Reflections

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  1. H
    HappinessUnbounded

    Being grateful always makes me happy. Being grateful reminds me to come into this present moment and realize the joy of being alive.
    I see the brick buildings outside my window, I see the fluffy white clouds against the sky, I see my thriving plants, I see my books, I see my cup of tea.
    I touch the keys on my keypad, the hot cup of tea in my hands, my shirt on my shoulders, my hair against my neck.
    I hear construction on the buildings, children in the street, my dog sigh.
    I smell my dog, the oat milk in the thee.
    I taste pickwick zwarte thee.

    I love my life. I love being alive. I am so grateful that I get to experience the world again through these new eyes.
    I am grateful that I have the blood, energy, and genes of my past generations and that now I am adding to a long legacy of our family.
    I am grateful for the sun, the environment, and the energy.
    I am grateful for my friends, who work to make me a better person, who work to build me up.
    I am grateful for my body which allows me to do things.
    I am grateful for my dog, who brings me constant love & admiration.
    I am grateful to my family for showing me alternative ways to live a full life.
    I am grateful for Matt because he showed me what true love looks like.
    I am grateful for my experiences, for my moments, and for my life as I live it right now.

    11 months ago
  2. Robin Ann

    Practicing gratefulness brings me peace. I look for awe moments that bring me joy. Right now that is my focus. This site and everyone’s reflections puts a smile on my face. I look forward to coming on this site every day. Thank you all for being here !!

    11 months ago
  3. CoreenB

    In each moment I pause to consider and be grateful what the moment holds for me. I find meaning then, and meaning brings peace and joy to me.

    11 months ago
  4. Don Jones

    Gratefulness helps me lean fearlessly into the Mystery. Happiness is not the enchilada, but perhaps the sauce on the side.

    11 months ago
  5. pkr

    Being grateful always makes me happy. From the moment I put my feet on the floor, after rising from my bed in the morning, till I say my nighttime prayers, thanking Almighty for my many gifts from the day, I am thankful. For me, I try to make being grateful an all day event! I am richly blessed. I am thankful. 🙏🏻

    11 months ago
  6. Diane

    I am thinking of other words besides “happy”.
    CONTENTMENT…..when I am grateful, PEACE resides within. When I am grateful I am in AWE with WONDER. When I am grateful I am filled with HOPE.
    One of the benefits of old age is that I can look back on my life and all the ways that God has led, guided and blessed me. And with an awareness that He/She was with me even during the dark times. This helps me to TRUST life.

    11 months ago
  7. luv-1-nutter

    As a young man entering the ashram and leaving the house of my birth. The word ashram means a place where there’s no anxiety with a felt connectedness as Brothers and Sisters. As in a hospital the ashram is meant to help guide me as I go through both social, and spiritual stations of life, feeling grateful for what is.

    11 months ago
  8. Charlie T

    I remember thinking with gratitude
    about water, and deciding to really
    just meditate on it.
    Thinking about it in all of its forms with
    gratitude and how grateful I am that it’s
    so readily available to me. And then
    the thought of sitting in my little kiddy
    pool came across my mind and I felt a
    wave of joy. And then I thought about
    the fun and adventures I’ve had with water.
    I couldn’t believe I had left out this
    aspect of this life giving element.
    Now, when I think about water, I am sure
    to reflect on the experiences I’ve had
    Immersing myself and how alive I’ve
    felt and the sensory experience of
    this amazing element.

    11 months ago
    1. Michele

      Have you tried one of those sensory float tanks? You might enjoy that. 🙂

      11 months ago
    2. Joseph McCann

      Agua es Vida. Water is Life. Thank you Charlie.

      11 months ago
    3. Diane

      I love this Charlie. Your beautiful reflection reminds me of St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of Creation which I often pray.
      In it he praises Sun, Moon, Wind and Air, Fire, Mother Earth…and water.

      “Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Water,
      who is very useful to us,
      and humble and precious and pure.”

      11 months ago
  9. Nannette

    Every day I am grateful for all the gifts I have…and when I stop and think…that sure does make me happy. Sometimes…even gratefullness is taken for granted. Stopping and thinking and enjoying and savoring that grateful moment creates unbound happiness. Wishing everyone here today a very good day. Bless one and all.

    11 months ago
  10. Banning

    When I get a chance to spend time with someone important to me I am grateful that they are there and it makes me happy 🙂

    11 months ago
  11. Barb C

    Every time I stop to truly pay attention and appreciate the world around me it brings me happiness.

    11 months ago
  12. Carol

    I don’t know that gratefulness makes me happy but it does help me to not be sad. It tunes my egoic mind to see the cup half full instead of half empty. It helps me to be present and willing to embrace what life has to offer me NOW. It opens my eyes and gives me the courage to open my heart.

    I share a brief excerpt from my 2017 journal:
    Do you want to be free or happy? I want to be free. I have a wish for all of us and that is to remember (to quote Br. David) that our motivator is either “fear or trust.” That identifying the difference between hopes and hope is very necessary. To paraphrase Br. David: Hopes are something we can imagine with our finite minds but hope is about the unknown. It requires trust. We constantly engage in self talk—feverishly seeking and trying to find happiness through someone or something. Might we be putting LIFE on hold? Br. David speaks of “BEing Joyful” instead of seeking happiness. Try “doing” joy. It doesn’t work. Life is for living not taking. It is for letting not getting. I think of the song, “Me and Bobby McGee.” It goes: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. Nothing ain’t worth nothing but it’s free.” I remind myself often that LIFE is FREE. It is a mysterious gift.

    11 months ago
  13. sunnypatti

    How can you not feel happiness when you are grateful? It’s literally every time!

    11 months ago
  14. Joseph McCann

    The practice of gratitude has helped me realize that true happiness is not striving for happiness.

    11 months ago
  15. Laura

    Every time I pause to notice the abundance in my life.

    11 months ago
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