“When I look back on the suffering in my life, this may sound really strange, but I see it now as a gift. I would have never asked for it for a second. I hated it while it was happening and I protested as loudly as I could, but suffering happened anyway. Now, in retrospect I see the way in which it deepened my being immeasurably.”
Is there a way to marry these two versions of the same holiday? To appreciate where you’ve come from, even (and especially) the painful parts as gifts to be grateful for, while still feeling grateful, heart-filled, and open to the blessings of future.
Each of you has traveled a long, winding road to get to where you are today, and with each hard time you have found your way through and come out on the other side of, you have gained strength.
Take a moment to look back at your life. Connect to your breath. Let your in breath linger slower and longer. Feel it fill and support you. Breathe out, and let your out breath empty you of any stress or fear. Continue to breathe and think of a time in the past that you faced a difficulty. Let yourself connect to the feelings that the memory brings, continuing to breathe in and out allowing the in breath to support you and the out breath to dispel any residual fear and stress. Now let your mind slide to the other side of that experience, once a resolution had been found and you found a peace within yourself again. While you breathe let your mind bubble with the feeling of relief. Let it carry with it remembrances of any deeper self-awarenesses or understandings that the resolution brought with it. What gifts or lessons, deeper strengths, clarity, and abilities did it teach you?
The lessons we have learned along the way have shaped the people we are now. There is a gift in everything and everyone that comes into our lives.
So this year, when you gather with friends and loved ones, take a moment to look around you and remember that you are supported and you are loved. Remember that the experiences you go through, and any difficulties you may be facing right now carry gifts and add meaning. Allow yourself the opportunity to bask in the connectedness of those around you and to feel the support of the universe.
Gratitude comes in many packages. Remember to give thanks for all that life offers. Let it guide you to gratitude and then to love, kindness and caring. And then remember to pay it forward.
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