How many times have you caught yourself in the middle of a judgment, harsh word, or thought, or just failed to appreciate the beauty that abounds in your life?

I have delicate purple flowers growing outside the window by my computer and beyond them lay birds of paradise and beyond those, trees of amazing colors, then the foothills, and the blue sky with white clouds. How much does Spirit need to offer to us for us to just say "thank you."  Gratitude is one of the most powerful gifts we have to give. It is a tool, we can only hone, by usage. 

Gratitude tells another that we appreciate what they have offered. It can lift another's heart, while lifting our own.

If there are changes you would choose for this earth, for your life, begin by taking the gift of gratitude into you and make a practice of sharing it daily, hourly, moment-to-moment.  Love, caring and a peaceful countenance are the tools with which we create more positive change. Anger can in no way beget peace. It would be walking a different road, one that only leads to darker views.

To see light, instead of darkness in a situation, we must step back from appearances and come from a place before the veils of "experience" dropped. We are suppose to learn from experiences, but if there has been no reliable teacher to help us understand just what has taken place, or worse yet, if a chaotic experience has been caused by someone we loved, the impressions made can seem to lock us into a darker way of viewing the world and what it has to offer.

To journey from that darker road demands constant vigilance on the way we view our changing circumstances and the very thoughts we dwell upon. It is all about choice. Choice to make a decision on what we would have in our lives, how we want to live our lives and then "catching" ourselves whenever we drift from that mind frame. This is where "free will" comes in. We are free to live in any MINDSET, dwell in any set of memories, and view the world as we so choose.

How can I make such a shift, which appears to be beyond my ability to change? 

First, view your support system--who contributes to this dark thinking within me, validating every anger, every vengeful thought?  Spend less time with these people, or eliminate them from your surroundings while you are doing this work.  If you care for them, you can spend some time with them after your inner work is done, giving them an opportunity to see life differently, or just allow them to serve as a reminder to how you do not want to think and be.

Secondly, become conscious of your thoughts--on how you see and judge what is happening around you. Reframe those incidents that tend to set you off, like the driver who is in a hurry and cuts you off. Instead of seeing them with anger and maybe honking at them, how about applying some compassion to your view? Plato said, "Be kind, for every person you meet is fighting a hard battle." Give the person you would be angry at, the benefit of doubt--they could very well be in the middle of their own hard battle.

And then, practice, Practice, PRACTICE--It is how we learn to play an instrument, learned to read, and how we learned to walk. Practice is how we make change.

Blessings,

Joann