So much to be thankful for

You will find there is so much to be thankful for – you just need to stop and reflect!

Following last weeks posting I was still feeling energised all weekend and as fate would have it came across this.

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/60-things-thankful-for-life.html

It got me thinking a lot , I have been blessed in that I am truly thankful for everything that life has thrown at me , regrets sure-I have tons but at the same time I’m thankful for the lessons learnt along the way, for the friendships that have endured and hopefully the wisdom earned.

Don’t get me started on the music ….

For those that don’t take the time to read this little anecdote its no surprise that ( I hope not in order of importance ) the list contains the usual suspects wealth, health , friendship ,amenities ( a place to sleep, a roof, water, food) – no real surprise there but things like

Pets, for me my lifetime friends, all with their own character, family until the almost always tearful farewell

Learning from mistakes, the ability to learn new things, challenges in life that drive us to greatness

Laughter, there is no alternative better than laughter (unless directed towards politicians)

Being able to read, Books, people willing to share their knowledge, access to education

Pain, a strange one indeed

I had to digress a little to one of my favourites – Kahlil Gibrain

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that
pass over your fields. And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity: For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.”

Art, bringing light to what could otherwise be a dark world

Children, one of the pillars of if not the singular most important reason for our existence, watching them grow, laugh and develop is one of the greatest gifts in life

To enable this is also somewhat challenging but we can all play a part in each other’s appreciation of life, we always say it’s the smallest things that have the greatest impact on others. Additionally the things we do shouldn’t be tethered against expectations.

The right effort of generosity

Don’t expect much from a drowning man. He’s not going to offer you a candy bar or ask how your day was.

He’s too busy not drowning.

Generosity takes effort.

It requires the space to take your mind off your own problems long enough to see someone else’s.

It requires the confidence to share when a big part of you wants to hoard.

And it requires the emotional labour of empathy.

Generosity begins by trusting ourselves enough to know that we’re not actually drowning.

Reflecting again on the list of thinks to be thankful for I cannot help myself but share another of my favourite Kahlil Gibrain reflections, when asked about happiness and sorrow he answered

On Joy and Sorrow
 Kahlil Gibran

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the self-same well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

Music for the day … https://www.mixcloud.com/Frantricky/songs8-favs/

And 9, 7 , 6 ,5 4…(3,2,1) I highly recommend the whole series 😊, starting at #1