Sunday, November 23, 2014
GRATITUDE
I truly believe that being grateful for all the blessings in our lives is one of the most important things we can learn to be. A person who is truly grateful for the "small" things in life will quickly discover that Life will then bestow many of the "larger" blessings to them because they have shown gratefulness to the "Source" which supplies all things to us. I have found that it is quite easy to be grateful for those things we label as good. But at the same time it can be very difficult to express gratitude for those things that we label as bad. It does seem to be a paradox in that the things we label as bad, can in reality, be the greatest blessing we could receive at the time. And vice versa in that the good things we receive can actually be one of the worst things that could have happened to us. An example of this from my own personal experience is an event that many of us have experienced at one time or another. Years ago I was deeply in love with a woman and thought that we would always be together. When she decided to leave me for reasons that were valid, even though I didn't quite understand at the time, I thought that was the most horrible thing that could have happened to me. But after a few years of healing I was then led to find my soul mate and we have now been married for almost 20 years. So what I labeled as bad actually turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. And that is just one example of how oft times are amiss when we are too quick to label something as either good or bad. Going back to the time when I felt my life was ruined and I could not seem to get past the hurt I can now remember that I was anything but grateful for the event that had taken me by surprise. I am quite sure I felt every emotion except gratitude! But now of course as I look back at the entire episode, I see clearly that I should have been grateful from the start. That time period in my life was one were I was able to grow spiritually by leaps and bounds. I do admit that even now there are times when "bad" things happen and I quickly revert back to my "old ways" and feel everything except gratitude. But thankfully I now have learned to step back, take some time to really think, and can then realize that whatever is happening is something that I should immediately be thankful for. It is not always easy to do this but it is well worth it. At least that is the way I now feel about things. Show me someone who is thankful for all the small gifts of life and I will show you one who is destined for greater things. I truly believe that. So today my hope is that all of you find yourselves being grateful for everything in your life as it is. But if you are facing some difficult event or occurrence and cannot find a way to show gratitude yet, please be strong and have faith that your highest good is being worked out perfectly even though you may not yet be able to see it. May all of us quickly learn to not only be grateful for the good things that occur for us but also be grateful for the good things that happen to the entire human family. The paradox is a simple one yet oft times totally misunderstood. And that is this: All things are good, all things are bad, and all things will lead us to the path that leads back to ourselves. May your light shine brightly and may your days and nights be filled with wonder, with love, with joy, and with peace!
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8 comments:
In my experience, as I understand it, I - as a soul - chose to incarnate in this body - to be born into precisely my family, nationality, culture, time, etc., in full understanding of what that would entail, including all of the associated suffering and challenges I would face in this life.
I believe it is the same for every one of us. We are in exactly the situation that our true selves judged would provide the most appropriate experience for us at this time. It is our choice, made in the clear universal awareness of being divine and eternal. However, in our earthly consciousness, we do not recollect why we made that choice - presumably if we knew then we would not have the experiences that we came here to have...
Although, in our ego-consciousness, we may experience hardship, suffering, and other difficulties, the ultimate result of this is to make us examine our own consciousness and work on raising that. Enlightenment tends to come only after a "dark night of the soul". It is only when we suffer that we become prepared to mend our ways. Truly, as you state Ron, "all things will lead us to the path that leads back to ourselves" - to our true divine eternal selves, that is. Once in that consciousness, we start to see the benefit in everything.
Love and light to all.
Love this post! :)
Hey Ian Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts with us. The best to you and yours my friend
Hi Pami I am so glad you found the post enjoyable. I thank you for stopping by for a visit and for taking time to leave a comment. I wish you and yours the very best of all things. Please feel free to drop by again.
Hey Ron,
Glad all is well with you and my apologies for not dropping in sooner - I've been a busy bee of late! Always good to pass back your way. Your insight is (as always) a breath of fresh air.
Peace and best wishes my friend.
Carl.
Namaste brother; thanks, as always, my friend for this wonderful post. Timely in my world as well, for Amanda and I were just discussing this very topic, but from a macro scale.
Having read your words I can't help but imagine great circles. The expression of duality is, in many ways, identical to a circle. My philosophy, as you are well aware, suggests that we honour all aspects of the self. Circle one; we look at nature to see the beauty of how a grain of sand creates the pearl. Circle two; we look at ourselves, we see grief, pain and suffering lend itself to compassion, love, personal growth and acceptance. Circle three; we look to consciousness in it's totality, we see war, maya and countless horrors knowing this is the path humanity requires to force itself to discover the true nature of the GodSelf singularity.
Everywhere we look, actions create reactions, one base energy transforms into another. Cause and effect takes us closer to our true nature.
Can we be so shallow in our thinking that we somehow decide it be appropriate to acquire an effect in the absence of a cause. Do we clean the sand from within an oyster's shell yet still expect the beautiful pearl?
Logic demands that if we are to embrace the awesomeness of consciousness we must understand duality. If we truly comprehend the ebb and flow of duality then, again, logic urges us to see all manifest reality as divinity. There can be no exception, no pause nor condition which denies or restricts ones love.
What is it that I AM NOT?
The lessons you bring with your words of wisdom are valuable my friend, thanks again for your steadfast contributions.
In Lak' ech, brother Ron, live with logic.... love beyond condition....
Great to see you again Carl. Thanks for the visit and good wishes. The best to you and yours as well
Hey Christopher. Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words. As usual I find myself in total agreement with the words you share with us. May your light continue to shine brightly on all we are!
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