“Gratitude Leads to Joy”: Many of you have heard the quotation from German theologian Eckhart von Hochheim, commonly known as Meister Eckhart, ‘if the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is – Thank you – it will be enough.” How many times each day do you say, “thank you?” I invite you to consider that when you express your gratitude, be specific in your description. For example: to the waiter at a restaurant, “thank you for serving me today.” To the person at the grocery store, “thank you for bagging my groceries.” To your spouse, “I appreciate you preparing dinner tonight.” Before your meal, “We are grateful to the salmon who gave its life for our nourishment.” Each moment is a new opportunity to express appreciation. Consider that when you focus on gratitude, joy is a natural extension of the spiritual experience of appreciation. Live in gratitude and joy will bubble up inside of you and overflow! Do you realize that all of the attributes of Love (of God) are within you? You are love, joy, peace, gratitude, hope, strength, etc. When you realize the Truth of who you are, life flows and feels natural. There is nothing to attain. Joy is a lovely remembrance of the Divine Self. If life feels very difficult, there are barriers to these Divine Qualities, and it is time for self-reflection, forgiveness, and healing.
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Sometimes we forget that we have the power within to create and change our lives. It is often difficult to understand and accept that the past is over, gone, finished. The past doesn’t control your life anymore. You are the creator every new day of who you wish to be and what you wish your life to look like. It is easy to feel safe, secure, and grateful when everything seems to be going ‘our way.’ We then say, “Yes, it is good, thank you God.” and we are grateful. But can we trust that life is always as it should be, that all is in “Divine Order?” That even in those times when we may be going through hardship or a challenge, that there are valuable lessons to be learned and blessings to be recognized? The challenge is to see the gift during the difficulty, to see it through a heart of love. Is it possible that everything is as it should be? What if we were to choose to stand in the knowledge and comfort of a loving Universe? What if we choose to believe that LOVE is all there is…an all-encompassing love that is the true Source of everything? When we choose this then we know that everything must be in “Divine Order” (regardless of appearances that seem contrary). When we feel fear, our prayer might be, “I wish to see this differently, to see this with loving eyes.” When we release fear and choose this attitude of love, then we know with certainty the good within everything. Perhaps just a little at a time, but we eventually arrive at the full knowledge that love is all there is! When you create your new day with a loving, grateful attitude, the opportunities are endless. Join Western Spirit on a retreat that will show you the many possibilities of love, joy and abundance you are capable of creating!
