Pausing for Gratitude

 Loving ourselves and life from where we are 

Until I decide I won't, I am penning, these blog posts in support of my ongoing sacred journey course,“Creating a Life of Contentment,"  which began Sept. 15. For one entire year, we'll be traveling together as intimate companions: to relax, let go and rest into Love; to discover the bliss of our own life. I hope you will join me here! You can learn more about the program there. 

Pausing for Gratitude

I've just returned from spending 4 days "on the road." Leading an Autumn Equinox program, meeting with women for spiritual direction/mentoring, and visiting with some of my family.

As I return to the Bay, my heart is filled with gratitude.

When I have a grateful heart I feel completely content, how about you?

I'm certain there is a very deep connection between contentment and gratitude.

Simply put, when we feel grateful, we are happy for what we have, for what is right here. There is nothing we lack. We are in tune with the gifts to be found in the present moment.

This past week I experienced numerous moments of gratitude. One that stands out is the love and support of my ever-faithful mother. She is 82. When I "go home," it's as if I never left and I am 18 again. "Can I fix you something to eat?" she offers. "Here, take this, a little spending money for you. Buy yourself something nice." Sweet gestures of caring that never seem to end, though I know someday they will ...

Feelings of appreciation well up in me for the presence of this love—nurturing love—embodied in the form of my mom.

Another is this: The blessing of being able to do "good work" in the world, work I love. To spend an intimate evening with a group of women who want to live awake and aware—as their best selves, living in Love in their own way, who desire to also be of service to others.

An unexpected visit from my husband who drove 165 miles to pick me up. An early morning jaunt to a farmer's market in a quaint riverside town to load up on fresh produce. Lunch at an organic restaurant I hadn't been to in nearly 5 years.

My gratitude list is long, now that I've taken the time to think back upon the past week. Too many to list, it seems. And, in that, my heart is full.

Contentment.

How about you? Gratitude is such a potent spiritual practice. Do you notice how satisfied and at ease you feel when you are in touch with the good things in your life?

And what if we took pauses throughout our day to remember "our gratitudes?" We could do this just like we pause and take a breath to ground and center us.

I like that idea. A sacred pause infused with gratitude. Any takers?

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ 

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
Meister Eckhart