"Thanks"

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." William Arthur Ward

I have really started to work and build my muscle called "Gratitude". When I am not present to gratitude I am usually in a place of lack...a place where I am thinking about what I don't have, what I want and what is missing. When I am down and out (usually heading down the rabbit hole) I have been starting to shift my focus off of what I don't have onto what I do have. I have started to just say "Thank you" for everything. I guess I am saying thanks to the universe, to whoever is listening as I believe I am never alone.

When I wake up in the morning I say "Thanks" for a warm and cozy bed in a beautiful safe apartment. When I go for a run I always stop at the opening of English Bay and say "Thank You" for the beautiful place in which I live and "Thanks" to my body for being strong and healthy. When I am in the shower I say "Thanks" for the hot water, soap and shampoo. When I am preparing food I say "Thanks" for all of the delicious food that will feed and nourish my amazing body. When I get out of my car after driving I always say "Thanks" for a safe drive in my amazing car. At work I say "Thanks" for my job, for the income it creates and for the fun people I work with and the love and laughter from the kids. As I type this I say "Thanks" for my computer and the technology that allows me to communicate with people I know and don't know all over the world. When I feel alone, I stop and say "Thanks" for all my friends and family who love and cherish me. I continue saying thanks throughout my day, all day for big things and little things. As I fall asleep, I go over my day and say "Thanks" for everything all over again.

I say "Thanks" to a lot to people in my life all the time too. I love letting them know that I appreciate them and that they make a difference to me in my life.

"Feeling gratitude but not expressing it is like wrapping up a present and not giving it." William Arthur Ward

The word "Thanks" is becoming the most frequently used word in my vocabulary. I am saying it all the time, for everything that I see, touch, taste, smell, hear and feel. Everytime I say "Thanks", I am building my muscle, making it stronger and ever more present in my life. When I stop and look at my life, I see I have so much to be thankful for. I sometimes become so overwhelmed with gratitude that I get so emotional that the tears start flowing and I feel my heart open . I am surrounded by so much love and goodness.

When I am in the present moment, all there is for me is gratitude. There is no past. There is no future. I am without longing and wanting. I am enough. I have enough.