A Cup of Hot Chocolate

Over the weekend I heard a small nugget of a story that continues to roll around in my mind and stirs my spirit. A young woman had suffered a severely abusive childhood and was seeking help to heal from her anger and bitterness. She was asked to recall anything from her youth for which she was grateful. She could only recall a day when a kindly woman offered warmth and cup of hot chocolate. From that one memory, she was encouraged to build a view of gratitude - to seek it - to embrace it in the present. Her healing began with the memory of one simple act of kindness that happened many years before - a cup of hot chocolate.
There are two important lessons from this story. First, we never know what seed we may plant in a single act of kindness - no matter how small. That seed may grow years from now and for reasons we cannot comprehend. Kindness is a seed that heals and it will grow when the time is right.
Second, kindness sparks gratitude. When we feel gratitude, anger and bitterness melt away. If we want to end anger and bitterness, gratitude is the path. Kindness sparks gratitude. It may not spark today but when the time is right, it will surface.
In my darkest moments - in those moments of hopelessness, anger and bitterness - it has always been gratitude that has provided a light that guided the path toward healing. Gratitude for even the simple things grows a sense of healing. As focus on gratitude grows healing also grows.
There are many hopeless, angry and bitter people in the world. Perhaps many are beyond reach. But if you are reading this, you are not. You can walk in gratitude. You can become a spark with kindness. Something as simple as a cup of hot chocolate might be the difference.

Faith

I don't think faith is about our having a greater power watching over us that will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  For me, faith is the belief that we have, at our finger tips, all that we need to accomplish all things - to overcome all odds.
When we believe that some greater power will do it for us, we will fail.  Truth - faith - is in recognizing all that we have been provided and we have been provided all that we need - if we walk in truth and faith.
Our job is to reach out and recognize all that we have been provided.  Gratitude and thankfulness take us to that place.  We count what we have.  We begin to be thankful for what will become.  We see beyond what our eyes see.  We go where that faithful vision takes us.

Grabbing the Gratitude Attitude

I have so very much to be thankful about. I love walking in that knowledge. Hindsight is always 20/20. I can think of dark times in my life and now know there was much more to be thankful about than to be discouraged about.
We do all get dealt some very difficult blows sometimes. But it is how we choose to think and feel that makes the difference. We do have a choice what WE think and feel about anything. Maybe we cannot control a situation but WE CAN control our own thoughts and feelings.
It takes great effort and discipline sometimes. But we can get to the sunny side of the street if we keep walking and keep seeking gratitude in our own spirit.

Change Negative to Positive

"If you have a problem with a member of your family who is negative, begin by writing a list of all the things you appreciate about that person. Remember to include gratitude to them for giving you a great desire for positivity in your life; because that is a gift they are giving you. As you focus with all of your strength on appreciation, you will not only reduce your exposure to the negativity, but at the same time you will be attracting positive people into your life.

Get yourself on to the appreciation frequency, and the law of attraction can only surround you with people who are in a positive state." Rhonda Byrne.

This message came in my email at a moment that was most meaningful. I would change "your family" to anyone who is negative. For many, many months I have pondered the questions: How do we love our ememies? How do we deal with those who have created negative things in our lives? How do we deal with negative people?

Now it begins to make sense. There is the will of that one negative person and THEN there is the will of that one universal IAM. Call it the will of God, call it the law of attraction - I believe it is one, mysterious, universal law. Negativity repels. It is that end of the magnet that pushes things - people - away.
So, if we let that negativity become part of our perspective - even in relation to that negative person - we repel even the good. We have come in contact with that negative person because we needed to learn something or something around them was a positive thing for us. We need to learn to see it and recognize it and be thankful for it.
We are not alone. We are not isolated. And neither are they. If we can learn to see and appreciate the positive - even about them - they might too.
I have said often - it is about lifting one another up. Can we lift our enemies too? Yes, we can.
Now I have work to do as I let this settle in my heart and soul.

The garden of the Thankful

Each day stop a moment and count 10 people or things you are thankful to have in your life. If you mostly count material things, try again.

With every passing day I grow more convinced that true joy - joyful people - are most grateful for relationships. They treasure them - nurture them - seek them out - welcome them. Joyful people tend relationships in the same way gardeners tend their gardens. They prune, they fertilize, they water and they weed. And they celebrate every bud, every stage of growth with cultivation as rewarding as the anticipated harvest.

They expect the best but know it doesn't just drop from the sky. Relationships can be tender things. They need care. And the greater the care, the greater the joy.

If you are grateful for things, let them be things that build relationships. Count them and be thankful every day!