For all that has been, Thank you. For all that is to come, Yes! – Dag Hammarskjold
Too often I find myself so close to my challenges, I lose perspective. When I step back and view my challenges from a new perspective, everything changes. I see my strength. I see meaning in my challenges. I see everything with a different set of eyes. I am filled with gratitude. I am filled with wonder. I am filled with awe. In the following the YouTube video an American astronaut describes his sense of gratitude for our planet Earth from his view on the Space Station.
Practicing gratefulness changes us. It opens our eyes and hearts to the small and large gifts life offers us at every moment. We can be grateful for the sun, run, or snow. We can be grateful for a friend, job, or shower. We can be grateful for our morning coffee, ballgames won, or a family member. The list is endless. In the following video see how this woman decided to place gratitude into the center of her life.
When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself. – Tecumseh
Sometimes life’s problems weigh us down. Sometimes the struggle to go on may overwhelm us. But through it all, life is a gift, it is a wonderful, amazing, awesome gift. It’s beauty is in those we love and in those who love us. It’s in a blue sky, the winter’s first snow, or spring’s first flower. It surrounds us. It never leave us. Today I will open my eyes and my heart to this wonderful gift of life – I hope you do the same.
Sometimes I make it too complicated. Does it sound familiar? In my most lucid moments, it’s all so simple. Love the person in front of me. Cherish the present moment. Be grateful. Connect with family, friends, and neighbors. Enjoy each moment. Laugh a lot. Don’t be afraid to cry. Always show up when a friend needs me. Enjoy the brief Vimeo video that offers simple tips that will help you enjoy life a lot more. It will only cost you about 3 minutes.
Paper Fortress: 2009 – 2011 Reflection from Stebs! on Vimeo.
How are you living your life? Grab hold of it with both hands. Be grateful for this wonderful and wonder-filled gift. Discover what you love and passionately embrace it. Grab hold of life and make a difference. Enjoy your family and friends. Enjoy nature. Enjoy ever sip of coffee and bite of food. Take nothing for granted. Enjoy it all. Be grateful for it all.
The Holstee Manifesto Lifecycle Video from Holstee on Vimeo.
Every person I’ve met who exudes peace, compassion, and a sense of emotional wellness that often escapes me have at their core a sense of gratefulness. They are my teachers. They the are poor and well to do. They’ve never experienced worldly success and they’ve been on top. They’re black, white, brown, and yellow. They’re men and women. Young and old. They represent all religions and ethnicities. They’re grateful for sun and blue sky. They’re grateful for a glass of water. They’re grateful for you and me. I want to be like them. Gratefulness is a way of life. Enjoy Rita Ora’s Oscar performance her Grateful Song.
A grateful attitude is a pathway to happiness, joy, and love. When I view life through my heart’s lens, I see all life as a gift I have no time for sorrow, no time for envy, no time to crawl inside a personal prison. I jump for joy, for each moment is Christmas – it is all gift. Please enjoy this powerful YouTube video about gratitude.
I love my birthday. I love Christmas. I love surprise gifts. I enjoy giving gifts and seeing eyes light up. And, I enjoy receiving them as well – except for the one’s I re-gift. I don’t like to re-gift too often because my memory may trick me and I’ll re-gift to the giver. A wrong re-gift has all the makings of a relationship disaster.
When I give a gift, I think about the person to whom I am giving a gift. I want to make it special. When I can’t think of something special I fall back on a reliable, can’t miss, hit a homerun everytime gift: A Starbucks gift card. It’s only failed me once when I mistakenly gave it to a friend who later told me she only drinks herbal tea. I told her Starbucks sells herbal tea, she gave me a look that said she doesn’t do Starbucks and, “This relationship is over.”
Kids under the age of 12 are pretty easy to please. Once they hit the teens, God help them, and God help me in the gift buying department. If they have an iPhone, I gift an iTunes card. Oh, my backup? A Starbucks card.
Is a Starbucks card the answer to all problems in life? I’ve got to think more about this possibility. Maybe I’ll give myself a Starbucks card. No, I already have the app on my iPhone and collect stars. Here’s a question for you. I collect Starbucks stars, I have lots of them. Are they still stars if the iPhone records them in some form of cryptic code? If they are in cryptic code, are they real stars? I think I’ve had one too many cups of coffee this morning.
I began this blog talking about gifts. Each of us is a gift when we give the gift of ourselves to others. Our gift to others takes on extra meaning when it is received by a grateful heart. The more we give the gift of our self to others, the more we discover our true mystery and destiny.
