Grateful Me

So, it's been a while since I've written.  Firstly, I want to say that I probably have had the best Christmas that I've ever had!  And yes, it is because we finally finished our room addition, and yes it is because my daughter and my son in law have finally bought a most magnificent home, (and yes, near us!) and yes, because my son found a lovely lady to love him, and marry him.  (And of course she found a most excellent man, my son, to love her and cherish her; at least he better! ;-)  )


But it's a new year with a future ahead of us all.  I believe there is much in store for us and I want to make sure I'm aware and intentional about knowing how rich I really am.  A friend of mine on Facebook told me about a book she is reading, and highly suggested it to me.


 It's called "The Magic",  by Rhonda Byrne.  Her perspective on life is refreshing and in my case, life changing.  She talks about the wonders of youth where anything is possible, life is endless,  Santa Claus is real, miracles happen, true love is genuinely authentic, and life is good! With her words, she takes you back to those young, childhood memories. If you're really open, and you're really looking, those memories will stir something deep within your being that you thought was lost eons ago. 

" Truly I tell you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  Jesus


Actually for me, I'm a die hard idealist who remembers all the enchantments I used to feel when I sat under my grandparents overgrown shrubbery. It felt like a perfect world where no one, or nothing could damage my fantasy of castles, princes and princesses, and a world so appealing, you never wanted to leave. I imagine C.S. Lewis had such a world in mind when he wrote about Narnia.  



For me, it wasn't a wardrobe that took me there, it was my grandparents Spirea.  It grew about four feet upwards and then it's limbs spilled over to the ground and left a cozy, charming space between the trunk of the bush and the limbs that touched the ground. Most of the time it was decorated with tiny, delicate, white flowers that looked like lace.   There, I climbed under it's protective covering and sat for hours, thinking, pretending and enjoying the summer's day.  



Yep, I remember that well.  

Of course I couldn't stay.  At that age,  I wasn't able to put my feelings or thoughts into words.  But if they could have been, I would have said that I didn't want to leave, and why couldn't the world stay like my imagined world.  Now, as an adult I have to ponder the question; "Was it really imagined??? Is it really imagined?" 


"I am here to tell you that the magic you once believed in is true, and it's the disillusioned adult perspective of life that is false.  The magic of life is real - and it's as real as you are.  In fact, life can be far more wondrous than you ever thought it was as a child, and more breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and exciting than anything you've seen before." (Rhonda Byrne...)

I won't even begin to tell you my whole story, but let me say this; one of the reasons I sought out my grandparents' backyard sanctuary was because my everyday life was not exactly my aspiration of the most ideal way to live.  It wasn't bad, and don't get me wrong, I am thankful for my upbringing, but there was always a subtle modulated communique, that spoke of doubt, cynicism and sadness and sickness.



So, to read those thoughts that Rhonda Byrnes spoke of in her book...WOW! And to actually be willing to believe those words, receive those words; maybe????  

Here's the short version of my story; At one point in my life when I found my faith after losing it for years, I was taught that we are not to go by our feelings, that our feelings deceive us, we need  to be practical etc etc etc..blah blah blah.  You catch my drift!!! So trying to be the best person I could be, I interpreted that to mean that my self was not trust worthy.  I became someone hard, self righteous, and fake. But I did it with good intentions of pleasing God and others.  I don't think I pleased God, myself or anyone else for that matter. Actually the reverse happened. However, thanks to God's wonderful grace and mercy, I was able to change.  I had to go through a whole lot of pain to get rid of the fake self and find who I truly was.  I am thankful for the pain that I went through, for the hell that I went through, for all that happened. (I really did try to keep it short!)


"That's the thing with magic.  You've got to know it's still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you."  charles de lint - writer anc celtic folk musician

Now, my life has been getting better and better.  Thank God! This book is teaching me even more about the mystery of life abundantly.  The book, as I've already said, is called,  "The Magic".  The Merriam-Webster definition of magic is "power that allows people to do impossible things by saying special words and performing special actions."  The magic she is talking about is gratitude.  Not just saying thank you, but saying thank you all the time for specific things, at specific times, and as she said "saturating yourself in gratitude." Feeling the gratitude in every fiber of your being is the goal.  



"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life changed." willie nelson


When I was about 8 or so, my father called me downstairs to watch a video of WW2 concentration camp survivors. He told me those were my ancestors. It was actual footage of the 'prisoners' being released from hellish, abusive prisons. Tiny men and women who were just a skeleton of their former selves.  The vision put an imprint on my soul that never went away. 




 I remember taking baths after that, and thinking about those survivors, thinking about all the things they had to go through. At my young age I soaked in my tub and felt extremely  rich and grateful for the clean, warm water, the big white tub, and of course the perfumed, bubbly,soap.



That was probably the beginning of my appreciation of all that I had. 

In Rhonda Byrne's book, you can choose to take the journey each day by doing certain exercises. The first one, which is repeated for 28 days, is keeping a journal of all you are grateful for and why.  Each day you log ten things you're thankful for and why you are thankful. 

"It is quite possible to leave your home for a walk in the early morning air and return a different person - beguiled, enchanted" mary ellen chase, educator and writer 1887-1973


 After you finish writing them, you read them aloud (or in your head) and say, "thank you, thank you, thank you". By the end of the 28 days, you have 336 things you are grateful for.  Because you say them every night before you go to bed, you wake up feeling wonderfully prosperous.  

Why do you think scripture is filled with giving thanks?  It certainly isn't because God is a narcissist. I believe it's because God set up certain ways our world, our universe works.  If one is grateful for what one has, however small, then much will be given to that person. If one complains, criticizes, and is constantly finding fault, I believe even what that person has is taken away... not by God, but by their lack of appreciation.

Okay, so I'm finished.  This is my fourth day and it's been a wonderful four days. I am thankful to Rhonda Byrne for writing this book!!! I will keep you posted!