As I take some time to reflect on the year gone by, the first word that comes to mind is gratitude. How fitting that it is the first word since that was my focus this year.
Two a half years ago I attended an event and one of the many gifts from that event was the realization that I didn’t know how to receive. I was quick to give but unable to receive. I remember vividly how I rationalized not taking from anyone. If you were to offer me something, anything, I would politely (because that’s what Mom taught me) say “no thank you”. I had the firm belief that by not taking from you, I was actually giving to you.
How selfish.
That’s what I realize now. It was actually selfish of me to not be a gracious receiver when offered something. I held so tightly to believing that I was serving you that I didn’t see how I was actually taking away from you. I always knew that when I offered someone something, I deeply wanted it to be accepted graciously because I had wanted to give it to them.
What I had never considered was that if I am not graciously accepting, I’m taking from you the piece that I love so much when I give to others.Read more...
This was the exclamation of my daughter’s response to someone yesterday at school immediately AFTER saying “thank you.” As she shared this with me this morning in the bathroom while getting ready for school, I could hardly hear her words.
She had a tone of disgust, frustration and bewilderment as to why people would be saying such a thing so often. Of course, as her Mom, I had always known these words to be true, as did close family and friends. In fact, she had heard the compliment many times before over the course of her short 14 and 3/4 years.
This was different.
All of the sudden, she was receiving the same compliment on nearly a daily basis and she didn’t understand WHY.
It only takes a moment to recognize the truth behind the compliment. As you look into her eyes, you would probably agree as it goes something like this…
“…Jasny, wow! You have such beautiful and piercing blue eyes!”
Of course she has been taught how to be a gracious receiver and as I know, that isn’t always the easy option nor is it the option that we are most comfortable with. Like many, we are still learning just what being a gracious receiver means. When she first began receiving the lovely compliment, she would graciously accept it and say “thank you”. As I learned this morning, that has shifted quite a bit. Read more...
Who do you choose to surround yourself with and why in the world does this matter?
Watch and find out now.
If you think about your life for a moment, is there a relationship that you need to explore? I strongly encourage you to quit ignoring the signs and allow yourself to fully embrace the truth that is before you. Is it easy, not always. Is it worth it, every single time.
Please share – what is the best thing you receive from your current relationships?
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heal that has crushed it.” ~ Mark Twain
In a recent interview I saw with Dr. Wayne Dyer, he was asked about his life and whether or not his past bothered him with everything he had to go through when he was younger? Like many of us, he struggled with quite a few difficulties and challenges as he was growing up. He was abandoned by his father and lived as an orphan for many years, among other things.
His answer to the question was no, he wasn’t bothered by it. In fact, he was appreciative of everything he had to experience. He talked about forgiveness being one of the biggest lessons we are here to learn.
In fact, in one of his most recent books Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life – Living The Wisdom Of The Tao he dedicates the book to his father stating, “For my father, Melvin Lyle Dyer. Even though I’ve never known you, after thoroughly digesting the Tao, I finally get it! It is-and always was-all perfect. I love you.”
I, too, know what he speaks of and greatly agree in the importance of forgiveness. Because I have blamed, I did/do have room for forgiveness. In order to learn the lesson about how to forgive and why forgiving is important, I, too, had to go through my experiences. By going through the experiences I went through, I can fully and do fully embrace the life I’m living now. (Here’s one of my stories of letting go and ultimately forgiving after years of blame.)
