In my early days, when I was below the age of 16, I can say that the main creatures that kept me afloat were my dogs. I had learned to survive by being present to everyone and everything except myself. As I said, it was a survival tactic that I created by using my own soul gifts of deep feeling awareness ( maybe because of my Pisces moon) and an ability to see the big picture( maybe because of my Sagittarian sun).
I learned to be hyper-vigilant to what was going on to try to keep order. Of course, these tactics did not work, but I had the illusion that they did.
Today’s blog is not about healing from co-dependency, it is about gratitude.
When in survival mode until the age of 16, I did not know about gratitude at all. However, in High School, some of my teachers began talking to me about my own gifts and achievements. They would suggest that I sign up for the advanced courses. When I first heard things like this, I would think, “me? They must be talking about someone else…………”. Then when other teachers in other classes also encouraged me, I began slowly to wake up. It was a grand awakening.
This acknowledgement by teachers continued into under-graduate, graduate and ministerial school. I would not be where I am today were it not for these teachers.
There acknowledgement of me saved my life. This is what makes gratitude a shape shifter, it transforms everything. The things they said to me and the way they said it was a form of gratitude. In a sense, they were saying thank you for my gifts.
Mark Nepo, in his Book of Awakening on page 388 (from the reading titled: “The Kinship of Gratitude”, beginning with the 4th paragraph), says this about Gratitude:
”Sometimes just giving thanks for the mystery of it all brings everything and everyone closer ……………so take a chance and openly give thanks………and feel the plenitude of all that is living brush up against your heart.”
My teachers blessed me with their acknowledgement of who I was. They saved my life. This is why Gratitude is a shape shifter. This simple and profound act brought healing love to me and it changed everything.
My invitation to you, not only on this day but in all the days to come is this:
BECOME A SHAPE SHIFTER: KNOW YOU HAVE THE POWER TO “BRING EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING CLOSER”.
You may not even know whose life you are saving by simply acknowledging the truth of who they are.
If you read this on Thanksgiving, and no matter who you are gathering with, even if it is simply yourself, find a way to say thanks for a special gift you see in another or yourself. Simply doing this, can transform everything.
Today I especially give thanks to:
High School: Ms Bleomker, (English) Mr. Hene,(Government) Mrs. Williams, (Journalism)
Under Graduate School: Professors: B.B. Morris, Ami Sha’ked, and Roger Ware
Graduate School: Professor Linda McCabe, Graham Sterritt
Ministerial School: Professors: Marvin Anderson and Janet Manning
And beyond: Ted Klontz, PhD, Mike Denhof, PhD, and Mark Nepo, PhD, and to my web-site designer, Christopher Brazy, and to Rev. David Ridge, Unity minister.
And finally, I give thanks to my 4 children, Christopher, (my 2 legged)
Jessie and Sunny( the Golden 4 leggeds) and Harmony(my 1000 pound mare).
And to my husband, Nat Carter, who was shocked to find that I could not see myself the way others saw me.
~THANK YOU DIVINE LOVE THAT TRANSFORMS AND HOLDS US ALL TOGETHER~
~THANK YOU DIVINE LIFE THAT RESTORES~
~THANK YOU DIVINE LIGHT THAT GUIDES ALL THINGS BACK TO WHOLENESS~