You know how you get a good deal on shoes, flower bouquets are two for one, or you have a great experience somewhere and can’t wait to call your girlfriends to tell them all about it so they can get a steal too? Well, that’s me today. It’s November, my birthday month (insert happy dance) so you know what time it is. No, not election day (although it is). That’s right! It’s time for gratitude!
Last year I made a conscious decision to participate in the 21 Days of Gratitude Challenge. I always thought of myself as a grateful person, not one who complains too much, the glass is half-full, treat others with love and kindness but my inner light was dim. At the time I didn’t understand what was going on with me but a year later, I can boldly say it was for my good. There was something about writing joy down, seeing the good before me, speaking life out loud, sharing it with others, and standing in the truth of all that was and is me. It was one of the best gifts I’ve ever given myself.
I remember 2018 and 2019 being filled with bountiful blessings and simultaneously full of petty, plastic, people whose poisonous behavior constantly threatened to steal my peace of mind and disrupt every joyous occasion in my life (and there were many). I wasn’t being honest about the hurt, pain and disappointment inflicted upon me by others. I kept trying to brush it off, get through it. I was becoming bitter, angry, wanting to curse people out, tell them a thing or two. My focus was off. Outside influences were dictating my actions.
Transformation was at the center. I said no to people, places, things I had recently said yes to. I know, I know, Shonda Rhimes wrote a best selling book titled Year of Yes. We actors, artists know the power of yes and honey, I’m all for it. However, Shonda’s yes was to escape her comfort zone, overcome fears, face personal challenges. In essence, she was really saying no to comfort, fear, things that held her back from experiencing her best life.
You see, a bold no to what’s not right can open the door to the tailor-made yes for you.
Gratitude afforded me perspective. Appreciating the small things reinforced what is welcome and prohibited in my personal space. Unexpected doors, partnerships, relationships, deals, opened up to me. Every day is not a utopia. Gratitude does not mean everything is good all of the time. It means one has simply learned how to live in a grateful state of mind.
As I reflect on this year of gratitude pre and current COVID, I asked others to join the challenge, share stories with me. I’ll be sharing some here. We’re going to encourage and celebrate with one another and it is going to be AMAZING!
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