What would happen if you gave your over-exercised problem spotting and problem solving muscle a little break? Instead, use your gratitude binoculars to spot what is working well. You may not realize it right now, submerged in the dark thoughts of the "if only" or the "poor me" or your life, but there are many sun rays to brighten your day. Acknowledge all the things in your life that are going smoothly and even, dare I say it, spectacularly! It is just a matter of looking at your life with a different attitude. Love what is in your life. All of it. And if it is not there, love what can be. Love the possibilities. Feel them intensely as if your future was already here.
If you are anything like me, this will take some practice. (Lot's of practice in my case!) You have to retrain your brain and your heart, day to day, minute to minute. You need to go out in the world seeking the bright spots and intensifying the light they shed so that joy permeates your being. And, you have to catch yourself thinking dark thoughts, the "awfulizing" and all the drama that comes with it. Notice when the negative voice in your head pipes up, and say "thank you for sharing but I am choosing a different thought right now, one that will bring me more happiness." Rayona Sharpnack, a professional coach, with whom I took a one week intensive training course said something that always stuck with me "Your mind is a dangerous neighbourhood, don't go there alone." Your heart and your intuition (which taps into your higher self) are much more reliable sources of wisdom. Just trust what you know with a capital "K". As Oprah would say, "What do you know for sure?"
What I know for sure is that we are meant to be happy and fulfilled. Maybe we have everything we need to be happy already but we just don't see it... On this 10th day of the 10th month of 2010, I invite you to "trade up" your worn old eyeglasses and choose a more high tech pair that can radar in the good things of life. Catch people doing things right. More importantly, catch yourself doing things right. You will be surprised at how much there is to be grateful for!
How about it? Can you resolve to consciously and systematically notice the good things in your life for the next week? Too hard? Start with just one day then. How about today? It is Thanksgiving after all!
May you be happy on this Thanksgiving Day. I leave you with this poem by John O'Donahue.
May you listen to your longing to be free.
May the frames of your belonging be large enough for the dreams of your soul.
May you arise each day with a voice of blessing whispering in your heart
...something good is going to happen to you.
May you find harmony between your soul and your life.
May the mansion of your soul never become a haunted place.
May you know the eternal longing that lies at the heart of time.
May there be kindness in your gaze when you look within.
May you never place walls between the light and yourself.
May you be set free from the prisons of guilt, fear, disappointment and despair.
May you allow the wild beauty of the invisible world to gather you,
mind you, and embrace you in belonging.
- John O'Donahue
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