Gratitude for the Little Things

I live in a palace. Now my neighbors probably wouldn’t agree. They would say their houses, that are at least 4000 square feet, are much closer to palaces than mine.  For I live in an ancient cottage, (108 years old), so it could not possibly be called a palace.

But to most people around the world, my little cottage is a palace. In those refugee camps where a family of 10 is living in a tent, or in the projects where nobody has a room to themselves, or the immigrants who are sleeping on the streets of El Paso, they would consider that having 950 sq. ft. all to myself sure looks like living in a palace.

It’s all in perspective. And because we live in a time when the addiction to more has taken over our collective consciousness, we can easily, so easily forget how much we have to be grateful for. Here are some of the things that move through my grateful heart:

I turn on the tap and clean water flows and I remember that there are millions upon millions of people all around the world who don’t have access to safe water.

I turn on my heat and I realize there are also millions of people all over the world who, when they are too hot or too cold, can do very little about it.

When I open my refrigerator and it is full of food, I realize right within my community there are people who are living with food insecurities.

When I see the videos of Russian rockets ripping through Ukrainian homes, hospitals, and power grids, I realize I live in a fairly safe place.

When I feel little flashes of the old darkness I used to live in that is filled with self-hate and despair, I realize that millions of children are walking down that same dark path and I meet my darkness so that they don’t have to get lost as I did.

And when I connect with friends and loved ones, I remember that there are millions of people that feel so utterly alone that they no longer want to live.

Oftentimes, I send safety, the sense of not being alone, and the image of accessible food, water and shelter out in ripples of my heart that I imagined touching all these people that are right now living with a lot less than I am.

I could go on and on about the things I find throughout my day to appreciate that bring me back to the truth that this moment is enough, and I am enough in this moment. So, the invitation is to make your own list and whether you know it or not, every moment you allow your heart to open in appreciation for the little things, it brings the collective mind of humanity another step in its healing.

My newest online interactive course, Falling in Love with You beginning February 1^st will help you cultivate this kind of gratitude for yourself. This course explores how you became disconnected from your own heart and the pathway back to meeting yourself with compassion and kindness, so you can know the joy of being authentically you.