In the midst of this
incredible Journey, I pause this week to reflect on the things for which I am
most grateful this week.
This week I am grateful
for:
·
JOURNEY
I suppose
I’ve always been on a Journey of sorts, but at this particular point in my life
I am on an incredibly intentional Journey to find my passion, purpose, and
place in this world. At this juncture, I have landed in Nashville. I do not know if Nashville where I land
for the long-term. The only thing that is certain in the journey is
uncertainty. As the saying goes,
“I’m not going to say it’s going to be easy, I’m saying it’s going to be worth
it.” I believe that phrase with
all my being. It’s the subtle nuances in my every day life that are making the
purpose and ultimate outcome of this Journey clear.
·
FRIENDSHIPS
Yes, I
know that I included Friends in my list last week, but I would be incredibly
remiss were I not to mention the impact of my friends in my life. I have
incredible people in my life and I was reminded of this fact many times over
the last week. Friends serve as sounding boards, springboards, and shelter.
Friends see things in me that I don’t see. Friends are the family we get to
choose, and those bonds are often much thicker than blood. I’m very fortunate
and grateful for the people who are in my life. Everyone is there for a reason, if they are there for years
or days or minutes.
·
MUSIC
The
music on my playlist this week has been music that is about finding my path, my
way, my journey. It’s included some upbeat happy “Everything’s Gonna be
Alright”, some prayers such as “Show Me The Way” and “Place In This World” and
some downright melancholy music such as Adele’s “All I Ask”. Somehow, when ordinary words fail,
music picks up the slack. Music is the universal language. We never really know
where a song is going to meet us on our Journey. The song that made us laugh one day take us over the edge in
tears the next. That’s one of the most amazing things about music.
·
KIND WORDS:
This
week I have had lots of kind words communicated to me. A friend from high
school messaged me the other day and told me that I make their life better with
my upbeat attitude and that they wish they were more like me. I had at least a
couple of people ask me to pray for them. We are all in this together, and I’m
grateful that the universe is using me to be part of enhancing someone else’s
journey.
·
QUOTE THAT
SPOKE TO ME:
The
quote that I shared this week that most spoke to me is this quote by Steve
Jobs. It touches me deeply, because everything in my life at this point is truly
about trusting that everything is going to come together. I can’t see the big
picture, and that causes me to rely on my faith, my gut, and an unseen hand
guiding my path.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you
can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots
will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut,
destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has
made all the difference in my life.”-Steve Jobs
Here’s my confession: While
there is a lot of uncertainty in my life right now, I hang on because I know
that better days are just over the horizon. I’m flattered that people say that
they want to be like me, but honestly, I struggle plenty. I can assure you that
my life isn’t all sunshine and roses.
Sometimes it’s mostly cloudy with tornados and every rose I touch has
thorns that stick me. However, in
taking time to embrace the sunshine and smell the roses, I’m able to adopt a
much more positive outlook on the not so sunny days when the roses have faded
away to oblivion. Happiness is a
choice. Our circumstances
may try to throw us off course, and sometimes, even our best laid plans fail.
Sometimes we wake up and are just a Grumpy Gus, and there’s nothing wrong with
that. What we have to remember, is that if we choose gratitude over wallowing
in our self-pity, we are going to come out much better. You may be the only
light someone sees all day long. Do you want them to see darkness or light?
You may be asking how to
be more grateful. And I’m
glad you did. One method I have
employed for at least a couple of years is keeping a gratitude journal. At the
end of the day, before you go to sleep, simply write down three good things
that happened that day. Over time, you’ll notice a change in your life, and
that change will be positive, and it’s because you are living from a place of
gratitude.
