Grateful Insights

With the late peak of Autumn colors here in the midwest, we are given opportunity to extend our gratitude for the brilliance that nature offers. There is no better way to be grounded in the present moment than to take in the vibrant colors and cooler temperatures.

Gratitude puts us in a reflective space where we are actually choosing a positive mindset. This is the power of intention. Choosing gratitude over circumstance alone. Standing on my back deck surrounded by rich golds, browns, and rusty reds I was filled with appreciation for so many things beyond the gifts of the season.
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This, and every passing year marks transition and change. I feel as if I fell headlong into a spirit of appreciation all week. Wednesday marked the first event in my new office’s community space. I was honored to host some of the most lovely souls taking part in a transformative sound bath. 

Gratitude can often take us to the most unexpected places. I find with age comes a lowering of the threshold of what inspires thankfulness. Sitting in a room filled with resonant sound and peacefulness, the true gift was the proximity to other people who allowed themselves to be open and receptive to the experience. Taking time out of their busy lives, they opened to the possibility of self care, growth, exploration, and most of all - they did this in community.

Genuine receptivity is a high value commodity in our current environment. Seeking out safe spaces, simple pleasures, and meaningful connection often feels like a luxury. My gut tells me to get through the darkness we will have to keep resisting the seductive pull  into negativity by fighting darkness with light. My weapon of choice is gratitude.  

Toxic influence will appropriate meaning through the lens of fear and scarcity by pushing extremes into our expectations. Standing up to the predominate messaging is hard work, especially as we enter the holiday season, fraught with its own potential peril of chasing Norman Rockwell imagery. 

When something seemingly so simple can cut through the weight of the world for just a moment, I believe it is meant to be shared. Coming together in community helped me open myself to the the power of intention, trust, and gratitude. I feel one step closer to reclaiming what we all are craving, hope that better days are ahead. 

Basking in the glow of that experience, I’m not afraid of what will come along and take the shine off of these feelings. It will come, and it might be hard or sad or painful - that’s life. It is what I am finding with others that wraps me in the belief that I am never walking this path alone. That’s what carries me through the dark. 
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There is genuine cause for fear an uncertainty, but there is also so much we overlook that can help us lower our expectations for what inspires gratitude, we just have to look with a hopeful heart.

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