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Gratitude is a Super Power!

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I am grateful to be looking at gratitude yet again this blog!
Gratitude is an awesome superpower. I read recently that one of the most powerful statements you can make, feel or think is ‘thank you’. Thank you to others and yourself too.
 
It is so helpful to remember to be thankful to all those people in our lives who have been motherly, kind and caring toward us, including of course our own maternal mothers, to whom we owe so much, including our lives. Remembering to be thankful to friends, family and strangers too for the kindness they show us in all sorts of ways is powerful to promote our happiness and peace of mind. We'll talk more about gratitude for mothering kindness next blog, as it will be Mother's Day weekend. I'll be on board travelling from Canberra to Sydney!
 
It is also great to be thankful to others who give us the opportunity to be kind to them. This includes, friends, family, pets, strangers and of course our children or anyone we care for.

It's great to remember to tune into our wise selves to be kind and thankful to ourselves too. Seeing ourselves be a positive force in the world, being kind and grateful creates a happy perception. We can reinforce this goodness by being thankful to ourselves. We can be grateful to ourselves for doing our best to be a kind, positive force in the world. Remembering also to forgive ourselves and others for all those so called ‘mistakes’, more helpfully known as learning opportunities. 
 
The opportunities to extend kindness do not always come in the ways we expect and sometimes these kind acts are received without thanks. I find it helpful to thank myself, especially during those times like when I have spent a lot of time and effort doing something like making a family meal which is received with 'I don't like this!' Resting in my intention to have prepared a healthy meal and thanking myself helps to prevent resentment. A space I  have known very well. 

Sometimes extending kindness, especially as parents, can be in the form of a strong boundary like ‘please, don’t speak to me like that’, or ‘no, you can’t do that’. Such Kindness always has the intention to protect others from harm.

I can remember the need for such a strong kind boundary many years ago when I needed to enforce the ‘no sleeping with phone rule’ with my then thirteen-year-old. As I was saying goodnight to them, I discovered the phone under their bedclothes. I removed the phone and there was much subsequent protesting.  I needed to check in with my wise self to remember that my intention was to prevent harm and for them to get a good night’s sleep. I was then able to thank myself for being courageously kind, as the protests continued.  
 
More about gratitude and its awesome benefits next blog.
With love, appreciation and very best well wishes to us all 


​

Being Patient When Things Get Broken

10/31/2017

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​Do you ever have trouble letting go of blame, resentment or criticism when things get damaged? As we have explored over the past weeks, we can use the technique of letting go of blame and resentment of others and ourselves when things don't go as planned or when things go missing. I had the opportunity to practice this same letting go when I discovered the window of our car had been smashed while while writing last weeks blog. 

I was sitting in the sun in Echuca, writing when I received a phone call from the man who has been mowing our lawns fortnightly for the past 25 years. He told me that he had just noticed the side window of our Polo car was smashed and asked if I had been aware of it. 'No', was my reply, 'it was fine when we left that morning'. My mind went to all kinds of hypothesising about possible causes and suspects, including him, someone attempting to break into the car and myself for leaving a cloth bag visible in the front seat. Fortunately I remembered this was not helpful and recalled what I had only just written!
  • Hypothesising about possible causes and blame was ruining my peace of mind and
  • If you can do something about it then do it and don't waste time worrying.
So I could let go of blame judgment and worry, and instead I could ...
  • Reassure the gardener it did not matter how it happened and that it was not a problem. And thank him for ringing me so I could organise to get it fixed on our way home.
  • Decide it had been an accident by who knows who and let it go 
 As the Dalai Lama says 'We often add to our pain and suffering (and that of others too) by being over sensitive and over-reacting to minor things and sometimes taking things too personally'.

So, I let it go and had faith it would all work out, and it did.
On the way home I rang Windscreen's O'Brien. The power of advertising allowed me to recall their jingle from years ago and I am so happy I did. A very nice man, Victor, took my call and was so helpful and patient with me, even when I could not recall our car registration number and insurance policy details! He asked me if we had glass insurance cover, 'Oh no I am pretty sure we don't' I said. Victor kindly asked me if he could check it for me and I agreed with little optimism. He came back on the line a few minutes later to cheerfully tell us we did have the cover and that we could take the car to Camberwell the following day to have the glass replaced for free!

How amazing, I was so grateful to myself for letting go of judgment and criticism so quickly. I was also grateful to the gardener for his call, Victor for his patience and kind persistence in checking our insurance, Sam for helping me to punch out and clean up the glass and the friendly, skilled tradesman who installed the window and cleaned up so well. I was thankful of so many opportunities to practice patience, letting go of blame and judgment, and gratitude. 

Next month and in December too I plan to focus our blogs on Gratitude. Being grateful is an instant way to feel happier about everything and is the gateway to our contentment.
  
Have a great week. Thank you all. 
Kind Regards and Best Wishes, 
Maree xx ​
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