How gratitude is the ultimate savior.
As we enter this week, I am going to be a graceful humble hustler. I am going to show up as my best self, be the person that I once needed as a child and acknowledge my worth exactly as I am. I am going to show gratitude and kindness with poise and humility. And I am going to be an example of love with my forever grateful heart.
Inspired by the fact that we are celebrating Thanksgiving today (in Canada), I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to be more mindful of all the little things I’m grateful for. You know, the ones that can slip through the cracks, the things we might take for granted and don’t appreciate enough.
Starting out, I didn’t expect gratitude to become such a large part of my healing process. I was focused on getting rid of all the clutter inside that I didn't realize that feeling better and mending myself had to come from focusing on gratitude. Without this I could never really enjoy more; more love, more time, more money or more me.
Side note: As much as I promote being grateful and journaling; being grateful is a feeling. You can make a list of a hundred thousand things but to truly start to heal and get results, you must feel it. Gratitude is more than words and lists, being grateful needs to come from a deep place inside you, somewhere where when you think of that thing on your list, you are truly and utterly grateful for it. This will be the most effective way to be in that place of JOY.
There's a hard truth about letting go, forgiving and being grateful, and there are times when it might not be easy. It's making difficult decisions and protecting what’s most important, and sometimes some of those around you might not always understand.
Though I've never bathed too long in negative spaces, it can sometimes take a minute to actually find that feeling of gratitude. But today I am happy to report that I do not worry about the heavy things too much anymore. Because when I started swelling my soul with true gratitude, all of those doubts seemed to somehow fade away, like I had tapped into a new well-being, the next level of joy, not just happiness but pure joy, where even sadness can sometimes visit without disturbing the gratitude that lives in me.
Letting go of so many things, physical and emotional, laid bare the things I cared for most.
You see, simplifying life cuts everything except what truly brings love, joy, and life, so that we can appreciate them for everything they were meant to be.
Life wasn't for me to 'sit pretty', or for the ohs and ahhs but for filling the holes of my broken heart; for true bliss and light. This is where gratitude begins.
Lets turn our hearts towards gratitude, allow our eyes to adjust to the reality of the joy around us. Maybe the simplest sunset can become the most beautiful thing of your life. Or the ability to use one of your phenomenal senses. Or how about those meatballs your auntie makes, they sure are the best tasting meatballs, every single time.
In my own journey, I have learned that the shortest path to true joy is gratitude. This will inspire soulful happiness every time, every day.
Gratitude is how joy enters your soul and rises like the steam from your morning tea, which by the way, can be the best cup of tea you’ve ever had – every single morning.
What would your life look like if you really lived with a grateful heart? I believe you would be the most positive person in most of the rooms you enter. Because, to see the world with the eyes of gratitude is to see the goodness, kindness, and beauty above all the things that keep everyone else preoccupied.
There is no judgment or comparison in gratitude. No reason to criticize or gossip. Light up every room with gratitude and you can change the atmosphere entirely.
Let gratitude be your compass and know that to live in joy is to live in gratitude. I hope this inspires you to create your own list of little everyday blessings and, naturally, I would love to hear all about them. Sending you so much love and gratitude.
Happy Thanksgiving!