This morning I woke with the image of a yin yang symbol in my head. I do not remember the dream but I remember being very comforted in the idea that even within yin there was a circle of yang and vis versa. Very few things in life are wholly and completely one thing. Many women, no matter how feminine, display certain aspects of "masculine" traits, as men can equally display certain feminine traits. I wouldn't fully comprehend the volume of something without having the silence to compare it to. Would we comprehend day if there was no night? This duality or perceived duality is, in fact, wholeness. It all just is and yet we have found different labels to understand it. The same is true with gratitude. Within a situation I am not grateful for, there are still things for which I am very grateful. And within the things I am grateful, there are things that may not be my favorite. For example, I am grateful for a later sunrise so that I may catch a little extra sleep and still see its beautiful appearance. Now, the days that I have to wake at a certain time anyway, I'm not necessary grateful that there is no sun to rise and greet me. But at the same time I am grateful for the quiet darkness that allows me to move from sleep to awake in a gentle way. There are always things we can appreciate within our situation and perhaps some things that we do not within that same situation. There is nothing wrong with being aware of the things we are less than grateful for each day. Yet it is within the gratitude, the joy, and focusing on the blessings that we can shift our lives toward the positive. It is a choice. There are millions of things to witness in each moment and each of us has the power to choose not only what we witness but how we will choose to interpret it. Practice in your journal. Write something you are not grateful for and then practice seeing all the things you are grateful for with that same situation. A mother may write that she is not grateful her child was up sick all night. Not only is her child ill but she has gotten no sleep. Perhaps she finds gratitude in the fact that her child is rarely sick and this is not a common occurrence. Perhaps she finds gratitude in knowing her child's body knows how to fight off illnesses. Maybe she is grateful that as she stays home with her child today she can nap along side the beautiful child she brought into this world as they both catch up on the sleep missed last night. The more focused on gratitude we are, the more positive we see our world. Like the yin yang, there is always another side to things. There is always positive even within the things for which we are not so grateful. Try it for yourself. What is the yin yang in your life today? What are you grateful for within the situations you are not grateful? How can you choose to focus on the gratitude in each situation? I'm grateful to wake slowly within the still dark sky. I'm grateful to be able to witness the sunrise. I'm grateful for the stillness. I'm grateful for a patient dog and I'm grateful for one that is not afraid to ask for what she wants. I'm grateful for communication and I'm grateful for the many forms of love. May your day be blessed by focusing on your gratitude and may the World show you more things for which to be grateful! Have a beautiful day!
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