This week, we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States—a time to pause and reflect on the blessings of life and say “thank you.” For me, this year has been filled with rich experiences, abundant love in my family and in the Transformational Presence community, and the fullness of our work together.
As I reflect on all that I am grateful for, I am reminded of two things. First, that gratitude and thanksgiving can be a way of life. And second, that gratitude is a choice. In fact, so are love, compassion, acceptance, understanding, and a host of other “attitudes.” We can choose how we will meet the opportunities and challenges of our lives.
For the last several months, I have been consciously practicing walking in love. I imagine that love is the ground on which I stand and the ground beneath my feet as I walk. I breathe into love deep in my belly. I create an intentional space of love all around me. While my primary focus has been to walk in love, I sometimes shift my focus to walk in compassion, acceptance, gratitude, or appreciation—whatever attitude feels the most appropriate in that moment. In other words, I’ve been practicing making a conscious choice about the “attitude ground” I stand in.
It’s important to note that walking in gratitude and love does not mean denying or avoiding conflicting thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Fear, anger, resistance, or doubt may also be present. It’s not about pushing those feelings or thoughts away. Instead, it’s about choosing the attitude or energy in which I walk so that I can be present with those thoughts and feelings in the most constructive way. It’s been an incredibly empowering practice.
During this month’s community call for graduates of the TPLC* and TPLA* programs, we explored this practice through an exercise. Because the responses from participants were so powerful and illuminating, I share the exercise with you in the 11-minute video below. Let the exercise help you recognize the attitude ground that will best serve you to walk in right now.
Wherever you are in the world, may you be touched this week by the grace of gratitude and thanksgiving.
*TPLC and TPLA are the “Transformational Presence for Leaders and Coaches” and “Transformational Presence Leadership in Action” programs.
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Related Blog Posts:
- Thanksgiving Greetings – Unexpected Gratitude
- Being in the Moment-to-Moment Flow, Even in Challenging Times
- Gratitude for the Risk Takers