear Barb,
really does make a difference. ♥
Thank you, Barb, for all that you contribute.
Showing up as the person you want to be — yes, well put Barb. I relate.
So many positive changes, the greatest being the ability to trust Life and to trust myself and the ability to respond to it instead of react. It has helped me find the true and powerful meaning of willingness. It has helped me maintain and open mind and open heart. I love today’s quote from Peace Pilgrim: “It isn’t more light we need, it’s putting into practice what light we already have. When we do that, wonderful things will happen within our lives and within our world.” The world needs more gratitude and less bullying.
Today’s poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer reminded me of the importance of being willing to be vulnerable so love can grow. She’s not saying “Be a doormat.” She is reminding me not to turn my life situation into a problem but to let my agape love grow through it all.
Dear Heart,
I remember those months
when you were naked,
when the pain was so great
and you were so tender
not even the flimsiest
slip of protection would stay on.
This was how I learned
your true state—
raw, porous, vulnerable—
the only place in which love grows.
How did I ever think
I could protect you from pain?
Why did I ever believe
that that was the goal?
As if breaking is not inevitable.
As if loving doesn’t
always involve a flood,
a drought, a drowning,
a dearth, a blessing.
Now, no matter how many
layers I try to wrap you in—
there is no not knowing
that your emptiest, loneliest,
places are also worthy
of love.
Now, I have learned to be grateful
that even when I wrap you
in an armor of busy-ness
or coats of competency,
you are always naked underneath.
—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
*
. . . one of her best poems,
dear Carol Ann . . .
thank you for putting it up here. ♥
Thank you, Carol Ann.
Carol, I feel I can learn about willingness from you. I’m reacting to pain today … but I am also responding to my reaction by beginning a journal to help ID the cause. Then I’m reacting by feeling despondent, then responding with self-compassion. Seems like an endless cycle. But as Rosemerry suggested, there is no possibility in protecting oneself from pain–any kind of pain. So if it’s here, how can I be willing? I am pondering this today.
Drea, I’m so sorry you are in pain. I hope you can be self compassionate. A friend of mine who suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis use to say that she brought it to the foot of the cross. That image reminds me that sometimes all I can do when in pain is surrender. I don’t have to like it or rise above it. I do my best to relax and release, to let it be. Sending loving energy your way.
I feel more present and positive. It helps me to change my perspective and slow down.
Oh boy. Practicing gratitude has been so good for me. Taking some time to ponder, is such a gift.
Even a few minutes of reflection, is so good for me.
It has helped to bring some balance to, my otherwise, negative and pessimistic attitude.
Stopping for a moment just to take in the gifts all around me, is now a normal and regular occurrence.
And I am so grateful for this community. 🙏
Me too,
dear Charlie . . . ♥
For the most part, by living and practicing gratitude I am able to give a wide berth to situations that would evoke verbal frustration in the past; such as while driving. Update on banking scenario from yesterday. A phone call to the manager provided verbal assistance and info that she’d make some phone calls to higher ups about the scamming. I’m grateful for her assistance and yes still frustrated by her informing me she doesn’t have the authority to close overdraft (of $500) though I was told by two supervisors she “could” resolve it. The saga continues and I’m needing to detach. And wait for her next phone call. Thank you supportive people here!💕🌻☮️
Oh my, I’m feeling quite irritated about all of this, and I’m not the person who has to deal with it. This sounds like such a trying situation. I hope that all will be resolved soon. Sending love to you, Carla. 🩵
Good luck Carla! Supporting you as you navigate this.
More constituency and more positivity. It’s an integral part of my morning. More often, I am meeting the world in love.
Since I practice gratitude, my view of unwanted occurrences in my life shifts from “it’s all good” and “it’s all bad” to “there are good and bad in everything.” Not all or nothing.
Thank you so much, to everyone, participants and to those who keep the site alive.
My Ngoc, “Loc Gets Straight to the Point” is polarizing with either high risk or high reward. All or nothing thinking is bad taste. It can look that way, but one must look beyond the surface. Trust between 2 people is being able to keep it 100 with each other without having to go back to dot is and cross ts. It’s that “You say 1, I get 10” dynamic.
I feel much more grounded in the present moment than ever before due to meditation and letting go great- fullness flowers and blossoms. I’m grateful for having a method that nurtures letting go which is natures flow. It’s 100% natural for a method to this enlightenment of the origins undying, everlasting and unchanging foundation which is our birthright. Without a way home to this everlasting freedom of mind/body we would be lost in our mind world of pictures/ falseness.
For me due to this natural flow I’m able to completely surrender this false self and BECOME one.
Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity I’m eternally grateful.
Good morning from Kingman AZ. One of the many positives changes has been relinquishment of my slavery to alcohol. I discovered Br. David and this site through a link an addiction therapist gave me to an 8-week course from Palouse Mindfulness. I have not stopped ‘showing up’, being present for what is, since. I also will echo Michele’s “how everyone uplifts each other on here”. Gratefulness grows and expands through the collective wisdom and essences of all who participate. For this I Am grateful.
On a side note, we drove through rain from home until Grants NM and it rained again in Flagstaff. The parched southwest has received beneficial moisture from the sky. Agua es Vida.
Peace, Love & Light.
I was listening to an interview today,
dear Joseph,
with a man who let go of self-medicating
to make his life more bearable,
with alcohol and tobacco.
During the course of questions
he commented
that he still self-medicates
(as he believes we all do),
but with positive addictions,
like doing what he loves
and getting his high
from good outcomes . . .
made me think.
Perhaps we all need a buffer
to give us grace
in a sometimes frightening world (?)
Maybe it’s gardening for me . . .
maybe it’s your ranch for you . . .
ps. I’ve happy that you were able to feel some rain on your face
in Flagstaff.
Agua es vida. ♥
I’m so glad to hear that you have had rain. How fabulous water is, especially on parched earth. May it continue!!!
Cool Joseph! I use to live in Arizona, Paradise Valley! The desert is beautiful and I love the desert’s beauty and its subtle ways. Enjoy !☺️