joy - Grateful Joy Coaching

March 16, 2023March 16, 2023

Gratitude Is a Choice

Every day, every moment, I make choices.
Every day, every moment, I choose between options.
Every day, every moment, I have the option to choose gratitude.

When I wake up in the morning, I can choose to be grateful.
I have a choice to say, “Thank You,” either aloud or in my heart.
I have a choice to think of all I have to be grateful for.

When I choose to be grateful,
I am not oblivious to problems.
When I choose to be grateful,
I am not ignoring pain and suffering.
My inclination is to see what is wrong.
My opportunity is to see what is good.

When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
life is a precious, tender gift.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
the human body and health are to be valued and protected.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
other people, and human connection, are part of who we are.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I have a place in this world, and you have a place in this world.

When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
the natural world is fascinating and awe-inspiring.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I am healed by being under an open sky,
sunrise and sunset, the moon and the stars.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I am healed by being near grass, trees, flowers,
plants, creatures, and natural formations of many kinds.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I am healed by seeing the beauty of a mountain,
an ocean, a desert, and still and moving water.

Life is not without pain, suffering, loss, and grief.
Life is also not without a world of good that is all around.

I have more good than I realize.
I am hopeful when I choose to hope.
I am loved when I choose love for myself and others.
I am accepted when I choose compassion for myself and others.
I am forgiven when I choose forgiveness for myself and others.
I am joyful when I choose to practice gratitude.

Gratitude is a choice.

March 15, 2023March 15, 2023

Human Connection

We are more alike than we realize. We are human. We are beings. We are creatures made for connection. We thrive when we love, and we are loved. We grow when we are in relationship with others.

We forget all of this. We focus on how we imagine we are different. We don’t even take the time to listen to each other. We want to be right. How can we all be right? How can each of us believe we know truth, and we believe the ‘other’ has no truth? What if we are looking at the same thing, and we are seeing it from different angles?

Do we not all love our families? Parents, do you not love your children? Children, do you not love your parents? Are there not parents and children all over the world? How do we imagine we have nothing in common?

Listening to each other, with attention, with curiosity, with acceptance, is one way we can bridge this artificial gap we have created. We are human. We are more alike than we are different.

As we learn to love ourselves, and accept ourselves, we can learn to love each other. As we learn to love each other, and accept each other, we can learn to love ourselves.