 |
| Terry Christopher |
Everyday, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.
Dalai Lama
The Art and Skill of Thanksgiving/Gratitude is a guest post by my dear friend Terry Christopher. Gratitude is an integral part of living your extraordinary life and Terry's words of encouragement are warm and uplifting! Read on friends and fans and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! - Love, Ro
As we head to our national holiday of Thanksgiving and our friends and family gather round for a traditional feast of great food, drink and much happiness, there is a way to retain that good feel in each and every day if each of us made just a little bit of personal effort in showing/feeling Gratitude.
The very first aspect is to CHOOSE to change our perspective and look at everything that is good and right in our lives. Each individual is in a different place in his or her own walk so one persons Gratitude will most definitely not feel like another persons. For example, I had a friend who was having a bad few days at work and was complaining...a lot! We have all been there for sure and can relate. I reminded him though that for15 consecutive months prior to landing this current job, he had been on unemployment barely, and I mean barely able to get by. The message in the lesson he was experiencing was two-fold Gratitude. He was choosing to see the negative instead of seeing and being reminded that it was once worse, far worse, so he needed to sit in a place of Gratitude/Thanksgiving for the positive change of having a job to find fault with in the first place. But and rightfully so, he does deserve happiness in what he does as well.
The second aspect of this Gratitude comes from when each of us finds ourselves in a place that is a constant source of negativity, being emotionally draining, despair, fear or other feelings contrary to good, positive feelings, this is also a time to give Thanks/Gratitude because it is helping us define what we DON'T want and what we DO WANT and empowers us to make a change. Sometimes those changes are quick fixes and sometimes those changes are more challenging as they require a dedicated focus and constant effort and endurance that ranges from weeks to months. But once we set our sights on making that change and dedicate our hearts, minds and souls to it, the wheels to make that positive change are rolling and the motion in the direction of positive change is underway. Knowing that as each day passes while moving away from the negativity towards something more positive can bring about a feeling of limitless hope, potential and possibility. Feel those feelings in place of the previous negative ones and you will see and feel that giving Thanks can be a daily powerful process and not just for a special time of year.
It's very easy to have the bounty and joyful feeling of Thanksgiving/Gratitude for all that we have and all that we are in each and every day. Thanksgiving/Gratitude is there for us to pick like a shiny, juicy apple hanging on the tree of life. The really big bonus to this type of daily Thanksgiving is that there isn't a stack of dishes to clean after wards, and that is something I think we can all be Thankful for!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Terry Christopher
The very first aspect is to CHOOSE to change our perspective and look at everything that is good and right in our lives. Each individual is in a different place in his or her own walk so one persons Gratitude will most definitely not feel like another persons. For example, I had a friend who was having a bad few days at work and was complaining...a lot! We have all been there for sure and can relate. I reminded him though that for15 consecutive months prior to landing this current job, he had been on unemployment barely, and I mean barely able to get by. The message in the lesson he was experiencing was two-fold Gratitude. He was choosing to see the negative instead of seeing and being reminded that it was once worse, far worse, so he needed to sit in a place of Gratitude/Thanksgiving for the positive change of having a job to find fault with in the first place. But and rightfully so, he does deserve happiness in what he does as well.
The second aspect of this Gratitude comes from when each of us finds ourselves in a place that is a constant source of negativity, being emotionally draining, despair, fear or other feelings contrary to good, positive feelings, this is also a time to give Thanks/Gratitude because it is helping us define what we DON'T want and what we DO WANT and empowers us to make a change. Sometimes those changes are quick fixes and sometimes those changes are more challenging as they require a dedicated focus and constant effort and endurance that ranges from weeks to months. But once we set our sights on making that change and dedicate our hearts, minds and souls to it, the wheels to make that positive change are rolling and the motion in the direction of positive change is underway. Knowing that as each day passes while moving away from the negativity towards something more positive can bring about a feeling of limitless hope, potential and possibility. Feel those feelings in place of the previous negative ones and you will see and feel that giving Thanks can be a daily powerful process and not just for a special time of year.
It's very easy to have the bounty and joyful feeling of Thanksgiving/Gratitude for all that we have and all that we are in each and every day. Thanksgiving/Gratitude is there for us to pick like a shiny, juicy apple hanging on the tree of life. The really big bonus to this type of daily Thanksgiving is that there isn't a stack of dishes to clean after wards, and that is something I think we can all be Thankful for!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Terry Christopher
Happy Thanksgiving to you too Terry, and thank you so very much for sharing your awesome and beautiful thoughts with me and my readers!
Notes from Ro:
Terry Christopher is a New York based, award winning singer-songwriter, and I am a fan of his as well as a friend. For more information about Terry and his music please click on Terry Christopher.
While you are here be sure to check out Terry's October 12, 2010 contribution to this blog, Braking the Cycle about a 3 day/300 mile bike riding/humanitarian event that Terry participates in every year
You can learn more about gratitude in Leo Babauta's amazing e-book Zen Habits for Life.
I also recently read and highly recommend Joshua Becker's new e-book Inside-Out Simplicity, as well as his other book "Becoming Minimalist" as well as other books listed in the right side bar of my blog.
I also recommend the following awesome minimalist blogs:
Far Beyond the Stars, by Everett Bogue
Zen Habits, by Leo Babauta
Rowdy Kittens, by Tammy Strobel
Becoming Minimalist, by Joshua Becker
as well as these blogs by some up and coming totally rockin' bloggers
Zen Habits, by Leo Babauta
Rowdy Kittens, by Tammy Strobel
Becoming Minimalist, by Joshua Becker
as well as these blogs by some up and coming totally rockin' bloggers
Minimalist Knitter, by Robyn Devine
Castles in the Air, by Nina Yau
Art of Minimalism, by Mike Donghia
Rousing Rowena of course ha ha!
Castles in the Air, by Nina Yau
Art of Minimalism, by Mike Donghia
1 comment:
This was a wonderful piece! Thankyou!
Post a Comment