As November rolls around, I am called to reflect on gratitude. It is easy for me to be thankful for the many loving, supportive relationships that have blessed my life, and for fun and rewarding experiences. It's far more challenging for me to feel grateful for the relationships and experiences that have been difficult. How am I blessed when I am engaged in a relationship charged with negativity? Am I refining my abilities to communicate? Am I becoming more sensitive in my understanding of my own needs and the needs of others? Am I deepening my compassion for others? Can I see that someone who wounds me can be my healer and teacher?
How am I blessed when I find myself buried under a mountain of work? Am I becoming stronger and more capable? Am I activating my creativity for finding ways to simplify and to work more easily and effortlessly or to merely find more joy in my work? Where does my mind go when I let it float through my reality? How do I hold a challenging or difficult experience? Am I able to see the silver lining, notice how I have grown, integrate the fact that I have benefited, and then feel truly grateful? How much of my consciousness do I allow to spend sensing and savoring gratitude?
It's easy to spend time reliving unpleasant experiences or anticipating unfavorable outcomes, but this generally leaves me in an unhappy state. When I notice that this is happening in ways that are no productive, do I take control and shift my thinking and view circumstances through the eyes of gratitude?
When I spend time expanding the ways — small and large — that I perceive how my life is truly blessed, I find gratitude, and there, I feel a state of grace and deep contentment. May each issue of The New Times expand your ability to sense a greater awareness of how to use gratitude as a blessing in your life.
