Dear Friends,
I hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving Day experiencing whatever your heart desires. Expressing gratitude on this day for good things in our lives is always a nice tradition. Although, expressing gratitude every day keeps our energy open and flowing in a more positive direction. I do want to take a moment to express my deep gratitude for all of you. For your loving, caring, and amazing spirits and the way that each one of you creates this world to be a better place just by being here.
I think all of us can find things or experiences in our lives that bring a feeling of gratitude into our hearts. Our families, friends, children, animals, home and work are but a few of the most important ones. However, I have worked with people over the years who still carry a great deal of anger towards their families for the pain they might still be feeling many years later. They find it hard to be grateful for their lives and continue to run the script of what happened to them that continues to cause them pain and suffering.
I watched a movie the other night on Elizabeth Smart. Elizabeth was a 14 year old girl in 2002 who was abducted in the middle of the night by a very disturbed man and was held captive for 9 months by he and his wife. At first, I watched the beginning of the movie but turned it off a short while into it as I was finding it difficult to watch what was happening to her. But something prompted me to turn the TV back on and continue watching it and I am glad I did. At the time of her abduction in 2002, I was not watching the news and really did not know much about her story.
What I want to share about this movie and the 2 hour documentary that followed and was narrated by Elizabeth, was the amazing sense of strength and courage she showed during her time in captivity. She endured physical and mental abuse every day. She was shackled by her ankle for weeks and she was starved and denied water for long periods of time. But here is what amazed me about her: Every day she would find something to be grateful for even if it was something very small or even something that would seem difficult to feel gratitude towards.
She would be grateful for not being physically abused during the day even though nighttime brought on abuse. Or she would be grateful for water once she got it even if it was dirty. She would often think of her family and what an amazing life she had lived until the time of her abduction. At one point, she went without food or water for several days and thought that was going to be how she died. She made peace with it. She had hoped she would see her family again, but she felt tremendous thankfulness for having the time she had with them.
Even after she was rescued, her mother commented that Elizabeth did not miss a beat with her life. She went to high school, she dated. She eventually married in her twenties and had 2 beautiful children. She is now an activist for child safety.
I have thought about her over the last few days and what an amazing sense of grace she holds. I am so deeply touched at her strength to find things to be grateful for in her darkest hours even at such a young age. I know sometimes I allow myself to feel overwhelmed, tired and irritable with my life. I believe most of us have our moments when we lose track of the good things around us. But I wonder how many of us can feel gratitude when going through challenging times. Perhaps you are dealing with a death, or a significant injury or illness, or perhaps a divorce. Perhaps you had a very abusive childhood and are finding it difficult to cope with life now. Any one of these things can be very devastating and make it difficult to get through our day and get out of bed in the morning.
But just maybe, when life deals us a difficult blow to our bodies, minds and spirits, we can remember Elizabeth Smart’s story. We can dig deep into our psyches and find gratitude for something, anything. We can feel gratitude for the sun on our face, or the meal we are partaking in, or the smile of the grocery clerk. If your time on this earth is limited, perhaps you can find gratitude in having been born and having had the chance to learn and grow and love others and be loved in return.
Once we shift our energies towards gratitude, the world opens up and life brings us more things to please us. If we stay stuck in the difficult things that happened to us or are happening to us, we keep life from showering us with grace, beauty, love and miracles.
Life can be very difficult as we all know. There is no one who escapes pain and suffering if they live for even a year on this earth. However, in each moment of your life there is something to be thankful for. Reach out and embrace this knowing and acknowledge it! Then your life will be filled with the miracle of Thanksgiving every day of your life.
I am so deeply grateful for all of you in my life. Those of you who are reading this and whom I have never met are still a part of my soul family. Your energy reaches me and I am truly blessed by it!
Wishing you all the beauty of a grateful peaceful heart this Thanksgiving Day and Weekend.
Much Love,
Rosemary
Dear Rosemary
Such beautiful heartfelt words, thank you! How amazing that Elizabeth Smart could call forth gratitude at such a time.
At my friends funeral a few days ago, we thought of how he had touched our lives and how much richer we all were from knowing him. Also, on reaching my 70th birthday, the realisation that my friends were the most precious gift given to me, more than any possession. And sharing time… We are so blessed and giving thanks is so important.
Always so grateful to read your thoughts and feelings. Thank you for sharing! I always look forward to reading your blogs
With love and many blessings
Penny
Dear Penny,
Thank you for your sweet sharing. I am sorry to hear of your friend’s passing but how wonderful that he touched your lives in such beautiful ways. I am grateful and humbled that you take your time to read what I have to share.
Much Love,
Rosemary