Grateful Today!

It has been a long time since I poseted a gratitude list and I think that it is about time. Yesterday, I had a moment where I was singing praises for everything that I was grateful for and time flew by me, it felt like seconds to me and yet many minutes had passed along. So, now I will share with you the things that are near and dear to my heart this day:

1. I am thankful for this beautiful Earth that we live on. I am often reminded of the many beautiful and wonderful creations of plants, animals, land, stars, moon, sun, oceans, fish, insects and more, that I truly am in awe of the wondeful place I have been given a moment to live on. I am lucky that I have magestic mountains to look at everyday that give me breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. Within in minutes, I can drive up a canyon and be on top of the world and view things in a different perspective that can be a bigger picture rather than in the moment. I am thankful for cloudy days because when the clouds part, I appreciate the sun that much more. I am thankful for small seeds that can be planted and if continually nourished can grow and blossom into something I could never have imagined it's possibilities. Truly how blessed I am to live in a place that nourishes me and teaches me more about who I am and what I can be.

2. I am thankful for my body, especially when I am healthy. I have been extremely lucky to not get very sick this winter, however this last week I was hit pretty hard with a cold I inherited from my daughter. It is until my body is not at it's 100% that I am reminded how much I appreciate my full functioning body. I was humbled yesterday as I saw the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life, try to graciously stand up and sit down with the aid of her husband as her body trembles and shakes so badly that without assistance she would fall over and stumble to the ground. To find out that she was diagnosed with MS only 6 years ago and that her body is attacking her nervous system to the point that they are hoping that she makes it a little longer. As I started to weep for 2 small children that will probably lose their beautiful mother (who looked to be about my age) sometime in the near future, I was blessed with a small glimpse of this same woman in the heavens above walking toward her beautiful children who are running to her. Her arms open as she gracefully walks on her own, and her husband by her side giving no assistance. And they all embraced and their love was so overwhelming. Suddenly, my sadness of my head cold seemed to be selfish and irrelevant.

3. I am thankful for my mentors. How blessed I am to have 4 goodly parents who love me and enjoy helping me in my journey. When I expess to others how charitable my 4 parents are in helping me with my child, my ambitions, my hobbies and my goals, even I can become overwhelmed by their love. I cannot say 1 negative thing about any of them because their love and acts completely out weigh any of their weaknesses. I am blessed by my guardian angels who are always watching me and protecting me and teaching me. I am blessed by spiritual mentors who recognize my overwhelming desire to be taught and learn as much as I can and they freely and lovingly feed and nourish me. I may have a gazillion questions, but they are always so patient and willing to guide me through this learning process. They are extremely patient with me and teaching me line upon line. Most of all, I am grateful for a loving Father in Heaven and His Son. It has taken me a few years now, but I now feel closer to them than I ever have in my entire life. The doors of communication have begun to crack open to me and I am beginning to miss my heavenly home even more. I have no other greater desire than to do what I was sent here to do and return with approval and have progressed to where I need to be for the next stage of my life. The greatest challenge that I work on everyday is to be worth of such celestial love.

4. I am grateful for my husband and my daughter. We may be little, but we are the happiest little family. To have Brian in my life is to have the greatest gift that I have ever been given. I am blessed to have a man in my life who honors me and treats me with love, respect and adorement. We were discussing last night how grateful we were of each other that we were equals and how dissapointing life would be if we had chosen different paths and possibly one or the other would be holding the other one back. Instead, we are running together side by side, hand in hand and are having the time of our lives. I am grateful for a beautiful loving daughter who is one in a million. When she prays she is always grateful for her happy loving family (repeated 3 or 4 times). My cup runneth over for her and the lessons she teaches me about being a parent and the fact that I have MANY weaknesses to overcome. Some days I grieve that there is something missing in my little family, however I have great faith and trust that everything will work out in the end and I am content and satisfied with that answer.

5. I am grateful for positive mental thinking. I cannot remember who said it, other than I remember reading it in "The Miracle of Forgiveness" that a thought becomes an act, an act becomes a behavior, and behavior becomes character. My brain and my spirit have the hardest time being in the presence of negativity, darkness or complacency. My first initial reaction is to run away as fast as I can. I realize that these first reactions may have offended, but that was not my intention. I thrive off of resiliency, positive thinking and becoming something better. To accept the greatest gift that I have ever been given in my life. I am grateful that those thoughts are embedded in my brain. It is through these thoughts that I can overcome the bands that can hold me down and try to hold me captive. I am a person that never gives up hope and I am grateful for that gift. Happiness is my destination, love is my vehicle, forgiveness is my greatest asset and service is my duty. None of this would develop if not for a positive mental thought process and I am so blessed that it comes easy for me. To the giver of this gift, I am forever in your debt.

After reading this gratitude list, I can see that to some it is a wee bit sappy, but it is from my heart and these are the things that are important to me. Consider it a different perspective and maybe contemplate some of the things I have written. Because for me, their is a much deeper meaning that I will be grateful that I sat down and typed it out.