Learning to sail in my 20’s and now still enjoying in my 60’s. Landing a job that does so much for the community and is so rewarding!
Buying a house with my son. When he was a child after I divorced he wanted me to buy a house and having it become real as he became an adult was so awesome!! Having best friends since 7th grade all these years is so wonderful as well! We grew apart as we were raising families but now our time together is all the more special, sharing our life stories and getting to know their adult children is so cool! Meeting someone that is Irish and loves to travel to Europe was also a dream come true!!
My relationship with my partner of almost 20 years, it’s something you hope for but “expecting” it could happen wasn’t something I was doing.
Having a relationship with my little brother who is 15 years younger than me. We easily could be strangers but we’re quite close now.
I’m so grateful for the career I had, and it was something I set out to build. But at this point, I’m so grateful for the unexpected desire to let it go.
I’ve lived in a few different states and a couple of countries, I would have never guessed. It would be great to ramp this up even more.
The spirituality I’ve found. How does a person go from calculating their retirement in the shower every morning to letting life be. 😆
Looking back on my life so far, what unexpected twists and turns am I grateful for?
There have been very many twists and turns in my life so far and a lot of them were very upsetting and painful and it is hard to be grateful for them but I am grateful for the growth that they initiated. That said, there is one twist that was very much a gift. It occurred when I reached a stage where I owned my extremely deep anger and resentment toward a God I had been taught was judgmental and would not love me unless I was perfect.
I began to question my church’s dogma so I went to the only man of the cloth I trusted and said, “I’m ready to talk about God. He made no attempt to define God for me. Instead he gave me a xerox copy of what is called the daily office in church circles and told me to create a spot in my home where I could go, sit quietly and read the assigned daily scriptures. He said that I should not look for answers but just let the word work in me. At first I found such a commitment a drudgery but because I trusted him, I persevered. I’m so grateful I did because slowly but surely, I came to relish this special time of each day and was very upset when something prevented me from my daily contemplative practice. I did not realize it but I was growing in self awareness and it was changing my perspective dramatically. I liked me better and so did everyone else!
James Finley in his book “The Contemplative Heart” explains that fidelity to a contemplative practice leads to the realization of the “…divinity of the present moment.” He adds that “…By such fidelity [to practice] you, without your knowing how, are led along the path of your transformation into the depths of divinity that your daily living manifests.”
The day I took up a contemplative practice is the day I began to really grow spiritually. For this I am very grateful. These days I have more than one practice that helps me along the path of growth.
I see why the staff of Living Gratefully chose today’s quote from Paramahansa Yogananda because it compliments today’s question. “A harmonized mind produces harmony in this world of seeming discord.”
In my experience, until you integrate your own insides and outsides, you struggle with finding harmony in your own life and the egoic mind rules. The egoic mind is not capable of promoting lasting harmony in the world. It’s too busy taking things personally!
I see some new voices participating in sharing their thoughts on the Daily Question which I consider a contemplative practice. It always brings me joy to see new folks find this fountain of compassion and instrument of personal growth.
I met and married my wonderful husband soon after giving up on love and marriage…we have been together 35 years now! It has been a journey of ups and downs, like all relationships, and yet I am deeply grateful for the time we have had together. He is suffering from a variety of ailments now (aren’t we all!) but he handles them with grace and dignity. He is quiet and I am an extrovert, so I have had to learn to listen rather than just talk. What a gift.
Oh so many! Each turn opens up new vistas on a path I create as I walk. A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post on this topic. I’ll share the link in case you want the whole thing, and one quote that sums up my philosophy:
When I think about choices I wish I had made differently I have to remind myself that no matter how often I might think about something that happened or something I did, that doesn’t change the past. It doesn’t change the path I created. It brought me to who and where I am now. I have become the path.
If on the whole I like who I am now I have to recognize that I am this person because of everything on that path. Everything.
One particular set of twists involves both my current career and my beloved husband and it’s all about bicycling. That’s the vehicle of so much good. Here’s that story: http://bikestylespokane.com/2017/03/12/came-fork-road/
All of them. Even the ones that humiliated and or angered me (ha-ha) or brought grief taught me invaluable lessons to bring forth my best. Therefore bring self-respect, as well as respect and compassion for others.
I am grateful for this unexpected twist and turn I am living in. I just graduated college, moved away from home and family, and started my first full time job. The transition has been rough. I am grateful for the new lifestyle I am about to create. I am trying to remain hopeful that it will get easier with time.
I am grateful for all the twist and turns.
The twist and turns are what brought
me here and are responsible for my
current state. There has been pain and
suffering, and love and joy along the way.
I saw the full moon rise and set. I get
another day. Not too shabby.
Last night was a super moon…second one this month which I’m told is quite unusual…another won’t come around again til 2037 when once again the moon will rise much closer to the earth than usual! I’m always fascinated by the fact that no matter where we live on the planet, we all see the same sun and the same moon…reminds me of the oneness of creation.
What a timely question as I got word yesterday that my cousin died unexpectedly. It is a very real twist that proves to me again to take stock and live every moment as the first and last of my life.
I am often blown away be the seemingly “coincidences” of life.
The unremitting radiance of true friendship. Quite a turn for someone who literally didn’t have any friends during all six years of high school! There is *nothing* like friendship in life.
I feel I need to be grateful for everything. We are constantly changing and evolving and making ourselves the best we can be. Past experiences, being empathic to others, learning different perspectives, loving kindness, positivity all shape my life.
Continued gratefulness for this site and all of you.
In 2002 my ministerial life brought me in touch with the beautiful Lakota people. As a result, I spent time living among them. Their spiritual wisdom changed my life. On-going relationships with my indigenous friends over the past 20+years continues to enrich me. “Mitakuye Oyasin”–“We are all related” as my Lakota friends say.
Josie, The wisdom of Native Americans has always inspired me. When we arrived here, I wish we had been capable of listening to that wisdom. They were highly evolved members of our species.
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Learning to sail in my 20’s and now still enjoying in my 60’s. Landing a job that does so much for the community and is so rewarding!
Buying a house with my son. When he was a child after I divorced he wanted me to buy a house and having it become real as he became an adult was so awesome!! Having best friends since 7th grade all these years is so wonderful as well! We grew apart as we were raising families but now our time together is all the more special, sharing our life stories and getting to know their adult children is so cool! Meeting someone that is Irish and loves to travel to Europe was also a dream come true!!
This one.
All of them.
My relationship with my partner of almost 20 years, it’s something you hope for but “expecting” it could happen wasn’t something I was doing.
Having a relationship with my little brother who is 15 years younger than me. We easily could be strangers but we’re quite close now.
I’m so grateful for the career I had, and it was something I set out to build. But at this point, I’m so grateful for the unexpected desire to let it go.
I’ve lived in a few different states and a couple of countries, I would have never guessed. It would be great to ramp this up even more.
The spirituality I’ve found. How does a person go from calculating their retirement in the shower every morning to letting life be. 😆
Looking back on my life so far, what unexpected twists and turns am I grateful for?
There have been very many twists and turns in my life so far and a lot of them were very upsetting and painful and it is hard to be grateful for them but I am grateful for the growth that they initiated. That said, there is one twist that was very much a gift. It occurred when I reached a stage where I owned my extremely deep anger and resentment toward a God I had been taught was judgmental and would not love me unless I was perfect.
I began to question my church’s dogma so I went to the only man of the cloth I trusted and said, “I’m ready to talk about God. He made no attempt to define God for me. Instead he gave me a xerox copy of what is called the daily office in church circles and told me to create a spot in my home where I could go, sit quietly and read the assigned daily scriptures. He said that I should not look for answers but just let the word work in me. At first I found such a commitment a drudgery but because I trusted him, I persevered. I’m so grateful I did because slowly but surely, I came to relish this special time of each day and was very upset when something prevented me from my daily contemplative practice. I did not realize it but I was growing in self awareness and it was changing my perspective dramatically. I liked me better and so did everyone else!
James Finley in his book “The Contemplative Heart” explains that fidelity to a contemplative practice leads to the realization of the “…divinity of the present moment.” He adds that “…By such fidelity [to practice] you, without your knowing how, are led along the path of your transformation into the depths of divinity that your daily living manifests.”
The day I took up a contemplative practice is the day I began to really grow spiritually. For this I am very grateful. These days I have more than one practice that helps me along the path of growth.
I see why the staff of Living Gratefully chose today’s quote from Paramahansa Yogananda because it compliments today’s question. “A harmonized mind produces harmony in this world of seeming discord.”
In my experience, until you integrate your own insides and outsides, you struggle with finding harmony in your own life and the egoic mind rules. The egoic mind is not capable of promoting lasting harmony in the world. It’s too busy taking things personally!
I see some new voices participating in sharing their thoughts on the Daily Question which I consider a contemplative practice. It always brings me joy to see new folks find this fountain of compassion and instrument of personal growth.
That was written beautifully Carol. Thank you for the reflection.
I met and married my wonderful husband soon after giving up on love and marriage…we have been together 35 years now! It has been a journey of ups and downs, like all relationships, and yet I am deeply grateful for the time we have had together. He is suffering from a variety of ailments now (aren’t we all!) but he handles them with grace and dignity. He is quiet and I am an extrovert, so I have had to learn to listen rather than just talk. What a gift.
Oh so many! Each turn opens up new vistas on a path I create as I walk. A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post on this topic. I’ll share the link in case you want the whole thing, and one quote that sums up my philosophy:
When I think about choices I wish I had made differently I have to remind myself that no matter how often I might think about something that happened or something I did, that doesn’t change the past. It doesn’t change the path I created. It brought me to who and where I am now. I have become the path.
If on the whole I like who I am now I have to recognize that I am this person because of everything on that path. Everything.
https://biketoworkbarb.blogspot.com/2021/12/walking-path.html
One particular set of twists involves both my current career and my beloved husband and it’s all about bicycling. That’s the vehicle of so much good. Here’s that story: http://bikestylespokane.com/2017/03/12/came-fork-road/
All of them. Even the ones that humiliated and or angered me (ha-ha) or brought grief taught me invaluable lessons to bring forth my best. Therefore bring self-respect, as well as respect and compassion for others.
I am grateful for this unexpected twist and turn I am living in. I just graduated college, moved away from home and family, and started my first full time job. The transition has been rough. I am grateful for the new lifestyle I am about to create. I am trying to remain hopeful that it will get easier with time.
Congrats on your graduation and your new job. Happy for you!
It does, it will, despite the temporary ‘ouches’.
Moving to our current home.
I am grateful for all the twist and turns.
The twist and turns are what brought
me here and are responsible for my
current state. There has been pain and
suffering, and love and joy along the way.
I saw the full moon rise and set. I get
another day. Not too shabby.
Last night was a super moon…second one this month which I’m told is quite unusual…another won’t come around again til 2037 when once again the moon will rise much closer to the earth than usual! I’m always fascinated by the fact that no matter where we live on the planet, we all see the same sun and the same moon…reminds me of the oneness of creation.
What a timely question as I got word yesterday that my cousin died unexpectedly. It is a very real twist that proves to me again to take stock and live every moment as the first and last of my life.
I am often blown away be the seemingly “coincidences” of life.
The unremitting radiance of true friendship. Quite a turn for someone who literally didn’t have any friends during all six years of high school! There is *nothing* like friendship in life.
“The unremitting radiance of true friendship”: What a beautiful statement. Thank you for sharing this. True friends bring joy.
I feel I need to be grateful for everything. We are constantly changing and evolving and making ourselves the best we can be. Past experiences, being empathic to others, learning different perspectives, loving kindness, positivity all shape my life.
Continued gratefulness for this site and all of you.
Michele, Did the hurricane impact any one or anything where you reside?
I lucked out with this one – I live more inland from the coast. I did not loose power at all and was very grateful.
In 2002 my ministerial life brought me in touch with the beautiful Lakota people. As a result, I spent time living among them. Their spiritual wisdom changed my life. On-going relationships with my indigenous friends over the past 20+years continues to enrich me. “Mitakuye Oyasin”–“We are all related” as my Lakota friends say.
Josie, The wisdom of Native Americans has always inspired me. When we arrived here, I wish we had been capable of listening to that wisdom. They were highly evolved members of our species.