As the last of the leaves have fallen, and the many blessings and tasks of life have kept me from taking the time to sit at the computer to write a list each day (blessed are the busy, for their lives are full and in the 3 dimensional world), I can say that this month of gratitude, the month that holds the Day of Thanksgiving, has given me much to be thankful for:
1) I am thankful for the family and friends who are there for me, in both good times and bad, who never see struggles as a reason to devalue a person nor successes as a reason to think more highly of them. I am blessed to have people in my life who recognize that a persons worth and value is intrinsic, and not based on the external ebb and flow of life.
2) I am grateful for continued smooth progress in both school programs for the boys, for the abilities that each of the teachers, assistants, aides, and personnel have shown in understanding and educating both of these amazing and challenging children.
3) I am grateful for my chickens, who are happy and healthy, and who provide me with healthy eggs, and much joy just by their very presence. Why my little feathered charges make me so happy, I do not know, but I embrace and rejoice in the fact that they do bring simple and unbounded joy.
4) i am grateful for the internet, which keeps me connected to friends far and wide, and helps me to learn from other people who have faced similar challenges to my own.
5) I am grateful for the desire to grow and learn, and for the desire to share my thoughts, ideas, and experiences I am grateful for being willing to remain vulnerable even when others can be combative with their reactions. And I am grateful for those who know how to disagree respectfully And of course grateful for those who can understand how I have come to perceive the world. god, the universe other people, and myself they way that I have, and can respect the fact that I and my ideas and beliefs are always a work in progress.
6) I am grateful for my developing ability to listen to and value the opinions of others and take them into consideration, while not feeling the needs to conform to their opinions for my own life. I am thankful for a working filter system in my Spirit which allows me to listen and understand, to consider and evaluate, to feel and reflect, and to still stay true to who i am, even as my perspectives may change.
7) I am thankful to my ex, for the introduction to the writings of Wayne Dyer, who has become an inspiration to me, and has helped to answer many of the pressing spiritual questions that mainstream Christianity left hanging.
1) I am thankful for the family and friends who are there for me, in both good times and bad, who never see struggles as a reason to devalue a person nor successes as a reason to think more highly of them. I am blessed to have people in my life who recognize that a persons worth and value is intrinsic, and not based on the external ebb and flow of life.
2) I am grateful for continued smooth progress in both school programs for the boys, for the abilities that each of the teachers, assistants, aides, and personnel have shown in understanding and educating both of these amazing and challenging children.
3) I am grateful for my chickens, who are happy and healthy, and who provide me with healthy eggs, and much joy just by their very presence. Why my little feathered charges make me so happy, I do not know, but I embrace and rejoice in the fact that they do bring simple and unbounded joy.
4) i am grateful for the internet, which keeps me connected to friends far and wide, and helps me to learn from other people who have faced similar challenges to my own.
5) I am grateful for the desire to grow and learn, and for the desire to share my thoughts, ideas, and experiences I am grateful for being willing to remain vulnerable even when others can be combative with their reactions. And I am grateful for those who know how to disagree respectfully And of course grateful for those who can understand how I have come to perceive the world. god, the universe other people, and myself they way that I have, and can respect the fact that I and my ideas and beliefs are always a work in progress.
6) I am grateful for my developing ability to listen to and value the opinions of others and take them into consideration, while not feeling the needs to conform to their opinions for my own life. I am thankful for a working filter system in my Spirit which allows me to listen and understand, to consider and evaluate, to feel and reflect, and to still stay true to who i am, even as my perspectives may change.
7) I am thankful to my ex, for the introduction to the writings of Wayne Dyer, who has become an inspiration to me, and has helped to answer many of the pressing spiritual questions that mainstream Christianity left hanging.
8) I am grateful for the people in my life that provide examples for me--both for how I want to live and how I do not want to live. All lessons are good, whether the actual experience feels good or not, the values in what those experiences teach is amazing. And the ability to learn from the experiences and actions of others is even more amazing. So I am grateful that I can learn from both the success and mistakes of others, just as I learn from my own successes and mistakes.
9) I am grateful for the roof over my head, the warmth that is in my home, and the hot-water in my tap. I am grateful for the food in my cupboards and fridge, the toothpaste in my bathroom, the socks on my feet, the shampoo in my shower and the bubble bath in my tub--when it boils down to it, it is the little luxuries in life, that bring the most joy.
10) I am grateful for the ability to blog (too many blogs maybe...) and to share my ideas via a website. Through this gift of technology, I can share my theories, my ideas, my experiences, my reflections, my thoughts, my life, my spirit, and my gratitude.