The magic of gratitude

Thank you for being who you are!

Every time whenI feel deep gratitude especially for the blessings in my life, a magical feeling overcomes me. 

I feel like the luckiest person on Earth. It does not have to be anything "big". 

On a cold winter's day I come home to a warm apartment. It is raining heavily outside and I feel grateful to have a safe shelter. 

A washing machine? A dish washer? Sending my blessings and gratitude to such geniuses! 

I am so grateful to be a mum to the two miracles in my life who together with my dog taught me the depth of love. 

I don't even know if they will ever understand how much I love them. I do know though that they often say "thank you" to me.

Yet there were some moments in my life when I refused to be grateful because I was so upset with people and situations. 

Today I can look back and feel gratitude for those experiences and even those people who truly upset and hurt me. 

Such experiences challenged me to grow, look at my own programs, feel even deeper empathy but without the need of "saving or rescuing" others. 

I learned the difference between empowering people and "teaching a woman/man to fish" instead of continuously "feeding them fish", which kept them in a co-dependency.

Would I want to go through those experiences again? Absolutely not!

Would I have wanted to experience a different childhood. Definitely yes.

Would I have preferred to have "better" parents? Life would have been easier in many ways... 

If I had to look back and ask myself what I learned from all of those experiences the answer would be: This is what it looks like to live in darkness and without love.

Maybe all of those people "volunteered" on a soul level to show up and teach me what it feels like to experience such darkness.

I am grateful to all of them because it assisted me to understand how I can bring more light into this world.

I had to find ways to understand and heal my own traumas so I can empathise more with other people and hold up the light on their own path if they have that wish. 

I also learned that not everyone wants to leave that place of darkness. Some people are too scared to go into the unknown, which brings us back to "the magic of one (small) step." 

Don't you just hate it in the mornings when you wake up in a dark room and have to turn on a bright bathroom light etc.? 

That's why I only use dimmed lights in the morning to adjust slowly to the brightness and daylight.

Equally we might offer a candle first to someone who might experience some darkness in life instead of turning on a flourescent white bright light.

Of course we can also show them the sunshine but even then we need some time to adjust if we have come out of a dark space. 

If you are in a moment or situation where life is challenging you then remember to take a small step. Is there anything at all that you could feel grateful for? It can be helpful to write it down and see it right in front of you.

Take the time that you need to go through a grieving and healing process. Remember, sometimes only one candle is the start...

If you are in a good space. Are there people and situations in your life who have hurt and upset you and you are still healing from those experiences?

If you had to ponder though, how it could possibly be or was a transformer in your life, what conclusion could arise? 

What do you feel grateful for in your life? Can you make a list?

Who would you like to say "thank you" to because they have been a wonderful companion on your journey? 

What are you grateful for about your Self? 

Several years ago I turned Christmas day into "gratitude day". For every present we receive we have to share with each other what we are grateful for. 

Maybe there is a person in your life who you would like to write a "thank you" letter to. Maybe you also write one to your Self. 

My list of gratitude is long... but let me just share this: 

I am very grateful to have met you and that you are reading my newsletter. You have enriched my life in many ways. May you be blessed and enjoy the beauty of candle light as well as the light of sunshine and anything in between. 

Coming up next: The magic of 2024 and how I skipped 2023! So, stay tuned. 

Have a magical week! 

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