It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. Traditionally, it’s a time for coming together with family and friends and expressing gratitude for the blessings of your life.
As Thanksgiving approaches this year, I realize that there are foundational parts of my life that I don’t often think to acknowledge. I’m pretty good at acknowledging the little things. Before dropping off to sleep at night, I have a practice of saying “thank you” for the gifts of the day – a particular conversation or interaction, a new awareness or insight, a moment of great laughter and delight, or an experience that touched me in a deep way.
However, it’s the big things in life that too often I neglect – things that are so much a part of the fabric of my life that I forget how important they are to me. It’s like a fish not noticing the water, yet without the water, the fish couldn’t live.
If you are at all tuned in to what is happening in the world, you can’t help but be aware that these are tumultuous times. Hundreds of thousands of people in many parts of the world are living on the edge, struggling to survive.
Therefore, this Thanksgiving, I am particularly grateful for a warm, comfortable, safe, and peaceful home and family that I love. I am grateful for dear friends all over the world – people who I hold in my heart and who I know hold me in theirs. And having entered my 60s this year, I’m grateful for excellent health and a strong spirit.
While I wouldn’t say that I take these things for granted, I also realize that I don’t acknowledge these blessings enough.
I am also particularly grateful this Thanksgiving for my work. Twenty years ago, I could never have imagined the life that I now live. In 2015 alone, I have led workshops and development programs in nine countries – the U.S., Canada, The Netherlands, Belgium, the U.K., Poland, Denmark, Sweden, and in December, Thailand. Through those programs, I have had the privilege of working with more than 500 people from fifteen different countries.
Today, the work of Transformational Presence and the people I get to serve are my greatest teachers. The longer I live with the concepts and principles of Transformational Presence, the richer my life becomes. My understanding about how life works and my awareness of the bigger picture of life keeps growing.
Many of the people with whom I am privileged to work in the Transformational Presence community have great visions and dreams. Their dedication and commitment to making a difference in the world is incredibly inspiring. Together, we learn and grow, and we support and encourage one another as we move forward. The Center for Transformational Presence has become an amazing global classroom and laboratory serving people from all walks of life, and for that, I am deeply grateful.
No matter what country you live in, I invite you to make your own personal Thanksgiving celebration. Take time this week to reflect on what you are grateful for. Tell the people you love what it is that you love about them. Share your gratitude for home, family, friends, and health.
And then take the extra step. What is so much a part of the fabric of your life that you forget to notice it? What is important to you that you have you been forgetting to acknowledge?
Take time this week to appreciate all of the gifts in your life and offer a deep bow of gratitude.
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