Ahhh, the magic of the holidays when gratitude abounds and grace shines its beautiful light in our lives! I am fervent in my belief that miracles happen on a daily basis and I believe just as strongly that the more you are able to recognize the blessings in your life and express gratitude for them, that even more wonderful things occur.
That’s not to say that life is always easy, it’s not. Life, as we all know, can be challenging and difficult, and at times we can feel that our lives are so full of hardships that it’s hard to be grateful under the weight of our fears and worries. One year I remember my absolutely favorite moment of gratitude the entire year was simply the glee I felt counting down the seconds at the end of that year in anticipation of finally being done with a year that was so hard and challenging. If this year has been one of those uber challenging years for you, saying goodbye to it may be just what you need to be able to move into 2012 with fresh hope and perspective.
Gratitude and grace can be powerful components of our lives, particularly when life does seem to be challenging. Even if those challenges persist, there are so many other things for which we can be grateful. A shift can literally occur in your life as you begin to change your focus from being mired in your challenges to being elevated by gratitude. It’s no mistake that we can feel “weighted down” by our fears and hardships and “lifted up” by our hopes, gratitude, and optimism.
Whether you feel gratitude simply by breathing in this moment, or the beauty of a flower, the smell of puppies, or the pudgy fingers of your children as they hug you good night, in the moment, allow yourself to experience gratitude. What you’ll discover is that as you begin to identify more of the moments in your life for which you’re actually grateful, those moments will begin to increase. Suddenly you realize the many things that you would otherwise go through your day not consciously acknowledging and really valuing as something for which you’re grateful.
For anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to read Sarah Ban Breathnach’s books on abundance or gratitude, they are definitely worth a read and can help you on your inner journey to discover the vast opportunities for daily gratitude. It can be a transformative experience to simply begin to witness for yourself the innumerable opportunities within your life through which to experience gratitude.
Likewise, grace is a powerful component in our lives and can often come at just the right moment when we need it the most. The word grace can have various meanings from the act of giving prayer or thanks to an act of divine intervention. Regardless, being in a state of grace helps to lift you, to elevate you to a place of expansiveness.
We’ve chosen this month to feature gratitude and grace in recognition of the tremendous impact they can have can in our lives. Whether your life is filled with opportunities and blessings, challenges and hardships, or more likely, a mixture of all, we know that our individual lives can be improved by our internal focus and outlook.
Whether you are moved to incorporate gratitude as part of your religious rituals or begin to be grateful for individual every day moments that would otherwise pass without notice, the impact to your life can be immense. Gratitude is not an act, rather it is an emotion of joy, delight, and love. It is the emotion of recognition and appreciation of the gifts you’ve been given in this life. Whether your challenges are financial, physical, emotional, spiritual, the act of beginning to shift your focus, gratitude initiates a shift. As you focus on all of the things for which to be grateful, over time you discover that the focus on what you don’t have or what’s not going well seems to diminish. As a result, your inner experience of your own life changes dramatically as your perception of what you enjoy and love begins to crowd out what you don’t.
While I wish I understood grace as well as gratitude – why it comes, when it comes, how it shows up, the simple truth is that I don’t. I’m not sure that any of us do. In my experience, the degree of understanding the intricacies of grace in our lives has little impact on how often it occurs. Grace, to me is yet another shining example of the miracles of life and the universe, divine in nature, and magical in delivery. And while I don’t think being in or receiving a state of grace is as easy to define or predict, it is a powerful experience regardless of whether you felt in need of grace or not in the moment.
Our feature article this month is from Charlene Hohulin, who has written for us about the Essenes, leaders of their time in finding the grace within. It’s a fascinating article that helps us to understand how our history often helps us understand and connect more with our future. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or spiritual but not religious, we think you’ll appreciate the lessons and the wisdom within this piece.
May all of our journeys be filled with the blessings of gratitude and the miracles of grace as we move through this holiday season and into the delight of the New Year! From all of us to all of you, we thank you and wish for you abundance and joy, now and always. Happy Holidays!
