Gratitude & Thanksgiving

Happy Thanskgiving to those of you celebrating this official holiday. I hope your celebration was memorable.

Mine was memorable for a couple of reasons. My 19 year-old step son, Jeremy was able to trek down from campus at San Francisco State University to the beach accompanied by his girlfriend, Perrine. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and some down time in the hot tub.

Justin also enjoyed seeing his brother and engaged him in several wrestling and light-sabre matches. I'm not sure who won these but I did hear yelps of momentary pain from either side.

The other memorable aspect of Thanksgiving 2005 was having one member of my family treat me in a less-than-affectionate fashion. For whatever reason, this person made it apparent that I reminded this person of something akin to a root canal without anesthesia.

I don't honestly know why this occured.

It was frustrating, annoying, and liberating.

I say liberating because it forced me to make a decision as to how I would respond. I'll admit to giving it back a few times when asking why the attitude was so pervasive.

Eventually,I realized that it really was meaningless and amongst the world's most important issues, this certainly wasn't one of them.

I'm grateful for Jeremy's presence in our home. I'm grateful for the feast we enjoyed. I'm also grateful for the ill treatment as it forced me to make a choice and, in the process, realize that this choice is always available to me.

I have to choose to be a crabby person. I have to choose to be rude and insulting.

I can just as easily choose to be true to my real nature and just be Barry. Mild, mannered, respectful.

Make the better choice.

Peace,

Barry @ G3

What Happens When Gratitude Takes a Back Seat?

I admit that I've been backsliding.

You know the posture.

You're slipping down in the back of the chair until your actually laying on your back?

Yes. That one.

It's uncomfortable. You want to change it but you know it will cause pain adjusting to a better posture.

So you put it off until your sensory nerve endings are screaming at the top of their neurolungs.

When you finally do begin to move, you immediately feel relief, a sense of being at ease, and you think to yourself, "Why didn't I do this sooner?"

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My posture with gratitude has resembled this picture for a few weeks now.

I've been miserable and I haven't been able get to the why.

It's been very frustrating. Then an email came my way that reminded me that I have a choice as to whether I choose to remain in this uncomfortable posture.

No one is holding a wet noodle to my head saying, "I'm not afraid to use this thing!"

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And so again, I commit to walking in the light of Gratitude; to walk in the knowing that the Big G is the key that unlocks the flow of positive results in my life.

For my own sake, I will repost this poem. Perhaps it will speak to you too.

I Choose Gratitude

On this day, I choose
To feel nothing but gratitude.

I am grateful
For what shows up in my life.

I am grateful
For what has yet to show up in my life.

I am grateful
For the opportunity to live in the
State of gratitude.

For I know that it is in this state that
Keeps me connected with the
Awesome power of the universe.

The Poet said
We can make ourselves miserable
Or we can make ourselves stronger.
The effort required is the same.

Why not choose the best?

Peace.

Barry @ G3