Compassion and gratitude

 

The spiritual journey is as much about wonder
as it is wretchedness.  
If everything felt good all the time,
you would become complacent and arrogant.
Cherish all your experiences.
The wretchedness teaches you compassion.
The wonder fills you with gratitude.

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"...are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life"
- Mary Oliver

Life's precious gifts

The most precious gifts are the ones

we may have underestimated;

The ability to see your innocence,

dissolving all guilt from your life.

Eliminating chaos so only peace remains.

Knowing who you are

and being content with yourself.

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A better life

 

We all need balance. What I mean by balance is that our inner life (how we feel inside) is as rich as our outer life. There was a time when my outer life looked very full and complete but inside I was bankrupt. I kept this a secret for many years, playing the game of "I'm okay". There came a time though, when I could still fool others, but couldn't lie to myself anymore. I had to get honest.

 

It has taken a lot of determination to move from the shallow pond into deeper, unknown waters. It has taken time to learn what loving myself means, to stop looking for others to complete me, and to quiet the ache in me that I had carelessly ignored for so long. I had fruitlessly sought happiness by filling my life with busyness, fixing others, achieving, striving, and hustling for love and acceptance. All which failed, over and over again.

 

It is only in finding the courage to be deeply honest with ourselves that we begin to face the truth about how we feel inside. Honesty is key that begins to unlock the door to freedom.

 

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Being real with myself

 

 

“Like a Columbus of the heart, mind and soul I have hurled myself off the shores of my own fears and limiting beliefs to venture far out into the uncharted territories of my inner truth, in search of what it means to be genuine and at peace with who I really am. I have abandoned the masquerade of living up to the expectations of others and explored the new horizons of what it means to be truly and completely me, in all my amazing imperfection and most splendid insecurity.”  
 

― Anthon St. Maarten

 

*****

 

Feeling grateful

 

She was thankful...

 

 for each and every day.

 

Gratitude had washed away...

 

 her grievances.

*****

 

The little things in life

The most significant gifts are the ones most easily overlooked.  

Small, everyday blessings: woods, health, music, laughter,

memories, books, family, friends, second chances,

warm fireplaces, and all the footprints scattered

throughout our days.”  

 

― Sue Monk Kidd

 

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Being inspired

I finished Raggedy Ann yesterday. She's a classic.

 

Twenty years ago I went to craft fair in my area. There was a woman there who sold handmade dolls; angels, raggedy anns, snowmen... I feel in love with her things. It was her creations that inspired me to go home and create my own. She has no idea how she changed my life and how grateful I am. It made me think how we all probably inspire people at different times, perhaps even change their lives, and we don't even know it. Here I am 20 years later, still making dolls....

 

*****

Feeling good

Picture yourself as a woman

who no longer looks outside herself

for a sense of safety, happiness, and well-being.
 

*****
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!
 

 



Gratitude

 

today I stop

 

I breathe

deep and rest

 

with grateful tears

I weep

 

because I have

come

so far

 

 Kristen Jong - "Attempting Flight"

 

*****



A wonderful world

 

 Took these yesterday...

 

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom, for me and for you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue, clouds of white
Bright blessed days, dark sacred nights
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

The colors of a rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, saying.. how do you do
They're really saying, I love you.

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than Ill never know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Louis Armstrong

*****

Making a gratitude list

Writing a daily gratitude list helped change old negative thinking.

 

A supportive partner    Organic food     Nature     Health

          

A night's sleep         Family and friends      Change

 

Walks on the beach     Quiet time         A good movie

 

   Good books      Hope      My lessons    New beginnings

 

  Yoga      My cat      The first cup of coffee in the morning     

 

Hot baths         God     Essential oils        Love

 

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A day with my sister, Penny.

 

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I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought...

 

 

~G.K. Chesterton

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Be thankful for all your lessons.

Making new memories

 

Yesterday I had a gathering at my house with some amazing ladies. It was a way of expressing my gratitude to the women who have shared this bittersweet road of recovery with me. It was a beautiful, heart-felt celebration and a wonderful reminder of how blessed I truly am by those who share my life.

 

*****

 

 

Friends are the pillars on your porch.

Sometimes they hold you up,

sometimes they lean on you,

and sometimes it's just enough to know that they are standing by.

 

 Unknown

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A special message to you from the Universe-

When you learn to trust life, you will come to know what true peace is. Relax. Breathe deeply. All is well.



A beautifully sculpted life

 

I am filled with gratitude...gratitude for my imperfect life. To wake up feeling joyful each day, is nothing short of a miracle. How did I evolve from self-hatred to love? Things changed when I started working on my interior life instead of putting all the focus on the external. Nothing outside of myself ever sustained my happiness or peace for long. I had a choice to either surrender to change or continue to be held hostage by the past.

 

*****

 

I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which comes to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit."

 

~Dawna Markova

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A special message for you from the Universe-
Build a strong foundation within yourself so when a storm blows your way, your confidence will bring you peacefully through it.

She learned about gratitude

No matter what life handed her,

 

she found a gift in every experience.

 

Having a positive outlook

 

helped her to be thankful for the lessons

 

her difficulties taught her.

*****

 



She celebrated a new way of life

She woke each morning with a skip

in her walk and a song in her heart.

Her contentment came from looking past

life’s flaws to see the blessings.

*****

When I stand before God at the end of my life,
I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left,
and could say, "I used everything you gave me." 

~Erma Bombeck

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"I am grateful for all the lessons life has offered"

Being grateful

 

Thank you God for...

 

helping me design a life of ease and grace.

 

 teaching me what's really important.

 

all the teachers you have placed in my path.

 

helping me see the world differently.

softening my rough edges.

 

filling my life with inspiration, hope, and love.

 

 the extra nudges to move forward.

 

 letting me fall when I needed to.

 

all the rainbows, as well as, the thunderstorms.

*****

 

“You cannot trade the courage needed to live every moment for immunity from life's sorrows...

 

My invitation, my challenge to you here, is to journey into a deeper intimacy with the world and your life without any promise of safety or guarantee of reward beyond the intrinsic value of full participation.” 

 

― Oriah Mountain Dreamer

 

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"My heart is filled with gratitude"

 

Appreciating others

One day when you are very old…

and your life is almost over,

what will matter most are the people...

 you've shared your heart with.

It won't matter...

 what kind of car you drove..

where you traveled to...

or what your career was.

 

Let your loved ones know...

how important they are to you.

Treat them kindly.

Be generous with your HEART.

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“Your task is not to seek love,

but merely to seek and find all the barriers

within yourself that you have built against it.” 

Rumi

"My heart is open"

Gratitude

 

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes...

 

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Gratitude turns negative energy into positive energy. There is no situation or circumstance so small or large that it is not susceptible to gratitude's power...”

 

Melody Beattie

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Wherever I have knocked, a door has opened. 

Wherever I have wandered, a path has appeared. 

 

~Alice Walker

 

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"I am blessed"

A simple thank-you

If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank you",

it will be enough. - Meister Eckhart

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I often find myself saying "thank you God" throughout the day.

My gratitude isn't because God has given me all my wants and desires.

What I'm thankful for is the peace in me that surpasses my own understanding.

There's a reservoir of serenity in me...even when life gives me another challenge.

I used to chase happiness...and had many successful moments of it...but it didn't last long...it didn't bring me peace.

Peace is a priceless gift. Thank you God!!!

 

*****

 

“Silence is the language of God,
All else is poor translation.”

Rumi

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"My cup is full"