It was 4:30 in the afternoon and I walked out to my car after a 2 hour dungeonous appointment. I looked at the sky and was awestruck! It was as if a painter used the sky as her canvas and created a scene so perfect that it moved my heart. Clearly I had no choice but to head to the beach, and say “thank you!”
When I arrived the beauty of the evening sky was magical. Surrounded by all of this twilight glory, I felt like I was living a moment out of a story book. I looked about and my heart started singing superlatives as everything was so perfectly beautiful. Then, without thinking I began a litany of gratitude… I am so blessed to be living on this amazing planet! So thankful for this glorious evening! So grateful to have the eyes to see this magnificent sky! So blessed to have ears to hear the crashing of the sea. So appreciative to smell the fragrance of the salt air, and so happy that I can wiggle my toes in the soft silky sand. Needless to say, I was high on gratitude!
It is at moments like this that I feel Divinely blessed! Blessed not just because of the magnificent beauty that surrounded me, but more importantly I felt blessed by the gift of grace that guided me to learn the power of gratitude. You see, I was not born, or raised, to feel this grateful. Rather I clearly remember times when I would inwardly complain about every aspect of my life. I recall disliking my job, regretting my living situation, and finding that all of the men in my life were clearly not for me! Then an angel disguised as a dear friend suggested to me that I start each day by looking in the mirror and telling myself what I like about my life. “Easy for you,” I thought to myself as my thoughts went into a rampage of what I did not like. My friend however was very serious in his challenge and as the days went by I continued this exercise. Gradually, day by day, year by year, and decade after decade, I reached the point that I was grateful for just about everything. I now celebrate life’s simple pleasures, like the joy that comes from each of my 5 senses, and the gift of family and friends. Gratitude, I thought….the magic of gratitude! So now when the sun warms my face, or the cool breeze blows though my hair, or raindrops bless my skin, I say thank you! When I smell the morning coffee, see the evening stars, watch a full moon, I say thank you. I now know that it is a gift just to be able to rub my eye, itch an itch, or even love a previous enemy. It has been a long and progressive journey, but one that I am truly grateful for.
So in this season of gift giving, I am humbly reminded of these profound gifts that I am given each day. And if a bearded man from the North Pole shows up and asks me “what do you want for Christmas?” I finally have a clear and simple answer. MORE GRATITUDE! As life has taught me that this is the greatest gift of all!