When the fun and play seems to evaporate and the smile goes into hiding turn to face gratitude and rest deeply into it.
When pain is common and ease seems so far, get grateful for Everything, yes EVEN the aspects that to the mind seem less than pleasurable at the time, Even them for They are Such wise, incredible teachers.
Gratitude is very powerful and humbling.
I am Grateful, Deeply and Profoundly for Absolutely Everything.
I wouldn’t have missed a Second of Any of this dance, Every molecule has been Perfect to lead me to THIS moment, resting Here, just Being.
My life has never looked like a straight path from A to B. There’s been red herrings and blind alleys and retracing my steps again but on it goes and it is all Amazing, Never a mistake, never an error.
There is Magic in EVERYTHING that is offered, no matter How it appears. It’s All incredible and beautiful and full of wonder and such growth. I bow to the totality. Once I Start naming that which I am grateful for it flows and flows, there is So much. This is where the Abundance starts to flow back in again as well.
But what happens, if life is deeply intense and you don’t feel grateful for much at all and it seems a completely alien concept, where could you even begin to touch gratitude?
Get Close to yourself - what about your breath? What about the in breath, the pause and the outbreath? If that is not the Most Delicious Sacred Sweetness, then I don’t know what is. Right there, there is magic. Magic is offered in the birth and death in one simple conscious breath, the breath that we take for granted every day. Watch it, notice it. It Doesn’t matter how long or short it is, how full it is, it is magnificent and perfect.
Stay there, just rest with That. It’s enough for the rest of your life and it will be your guide. When things get crazy, return to That simplicity of just noticing the breath.
Sure there are Many practices and techniques and they are incredible but the Simple act of watching is enough. Don’t make it ANY more complicated than That. Don’t add in layers and layers of procedures and techniques. Strip them All away and just notice.
There is Such Sweetness in Simplicity and there you may tumble into Gratitude and it may flow like sweet rivers. In its own way and time and pace and way. Don’t be like Anyone elses river, be your Own, let the flow be your own, for it is perfect.
Gratitude will steer you and show you richer, deeper treasures along the way but if you are lost and confused at any point, return to the breath and count your blessings. And Rest. Rest rest rest. Everything else will take care of itself in it’s own sweet time.
Om Shanti.