Here is this week’s offering of thoughts of thanksgiving, by Deborah Perdue, author of Daily Gratitude Reflections and Grace of Gratitude Journal.
To sign up to receive daily inspiring thoughts of gratitude in your email box, you can go to www.graceofgratitude.com home page and click to receive them.
Enjoy! Get inspired! Email me at [email protected] and let me know of any you particularly like or send your own in. I would love to hear from you.
2-10-17
“Love is the sandpaper that takes away the harshness of intelligence.”
Yogananda Paramahansa
I am grateful to be filled with love, to come from the heart as much as I can, to love the world –all creatures great and small, all of nature, and all people whether they are dimly light or brightly illuminated.
Love is the sandpaper that smooths out the rough spots of hurt and hatred that I may hold within me.
So thankful to listen to my heart rather than my logical mind, and let myself be open and warm-hearted.
Love lights up my life!
2-13-17
“Kindness is a boomerang.”
Gabrielle Bernstein
It is so appreciated when I receive a kindness, which is giving from one soul to another, in various ways.
Compassion, caring, love, generosity, and gentleness are all connected to being kind.
I am thankful when I’m feeling unconditionally kind…
let me be a kindness and love boomerang, all the time!
2-14-17
So very thankful for the flowing abundant stream of constant love from my heart
to my friends, family, and to all of humankind,
which I feel reciprocated in so many touching ways.
As I get older, I learn how to love more completely and more unconditionally,
and to accept and receive all the love coming back to me.
And as I’ve said previously, self-love is key.
Thank you for love, sweet love, which rules the universe!
2-15-17
“Dwell on the beauty of life.
Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
Marcus Aurelius
I am so glad to acknowledge and appreciate the wonder, magic and incredible beauty of this world and beyond.
Every single day I am mesmerized by something of great beauty, usually within nature
and often, the love and kindness of ordinary people.
With my spiritual eyes, I can visualize myself running with the stars!
2-16-17
“But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love.”
Kahlil Gibran
My guiding lights are beauty, peace, love and joy.
From wisdom, intuition and heart-centered living, these qualities emerge.
I turn away from all that leads me astray, such as fear, pride, and ego
and worship at the altar of truth.
My faith in a higher power is the foundation of this altar.

As we head into the second month of the year, the month marked by fewer days and Cupid, I remember that many parts of the country seem to experience their worst weather in February, while others get their first taste of spring.
Weather seems to impact most of us. On cloudy days, we may lack energy, and when the sun is shining, we feel lighter and brighter. I think of this and it occurs to me that weather is truly a metaphor for life. We have cloudy days and storms that may leave us feeling down or frightened. We may feel isolated without enough interaction with others during challenging periods. And then suddenly the wind blows and a ray of light gives us hope that our down days are temporary and the sun-filled days have not left us forever.
I’ve come to value all seasons, having a change of heart about the weather I least enjoy. Where I once dreaded winter, because I’m a warm-weather, garden-tending, river-swimming gal, I now view it as the season given to us to slow down and recharge. I’ve come to enjoy this time indoors, trying my hand at new things, and catching up on doing favorite old things I hadn’t had time for when I was having outdoor fun.
Sometimes all it takes is a slight shift in our thinking to turn something we dislike into something we appreciate, and I feel grateful that I’ve had this shift in my thinking that will allow me to truly enjoy all twelve months of the year, and not just nine.
And I’m grateful that a shift in my thinking allows me to appreciate the days of my life where the clouds are hanging around and I can still find that beam of sun telling me the darkness isn’t forever.
______________
Deborah Perdue, RScP
Author of “Daily Gratitude Reflections” and “Grace of Gratitude Journal”
www.graceofgratitude.com
Center for Spiritual Living
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Each week, I will be posting Daily Gratitudes here. I send them out to my email list Monday through Fridays, and now I want to share them on my blog, as well.
To sign up to receive daily inspiring thoughts of gratitude in your email box, you can go to www.graceofgratitude.com home page and click to receive them.
Enjoy! Get inspired! Email me at [email protected] and let me know of any you particularly like or send in your own. I would love to hear from you.
by Deborah Perdue, author of Daily Gratitude Reflections and Grace of Gratitude Journal.
1-23-17
“Our call is to stay in Amaze!”
Mark Nepo
I am so thankful to be in constant awe of the magic of life, realizing how wondrous it truly is!
Sure, sometimes I forget, but I maintain a steady viewpoint of wonder.
Creation is sublime, whether God’s infinite creations throughout universe upon universe,
or the astonishing beauty of each person’s own creativity, or my own bubbling brook of art and writing.
I relish my wide-eyed wonder, my childlike exuberance, my zest for life.
And I am grateful to be sure that I will stay in Amaze forever.
1-24-17
“The covenant of love is to expect that those we care for will change and blossom.”
Mark Nepo
I am grateful to go against conventional wisdom that says that people don’t change.
In my own life, I have watched myself and others evolve, grow and change in monumental ways,
so I know it is possible.
I am so glad to watch those around me use their life lessons and challenges as spiritual fodder
to become more of the best of themselves!
Thankfully, I honor transformation and the new.
1-25-17
“Perseverance furthers.”
I Ching
I am grateful to watch healing happen in my life, both physically and emotionally.
What started out as a medical wake-up call is being reversed with actions steps, and querying into root causes underneath the diagnosis.
Completely thankful that I listened, paid heed and corrected places
where I wasn’t taking care of my body temple
and even more thankful to uncover unhealed places within, with the help of amazing healers.
1-26-17
I am grateful for sparkling sunshine and deep blue skies, after snow and rain and winter fog!
Today’s show of bright light was dazzling!
When the sun shines after somber grey skies, I feel like a groundhog blinking in the light,
coming out from my hole.
Along with later sunsets, today’s sunshine reminds me that warmth and comfort and verdant new growth will be here soon.
And the weather and seasons are a metaphor:
When I’m feeling sad or depressed, I am grateful that newfound joy is never that far away either.
1-27-17
I am in gratitude for remembering that beyond all the discord and upset and anger in the world, that is even within me to a degree, there is also a quiet, comforting, serene Presence always there for us.
It is the quiet love, the quiet peace, the oneness that permeates all of life, and is deep within me and you, always.
Right there for the listening.
I am thankful to be able to connect with God and feel that support and guidance.
1-28-17
“Happiness is to appreciate what you have; unhappiness is to dwell on what you don’t have.”
Rabbi Shimon Ben Zoma (2nd century)
The idea of being grateful couldn’t be simpler.
It is focusing on what we have, thus feeling fulfilled and rich with appreciation!
It’s not always easy to stay in that space, though, with all the twists and turns and dramas of life.
I am so thankful to dedicate myself to being a Gratitude Gal.
If I lose my perspective and start griping or complaining,
then I mentally start counting my blessings or put them on paper.
A wise mentor told me to go on a Rampage of Appreciation when feeling down,
thinking of every single thing that is great about my life, and I find it works.
When I stay in gratitude, I stay in peace and love and joy.