Each and every day, I feel full of gratitude because I should be dead, but obviously I’m not. In 2017, I learned I had serious illnesses and thought I had about 7-9 months of life left to live. So, I dutifully prepared all my affairs and accepted my fate, and felt I had lived a good life, wonderful career, great family and waited…. It is a funny feeling to watch other people around you die, but not die yourself. I wondered why and hence have tried to be as helpful to my family and friends and strangers as possible as I “pay it forward” with gratitude for life each and every day. Personally, I was always a planner and looked to the future. Now, I live in the present, and value each and every day, and I do not take each part of each day for granted. My illness was a gift to me. No matter what happens nearly every day, I try to seek out peace, harmony, calm, and thankfulness that I see the sun each day, and the moon at night, and feel the raindrops when it rains, or the winds and storms when they come because I am alive. Being alive beats or overcomes any negative event that may come my way. Each glance from my little Cock-a-poo doggie, every smile from my family or strangers, every story I hear, or conversation in which I engage at Starbucks, or with neighbors, or at the grocery store, fills me with pure joy because I was fortunate to experience that communication event with other people at least one more time… All of you people in my life for which I am grateful. I tell you my background story so you understand where joy comes from, but this blog is not about me, it is about all of you: People stressed by life events everyday. This blog is for you to find a brief moment to meditate, or take a breath, or pause to experience a special moment in time – to capture that memory and burn it into your life because it gave you such happiness, such joy, such pleasure. That moment let you escape briefly from your day. This is your journey in life, your journey to gratitude. Please come and discover your personal gratitude, your healing, your “wow”.

This is #gratitudelite. See post on February 28, 2021 for definitions of categories of gratitude.