Grateful is Essential
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I can’t believe we are already at this point of the year again…a time when family and friends gather around to feast and to give thanks. This is such an American tradition, as I have traveled around the world and everyone asks me about the spirit of Thanksgiving and all of the food that is involved…they truly find it fascinating…and it really is! The wonderful thing about tradition is that it unites and bonds us together and creates an ‘excuse’ to visit family and pig out. Sometimes, however, with tradition, it becomes so rouitinized, that we do it on automatic pilot without really thinking about it. What is Thanksgiving really about? A lot of lives were sacrificed precipitating this holiday, so it really is an opportunity to reflect on how we are grateful. I base a lot of my work on Family Constellation Therapy, and in this therapy, it is important to acknowledge and be grateful towards our parents and all of the ancestors before them, back to divine mother and divine father–if not for anything else than to be grateful for our lives–which is, of course, the greatest gift of all. This Thanksgiving, take a time-out amongst the cooking, feasting, arguing, traveling, stuffing of the face and really sit down and offer, from your heart, sincere gratitude for life. Then, I often have my clients keep a gratitude list. Gratitude makes the universe do cartwheels and want to send you more. However, as I mentioned above, doing things rouitinly can loose its power and put you on autopilot…much like doing the same commute to work everyday. So, instead of writing down the routine crap: I’m thankful for my health, my bed, my puppy, etc (all good stuff, but too rputinized), I challenge myself and client to write 3-5 original things daily specific to that day, along with how it made you feel. For instance: I am grateful for the Pumpkin Chai late and how warm and fuzzy it made me feel inside, I am grateful for the quarter I found on the ground to remind me of how financially abundant I am, I am grateful for the subway arriving just as I rounded the corner onto the platform…another reminder of how abundant I am with time and how I have all the time in the world. I am grateful for the couple who was holding hands on the subway beside me…it reminded me of how we really are surrounded by so much love in the world. Lastly, I am grateful for the blister that formed on my food, reminding me that my body is working overtime to serve me and prevent further damage (raw skin). Feel free to download a print this daily journal I made Conscious Gratitude Journal
By doing this, you will begin to bring your awareness to all that you have and are enveloped in, instead of all that you lack.
And, as a token of my gratitude for you guys, I have a super special offers this month, of buy 1 session, get one session ½ off! That is a savings of $45! (Offer valid Dec. 3-Jan.5). In addition, you don’t want to miss out on other juicy offers as delicious as aunt Gilda’s Thanksgiving turkey! You can check those out (below).
I wish you a safe and bonding Thanksgiving, full of thanks and grace.
Gratefully yours,
Natalie
