Reflections

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  1. T
    Tyrone Clownsmith
    3 weeks ago

    It makes well-being possible

  2. Ose
    Ose
    4 weeks ago

    In appreciating all in care and gratefulness, all which is is appreciated and well including me.

  3. Robin Ann
    Robin Ann
    4 weeks ago

    For me visiting this website reminds me to think more about my well being.. Tonight I did my monthly yoga class that I haven’t been to in a while : )

  4. sparrow51014
    sparrow
    4 weeks ago

    Practicing is the important part . . .
    if I don’t practice
    it slips away.
    The more I practice
    the stronger I get,
    and the less disappointments and failures
    haunt me.
    I was not an ungrateful child,
    but I was very thoughtful and moody,
    and i did not begin practicing gratitude
    until I very nearly lost my life
    on more than one occasion.
    Finally,
    as a last resort,
    I raised the white flag
    and began.
    I can bear witness
    that it works.
    I told a friend about it
    and she said,
    ‘been there, done that’ . . .
    I told another,
    and she said,
    ‘oh I do it in my head.’
    Thing is,
    it has to be done mindfully.
    Sit down at the kitchen table
    and write five things . . .
    five things every day,
    no matter how tiny they may seem.
    Sometimes
    I go back and look at my lists,
    and am amazed to see
    how much I really am thankful,
    and have a lot more to be thankful for.
    Being grateful
    has lifted me out of the stew,
    taught me to consciously notice things . . .
    it’s almost as inherent as breathing.
    Even on the ‘bad’ days
    I am aware
    that I am living a priceless gift,
    and that is Life itself.
    What a miracle it is. ♥

    1. Avril
      Avril
      4 weeks ago

      Thank you Sparrow

      1. sparrow51014
        sparrow
        4 weeks ago

        Thank you,
        dear Avril…
        so good to see you back. ♥

    2. Mary
      Mary
      4 weeks ago

      What you have written is so beautiful.
      Thank you Sparrow ♥️

      1. sparrow51014
        sparrow
        4 weeks ago

        Thank you,
        dear Mary.
        I don’t try to be beautiful…
        I just say what wants to come out. 🙂

    3. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      4 weeks ago

      “has lifted me out of the stew,”……………..such an appropriate metaphor dear Sparrow.

      1. sparrow51014
        sparrow
        4 weeks ago

        🙂

  5. Linda72766
    Linda
    4 weeks ago

    I am in a stressful time in my life. Yesterday I spent time with a friend and she gave me some much needed advice to slow down and take care of myself first, and we planned some things we are going to do together. It is easy to isolate when I am sad or upset, and this lovely friend clarified why I shouldn’t do that. I have many loving friends and going forward, I will be in contact with them more.

    1. Yram
      Yram
      4 weeks ago

      Linda,
      I think you you often. It is great you have that angel in your life.
      A book that was helpful to me was:
      Self care for the Caregiver by Susanne White.
      The chapters are short and practical.
      I found it at my local library.

    2. Anna
      Anna
      4 weeks ago

      Dear Linda, good friends help, I agree.
      I am happy you can count on your friend during these hard times.
      Good relationships are a balm, for me too.

    3. Mary
      Mary
      4 weeks ago

      I know about isolating , too, Linda.
      When I get sad I just want to stay inside.
      I have to make myself go out.
      I feel better when I get out to an event,
      or to see people that I know.
      But I feel drawn towards being alone.

      I know things must be difficult, now, Linda.
      I am so glad to hear you have good friends
      who want to spend time with you. ♥️

      1. Linda72766
        Linda
        4 weeks ago

        Thank you, Mary for your kind and helpful response.

        Linda

  6. Denette
    Denette
    4 weeks ago

    I see the positives in my life more easily and clearly. That keeps me from staying bogged down with the disappointments of life and relationships.

  7. S R
    S R
    4 weeks ago

    Practicing gratefulness has contributed and still contributing to help me be the true person I was created to be by changing the ways I view my life and the life of other beings in this universe. It allows me to stop, look, and go. Gratefulness has given me new perspective of life to accept life’s challenges as part of life’s gift and free me from unrealistic expectation and not strive for society’s perfection, to be curious and not get stuck in the box in my thinking or action, but to be aware of my overall well-being as my life’s gift from my creator and my supporter known or unknown, alive or deceased, to enjoy the simple joy of being alive every moment….
    PS: I have been a passive participant for a long time as I was, and I am concerned about the big wide world web. I am grateful for what I can receive but could do away with the dangers of it. I am incredibly grateful for Br. David Steindl-Rast and all the beings that have contributed and still contributing to make a difference in lives and in the universe. As Br. David Steindl-Rast said Gratefulness is not missing the opportunity, appreciating the opportunity, and using or enjoying the opportunity. By this method we come fully alive, full of joy, which is what we are all longing for. This is it.

    1. Avril
      Avril
      4 weeks ago

      Welcome to active participation!

  8. Charlie T
    Charlie T
    4 weeks ago

    Practicing gratefulness is my tonic for my habitual pessimism. Letting some light into my darkness.
    It’s slowly seeping into my pores and becoming who I am.

    1. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      4 weeks ago

      You are replacing your habitual pessimism,
      dear Charlie,
      with habitual gratefulness. 🙂

    2. Avril
      Avril
      4 weeks ago

      I appreciate you acknowledge pessimissm is a habit and not inherent in our being.

  9. Carol Ann Conner
    Carol
    4 weeks ago

    BE-ing present and BE-ing grateful always bodes WELL for me.

    Or as the character Colonel Potter on a MASH Christmas episode one year said to his doctors and nurses who were moping in the mess hall because they could not be home in the states with their families, “If you ain’t where you are at, you are no where.”

    What Potter said sunk in and their energy was no longer divided. There mind wasn’t in the states and their body in Korea. They gratefully started decorating the dining facility for the holidays. When I practice Be-ing grateful, it’s much easier to BE present to what I am doing and I find my mind dwells in my heart, in the activity I am pursuing. My mind is not dividing me from the NOW. I’d call that well-being.

    I did a search of my writings and found this story from Beatrice Bruteau in my 2021 journal that illustrates how to cultivate Well Being: “Keeping the mind . . . single means keeping our heart whole, keeping our mind whole, our soul and strength [whole], not letting any of them divide in two. So when we pray . . . we try to find our truest self by unifying and keeping whole our heart, mind, soul, and strength. This unification of the consciousness is what is usually called concentration: centering together. It is basic to spiritual practice.
    How do you do this concentration? You just do what you’re actually doing in the moment, without thinking/feeling about the fact that you’re doing it. When you set your hand to the plow, you just concentrate on plowing and go straight ahead without looking back to see what you plowed or how well you plowed (Luke 9:62).
    You put your whole mind onto plowing, the activity, in the moment in which you are actually doing it. You don’t allow the mind to divide into two, half on plowing and half on plowed. . . . And in fact, if you can put your whole mind on the activity, not dividing some part to look back and see what you have plowed, you will cut a beautiful furrow.
    You put your whole will into plowing. You do not divide your will in two by partly consenting to plow, and partly resenting and resisting it and wishing you were doing something else. You “give yourself to” this activity totally, as you do it. The act of plowing and the act of willing to plow become the same thing.
    Similarly, you do not allow your imagination to conjure up some other scene for you to enjoy in daydreaming while you plod behind your plow. The imagination must . . . “be here now.” This is where you actually are, this is reality. Don’t create a fantasy. . . . Know who you are and where you are and what you are doing and really be there.
    Finally, put all your feelings into this plowing because this is where your life is at this moment. You have no other life here and now except this plowing. Therefore feel this plowing thoroughly, feel it in every way you can. Feel it through your body with all your senses, with your emotions. . . . Become plowing. This is you at this moment. This is where you really are and what you are really doing. That’s how you center yourself, how you concentrate. Beatrice Bruteau. What We Can Learn from the East (Crossroad: 1995), 90–92

    1. Michele
      Michele
      4 weeks ago

      As I read this, in my mind, I was picturing mowing the lawn as a substitute for plowing, lol.

    2. Mary
      Mary
      4 weeks ago

      This adds to my understanding of being in the present moment.
      Thank you Carol.

    3. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      4 weeks ago

      Exactly, Exactly,
      dear Carol!
      Well said,
      by Beatrice.
      That’s how you do it.
      Thank you for bringing it here. ♥

    4. L
      Lauryn
      4 weeks ago

      Thank you Carol. I love this. It’s very helpful to me.

    5. Charlie T
      Charlie T
      4 weeks ago

      Yes, yes, and yes. Thank you, Carol 🙏

  10. Carla
    Carla
    4 weeks ago

    I know it sounds corny and simplistic, practicing wearing a smile versus frown helps to begin framing a grateful heart, mindset, and overall attitude. It leads to accepting this precious gift of Life, given just for today, by the Creator 💫

    1. Robin Ann
      Robin Ann
      3 weeks ago

      So true, thanks for the reminder

  11. D
    Drea
    4 weeks ago

    Gratefulness resets my conditioned, tense, reactive responses. I can step back from the inner fixation, slow down, and appreciate the present. Then I have more autonomy to proceed, and I can do so in an open, light way. I accumulate enough of those little moments, and my general well-being is more flow, less fight.

    1. Linda72766
      Linda
      4 weeks ago

      This helped me a lot today. Thank you, Drea.

      1. D
        Drea
        3 weeks ago

        Linda, I’m glad to hear that. Have a wonderful day..

    2. Avril
      Avril
      4 weeks ago

      Beautifully stated.

      1. D
        Drea
        3 weeks ago

        Thank you Avril.

  12. L
    Loc Tran
    4 weeks ago

    My life becomes simpler.

    1. Avril
      Avril
      4 weeks ago

      Amen–I want to declutter all aspects of my life.

  13. Patti
    sunnypatti
    4 weeks ago

    The stressors of life aren’t as intense as they used to be. I notice more than I did before my gratefulness practice… the big things are so easy to see, but now I see more little things that make life beautiful, too. I’m more accepting and aware overall. Life is more peaceful, even amidst the storms, and I just feel better 🙂

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      4 weeks ago

      Sunnypatti, I’m glad it’s helped you. I’ve heard of the old saying of “Turning puddles into ponds” for when we do the opposite.

  14. EJP
    EJP
    4 weeks ago

    Living gratefully frees me.

  15. D
    Deann
    4 weeks ago

    Everyone who has written before has answered this question beautifully. Gratefulness creates peace for me and an understanding of the value in hard times. Gratefulness helps me feel closer to God, hopeful for the future, appreciative of the past and present in the moment at hand. Together this brings a deepness to my breath that calms and strengthens me. I needed this reminder today.

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