November 26th, 2018

I Am Grateful

Gratitude is a philosophy to embody like Love. You can wake up Grateful, stay Grateful All Day, and go to Sleep Grateful Everyday. You can make a mental list or write down what you are thankful for, in the morning, before you go to bed or both until you can Be Gratitude, the highest form of Yoga.

I didn’t write much this week while I was in Iowa with my family. I gave most of my time and energy to my fam. The little moments in between the big moments, the moments that aren't captured on a camera and aren’t on instagram are the best, because presence is magical and most of the time it can’t be captured. Like fam, instagram doesn’t show up on a spell check. Presence can't be captured because as soon as you try to explain it, reach for the camera to take a selfie, or tell people to "say cheese", the moment, the feeling, it changes, it shifts. Sometimes a photographer or a painter will capture the feeling of the present moment and that is one of the greatest gifts.  The moments with my fam, my kids, my nieces and nephews, the extra snuggle time, the back rubs, the head rubs, playing board games, hula hooping, doing the limbo, having tea and hot chocolate with great grandma Ruth, playing football in the sunshine in November, walking through the cemetery and answering tough questions about death and dying to my 8 year old son, watching the kids eat pasta and fruit loops at the fancy thanksgiving table, teaching my nephew how to use the ready whip can, dancing and singing, the conversations, the words that speak to people’s souls, that uplift them, that tell them how Amazing they are, how thankful we are for them, how much we love them and how much they mean to us and to the world, those are the feelings that run wild and are hard to capture.  The magic is the presence. It is staying loving and grateful, knowing the art of compassion, and knowing that the philosophy of Gratitude and Love is a practice, not a perfection. When we are teaching our kids, by setting limits or using our boundaries with people, it is not always pretty, but it is necessary.  When You are Love and Gratitude, You are connected to Your own spirit and Youmake a difference to everyone around you.

Slow down, bathe in the full moon light, notice the smells, the sounds, the sights. Hug people, touch people with your words, body, and the energy of your own unique spirit. Put your kids to sleep with back rubs, head rubs, music, whatever they love. Be there for them. Use your words to shape their world. Be Love and Gratitude.