“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.”
–Meister Eckhart
The more I say, “Thank you,” the more I am grateful for, this I know for sure.
The other day my sister and I went to one of our favorite spas, Beverly Hot Springs. As I sat in the serene hot springs, I found myself saying thank you to every thought I had, thank you for my sister, thank you for my journey, thank you for the ups, the downs, the tears, the fears. Thank you for all of my relationships, the ones that didn’t end up great, the ones that ended and the ones that brought my dearest friends. Thank you for what awaits me, thank you for my husband and my little girl I can’t wait to meet! Thank you for this amazing new job opportunity. Thank you for my breath, my life, my parents who are guiding me from Heaven. Thank you lord for my family, my friends, my church, my pastor, thank you…for my Faith.
Thank you for every “No,” which allowed me to dig deeper for that ultimate “YES.”
I understand now, that a NO just means there is something greater awaiting me. But, in that moment of NO it felt as if the world was tearing me down, when in reality it was building me up to be the greatest version of myself, the fullest expression of happiness…my purpose.
You see…I thought my purpose was all about being a working actress, and if I wasn’t working I wasn’t happy. However, when I concentrated on just a slice of life, I missed out on the opportunity to be grateful for all of life. Ironically, being “out of work” allowed me to appreciate all of my life’s work. I began to be grateful and say thank you in every moment; in the aroma of cutting garlic and cooking my favorite dinner and sharing it, it’s in listening to a friend who is in need, or in laughter shared. Thank you sits on my yoga mat, walks in my hiking shoes, is silent in my meditation practice and in my hands as I write. It’s in my cheers at my nephews flag football games, in telling my brothers how much I love them, or my sister, my aunts, or a friend. It’s in the smile I give a stranger who looks sad, it’s in buying a man on the street a sandwich, or in singing at church and not caring what anyone thinks!
It’s in forgiveness.
It’s in letting go and trusting.
It’s in not having all the answers and living in the questions.
Gratitude is seeing the beauty in everything, every Being and IN me.
It’s in the hot springs where I sit in “spa gratitude!”
In the New year may you count your blessings and lose count of your “thank yous!”
“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.
Have you used one to say, “Thank you?”
—William A. Ward
Until next time, go to Questions & Actors, click LIKE and USE it! It’s for you!
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