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Thank You – You Can Go When You’re Ready
Lessons in Attachment Goodbye, My Sweet Lita My dog, Lita, left this world on Thursday after six weeks (that I knew of) battling cancer. For the last three weeks I was pretty constantly worried about her but I started to worry that she was not letting herself die because of her loyalty to me. So…
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To Have Not or to Have
Celebrating what we have through gratitude. Today It can be so easy to look forward with worry or anticipation. To look back with regret or nostalgia. But today calls for your attention. Today is here. Today is real. And even when we are present in what is real today it can be so easy to…
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Breathing is Enough
Me too. Let’s just take a breath together. Letting Ourselves Off the Hook of Gratitude I’ve been writing a series of these about difficult times and grief. After last week I declared that to be the last of the series and I would move to more positive and feel good topics. But then “me too”…
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A Poem of Blessings for Times of Grief
These words. Like a soothing bubble bath for your soul. Beannacht, the Gaelic Word for Blessings by John O'Donohue On the day when The weight deadens On your shoulders And you stumble, May the clay dance To balance you. And when your eyes Freeze behind The gray window And the ghost of loss Gets in…
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Grief with Gratitude: a gratitude ritual
Honoring our loved ones who are no longer here. Grieving with Gratitude I have seen that grief has been emerging in our community. I feel for you and am so inspired by your vulnerable and honest gratitude sharing. I decided to create this month’s gratitude ritual with grief in mind and I was so very…
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Wise Wounds
That place that hurts. This Isn’t Your Last Wound There is a wound. Slashing through your heart. Or is it your body? Your soul? It screams out to you in pain fresh and bloody. Or the throb of an ancient hurt muted but etched in stone. It begs for your attention. It buckles your…
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And Then the Anger Came
Gratitude and anger. We rarely talk about these two together but … Is Anger the Opposite of Gratitude? If you’ve been following the last three issues you know I have been going through a difficult time. In full transparency I am grieving the loss of a beautiful partnership. This breakup has been challenging. But you…
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Is Your Gratitude Practice Building Your Resiliency?
And through my gratitude I now know my worth. What Do You Do When Things Get Hard? Do you try to numb the pain? Do you distract yourself? Do you ignore it? Do you practice gratitude? Do you fall back into some old negative patterns? Do you exercise? Do you feel sorry for yourself? Do…
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The Difference Between Hope and Faith
Yes, I know that I am right where I need to be today. {inhale, exhale} Her Words Reminded Me That It Was True for Me I have been grieving and in this difficult time I have been telling myself, “Everything is going to be OK.” and “It will all work out.” Those are nice and…
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Grateful in Grief
Today as I grieve, I am grateful for dear friends and family that give me space and love and support and prayers and strength … I’m grateful for being so immersed in work that I forgot my pain for a bit … I’m grateful for my big heart that has the capacity to let…
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Honoring Our Loved Ones Who Have Passed Away
Gratitude that is specific and from the heart. What a beautiful way to honor them. On Becoming Beautiful The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and…
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Saying Goodbye with Gratitude
Oh man, the crying headache. It aches like nothing else. Pounding, pulsing, it has it’s own heart beat. Another Fucking Tragedy Here we are again. We are collectively mourning. Again. Our tears pour down our faces and we ask more of ourselves than we were meant to ask. Sometimes I wonder how I can go on.…
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Disturbing but True
I just couldn’t find gratitude in that situation so I looked away. You have heard my gratitude time and time again for the toads in my backyard. From mating calls, eggs, tadpoles, back to toads their life cycle brings me so much joy. When I bought this house the backyard was a wasteland of weeds…
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What Are You Waiting For?
Your Written Invitation Sometimes things just aren’t going our way. Whether tremendous loss (our quote today is from Anne Frank’s diary) or the smallest of inconveniences (like having to turn around and drive back 45 minutes in the wrong direction because I forgot something earlier) it can be hard to find gratitude. When that happens…
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Don’t wish me happiness …
May you have strength I am selling aluminum bracelets, that I hand-stamp with inspirational words, at my mom’s store, La Parada. Words such as grateful, hope, happy, love, and believe are pounded into the smooth shiny aluminum. When I was deciding on the inspirational words I would choose I had a long list of about…