 Until recent years I was a people-pleaser. It was important for me to be liked by others, and if their acceptance meant my having to jump through hoops, well that was what I was willing to do. As I came to love myself more and more, I stopped this destructive habit in my personal life, but still found it painful to have difficult conversations in professional relationships. I just found it very hard to accept that I wasn’t pleasing everyone I was trying do a good job for. The more displeased they were, the harder I tried. I see a correlation between this dynamic and that of a child trying to win the love, acceptance, and affection of a parent. It was only recently that I realized when it comes to loving myself enough to be my own advocate, it has to cross over into all areas of my life.
I feel so blessed, because when I struggle with something, God doesn’t say, ‘Forget it, you’ll never learn this lesson!’ Instead, I am tested again and again until I’ve mastered it. Now I know some would think a loving God would spare us the pain, but I believe we are here to grow and learn. This life is school, and death is our graduation. And God is good to allow me to take the same test over and over until I don’t even consider it a test anymore. I had a chance to be retested recently when a client was unhappy with each attempt of mine to create something wonderful for her. I tried and tried and became frustrated by continued rejection, and then I came to a point where I realized this partnership just might not be a good fit for us. That happens, and it’s perfectly fine, so why was I personalizing it? As soon as I found this way to detach, I calmly explained I would not continue on with the project, she would only have to pay me for the work I had done so far, and I wished her well in finding the right person to bring her vision to life. I was surprised, and happy, when she told me I was the one she wanted to work with. So of course, at that point I felt I had to set some parameters for continuing on, which I did, and she accepted. It felt liberating to find a way to nicely say, “Enough” to someone. I learned two important things. I realized that part of the reason situations like this made me so upset was because I was upset with myself – frustrated at not being skillful in handling things like this, with my inability to do so leading to my being upset with ME! The second thing I learned was that it’s really just a matter of finding the right words to say and the right way to say it, so I’m advocating for myself in an unemotional and fair manner, leaving the other person’s dignity intact. And this was easy once I asked myself how I would want to be told. Thank God we never stop growing and learning. As I’ve stated and written many times, I am a work in progress. Neither God, nor I, are finished with me yet! Photo by Ryan Moreno on Unsplash ______________________Deborah Perdue, RScP Author of “Grace of Gratitude Journals” and “Grace of Gratitude Reflections” and “Path of Gratitude Coloring Book” all of these and much more at www.graceofgratitude.com 541 862-7021
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 Here are 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 info@graceogratitude.com and let me know of any you particularly like, or send your own in. I would love to hear from you. July 3 I am so grateful for FREEDOM -- not only the freedoms we do enjoy in the U.S. but the freedoms that are ours inherently as spiritual beings having a human experience. The ultimate freedom we have is freedom of choice which is why no psychic can truly predict the future. We are free to choose in every moment of our lives and this is a God-given freedom that we sometimes squander or don’t accept choosing victimhood instead. But we are free! I am so thankful for my freedom to love, to be in joy, to feel inner peace no matter what is happening around me I am thankful for all the choices I get to make o create a sublime life. Happy Independence Day! July 4 Grateful to have taken the day off and hope you did, too! July 5 “Yet to love someone is an art. It does not come simply or cheaply but is a lifetime’s work.” – John O’Donahue I am grateful for my own loving, caring, nurturing, supportive nature. I have honed it through the years so that I am no longer co-dependent, yet I still watch over my loved ones, and it does take experience, patience and wisdom to love deeply. It is perhaps most difficult for me to love myself. On the surface I do, but sometimes feeling compassion for myself comes harder. I am thankful to have learned to love myself and others in a healthy way, in an unconditional way, in a giving no-strings-attached way. And I know loving and being open to be loved is our most important work, and stretches over lifetimes. July 6 “A few fly bites cannot stop a spirited horse.” – Mark Twain I am in gratitude for my tenacity. If things go awry, I keep on keeping on until I get a better outcome. So much to be said for not giving up! Truly thankful for the determination and persistence I show, time and time again. And I enjoy that quality in others, as well. July 7 “All is Infinite Being and all is eternally becoming.” – Ernest Holmes To really understand that everywhere, everything, and everyone is part of the All-in-All is so amazing and so comforting. We, as little specks in the infinitely expanding universe are not alone, we are not separate, we are intricately linked by our very being. We belong. I am so grateful to feel the truth of what I am saying deep within me, without doubt. ______________________ Deborah Perdue, RScP Author of “Grace of Gratitude Journals” and “Grace of Gratitude Reflections” and “Path of Gratitude Coloring Book” all of these and much more at www.graceofgratitude.com 541 862-7021  Here are 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 info@graceogratitude.com and let me know of any you particularly like, or send your own in. I would love to hear from you. June 19 “It began in mystery and it will end in mystery, but what a rare and beautiful country lies in between.” – Diane Ackerman Life is a divine mystery! We don’t really know what lies beyond this life, and there is a realm we can’t see which is intangible but oh-so-real! The most important aspects of the unseen are love, peace, joy, and wisdom. And the most vital of the seen are, perhaps, the profuse outpouring of life everywhere, colors, music, art and beauty. What a fantastic life this is……. I am so very grateful. June 20 I am so grateful for the surprises of Spirit which appear each and every day if I am noticing. So often there are gifts bestowed upon me from the universe that are freely given, and fill my heart with joy and awe. The majesty and beauty of Mother Earth is so incredibly rich this time of year. Happy Summer Solstice! June 21 “Everything can be taken…but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor Frankl Once I finally got out of the victim mode in my life, I realized I was always at choice! How amazing to be set free like that! Knowing that nobody can hurt my feelings, only I can let myself be hurt. Knowing that I can choose to live my life exactly as I want, and I am free to co-create what happens in my future. I am incredibly grateful for this ultimate freedom that we innately possess! And I am thankful for inspiring people, like Viktor Frankl, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama, who show us the way. June 22 “The grace of a river is a reminder of how nature seeks elegance and achieves immense beauty of cohesion and balance… if only our lives could achieve, or indeed allow, such grace and elegance.” – John O’Donohue I am grateful for the steady flow of meandering nearby rivers! I have a passionate love affair with rivers, and it is pure joy to swim in them on hot summer days. Yet I am even more thankful for the flow in my life. If I relax and let myself float along, trusting I am being guided, instead of pushing or struggling, all is grace and ease. How happy I am when I can let go! June 23 Today I am simply thankful this workweek is over — it was hectic and somewhat stressful. I am grateful for the beauty and stillness where I live; for my hubby and darling dogs, and for my free form Saturdays where I can do exactly what I want with no “shoulds” or “musts.” I appreciate having a flourishing business with lots of money coming in, and I am also glad to take my little nose off the grindstone this weekend and reeeeelllllaaaax! ______________________ Deborah Perdue, RScP Author of “Grace of Gratitude Journals” and “Grace of Gratitude Reflections” and “Path of Gratitude Coloring Book” all of these and much more at www.graceofgratitude.com 541 862-7021  The road to living in gratitude can be paved with bumps and detours. Some people incorrectly think that once you learn how to live in gratitude, it’s a steady, ongoing state of mind. Sometimes it’s a struggle, but once you learn to shift your thinking about what’s going on, it becomes much easier. I actually have an exercise I use to help me in getting back on the road to gratitude.
I’ve written before that I’m a hand-wringer, by nature. If I’m given some news that upsets me, it can be difficult to move away from worrying about it and fretting about an outcome. So what I’ve learned to do is ask myself some questions when I find myself in the place of worry.
Then I move to the first question – what is the absolute worst thing that can happen as a result of whatever it is I’m fretting about? The worst case scenario never seems as bad as the dread I initially felt. I also find that the odds of me experiencing the absolute worst outcome aren’t that high. It calms me a bit to acknowledge this. When I ask myself what I’m truly afraid of, I often find I’m fearing something that is superficial. I’m afraid I’ll appear less than perfect to others. (as though I ever imagined myself to be perfect in anyone’s eyes) I fear I’ll look like I’ve failed. (everyone fails – and it’s through failure that we learn the most) Someone will be disappointed in me. (usually it’s more a case of me being disappointed in myself because my expectations are unrealistic) People will stop loving me. (there it is! The fear many of us have because of conditional love we experienced as children. Old business – no longer applies!) I’ll feel shame. (this is the most destructive feeling we can have – and it’s a choice, so unless I choose it, I won’t feel ashamed.) What does this tell me about myself? That as far as I’ve come in my progression and growth, there is still so much to be done. And that’s okay! We are all works in progress. As long as we are growing, we are moving in the right direction. So self-discovery is a wonderful blessing. Is there something I’m to learn? There is always something to learn. Sometimes I have to go through a lesson over and over again before it becomes ingrained in me. Sometimes I’ve made a decision that wasn’t the best one, and I can examine that and learn something. Or maybe I’m on the wrong path completely and this is a sign. Look at all the positives the speed bumps and detours can bring! It brings me full circle from worry and dread, back to gratitude. There will always be a small mound of worries next to a big pile of blessings. Remaining in a place of gratitude depends on which thing you choose to focus on. ______________________ Deborah Perdue, RScPAuthor of “Grace of Gratitude Journals” and “Grace of Gratitude Reflections” and “Path of Gratitude Coloring Book” all of these and much more at www.graceofgratitude.com 541 862-7021  Here are 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 info@graceogratitude.com and let me know of any you particularly like, or send your own in. I would love to hear from you. June 12 “It doesn’t matter how much you have. It all means nothing if you are not happy with yourself.” – Donald Duck Who knew a cartoon character could be so profound?! I am so thankful to realize the true riches come from within, and at the top of that treasure is self-love. I am so thankful to love myself more and more as time goes on, letting go of petty complaints about myself and realizing deeply that I always do my very best. I let myself off the merry-go-round of expecting “perfection,” because the truth is that I am imperfectly perfect, or perfectly imperfect. And I am ever so glad to be me. June 13 “The sacred is not in heaven or far away. It is all around us, and small human rituals can connect us to its presence.” – Alma Luz Villanueva I am grateful beyond measure for the sacred everywhere — beneath my feet; in a new blossom popping up to surprise me; in the scrumptious dawn of a new day; in the heavens, in the acts of kindness and love witnessed constantly; in the creatures of earth, great and small. Everywhere I look and everything and everyone is sacred! I celebrate this, and know when someone has turned away from the sacred, and inflicted purposeful harm, they are not aware of, and not observing the magic and divinity of being alive. It is a blessing to live, and what’s more, to live forevermore. June 14 “Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in the quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.” – Mary Jean Irion It’s almost trite to say “be here now” but it’s oh-so-important, hmmm? I cherish every single day, waking up at the break of dawn, embraced by the dazzling beauty of mother nature in my surroundings. I reside in the present moment, savoring it and honoring it, knowing that it truly is perfect and all that we really have. Thank you, God. June 15 From time to time, I feel compelled to share another gratitude aficionado’s thoughts of thanksgiving because they are just so good! Thank you, Lee Inkmann, for such an inspiring and beautiful one! Today, I am grateful for the tropical winds of change that come ricocheting off the Pacific Ocean. We are buffeted by gentle warm channels and cooled by gusts that whirl through our trees and gardens, our hearts & minds. Nature is a powerful reminder that we are simply spirits inhabiting these human forms temporarily. Stewards. I am thankful that I have so many choices as to: how to live, to manifest love, to share, to care, to create, to relate, to nurture, to extend, to let go – Guided by a force more sweeping and awesome than I can envision. June 16 “To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are.” – Roy T. Bennett Today, as we move closer to the Summer Solstice, I celebrate and revel in the light -- the light of the sun which plays, creating amazing reflections and shadows, the early morning light, the magical dusk, and glorious sunsets. And I know that the light within, the illumination that we all have when we don’t let it be dimmed is the most dazzling radiant light of all. I am so grateful to shine my own light brightly. ______________________ Deborah Perdue, RScP Author of “Grace of Gratitude Journals” and “Grace of Gratitude Reflections” and “Path of Gratitude Coloring Book” all of these and much more at www.graceofgratitude.com 541 862-7021  Here are 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 info@graceogratitude.com and let me know of any you particularly like, or send your own in. I would love to hear from you. June 5 “Gratitude places you in the energy field of plentitude. Perceiving life in a consciousness of gratitude is literally stepping into another dimension of living. Suddenly the seeming ordinariness of your days takes on a divine sparkle.” ~Michael Beckwith I am grateful to delight in the divine sparkle of life as I relish and savor all that I have to be grateful for. There is so much more to appreciate than to complain about. I bask in the extraordinary world of thankfulness whenever I can. June 6 Incredibly thankful for the love and connections I share with so many — with my cozy family consisting of my husband and our two cherished furry friends; and with my dear sisters who are so close to me; and my stepkids and darling grandsons; and with the close-knit spiritual family I am so blessed to have chosen; and with all the fabulous friends who I share interests with like fellow authors and artists and prayer partners and progressives I know that love is of utmost importance in this life and I am happy to share my love with so many, including loving ME. Grateful grateful grateful! June 7 I am very grateful that I am usually able to keep a positive, optimistic outlook on life, even when things go awry in a less than ideal way. This is a true gift and I know not everyone possesses such a trait. So thankful to stay in a high vibration expecting the best and then watching it unfold! June 8 “Follow your nature and accord with the Tao; Saunter along and stop worrying.” ~Hsin-hsin Ming, 7th Century A.D. I skip and meander along my path, letting go of all worries! I am filled with great gratitude to cast off burdens as I go, assured that the Way is always shown. June 9 “When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated.” ~Brene Brown This week I had an opportunity to set healthy boundaries with someone. It can feel intimidating to do so, because I am unsure of the reaction, but I’ve noticed when I draw the line, a person is usually respectful and accepting. I am very grateful for this acquired skill that has gotten easier as I age. It is sometimes absolutely necessary, and let’s me feel powerful and autonomous and free! ______________________ Deborah Perdue, RScP Author of “Grace of Gratitude Journals” and “Grace of Gratitude Reflections” and “Path of Gratitude Coloring Book” all of these and much more at www.graceofgratitude.com 541 862-7021  Here are 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 info@graceogratitude.com and let me know of any you particularly like, or send your own in. I would love to hear from you. _________________________________ May 22 Thankful to be loving, to be loved, and to be in love with life. I believe that one definition of God IS love, and that when all is said and done, how we have loved others and ourselves is the most important aspect of life. Certainly it is not all the stuff we own, or status symbols we collect! I am grateful to worship at the altar of Love, sweet Love! May 23 Overflowing gratitude for each new door that I enter. New ideas, new opportunities, new ventures can be scary because they are not familiar, but oh-so-exciting! I am grateful to be the kind of person who will turn the knob and walk right in to something unknown that I am called to do. Very thankful for my adventurous spirit! May 24 Beauty and magic abound in nature, in the universe, in our lives. I am so grateful to see, touch, feel and acknowledge the splendor of all. I find these qualities in the tiny seeds sprouting this Spring; in the clear, flowing waters with myriad shades of green and blue; in the starry, sparkling, infinite night skies; in the giant, wise trees who have lived for ages… And most of all beauty and magic is found in our own hearts when we let love and peace arise. I am grateful to be keenly aware of all the loveliness in this world and beyond. May 25 As summer flirts with us, and Mother Nature caresses me with warm and dazzling sunshiny days, I am overflowing with gratitude for the BLISS I feel welling up from my heart and soul. May 26 “One of life’s most fulfilling moments occurs in the split-second when the familiar is suddenly transformed into the dazzling aura of the profoundly new.” -Edward B. Lindaman Thankful for for turning a fixed viewpoint upside down, and seeing it in a whole new way -- like an abstract painting that can be rotated, and each vista is amazing. To look, really look at a blossom close up, studying it, and all of a sudden it is much more than I’ve ever seen before; a tiny cosmos in its own right. Life IS dazzling and filled with grand surprises and I am ever grateful. _____________________________ Deborah Perdue, RScP Author of “Grace of Gratitude Journals” and “Grace of Gratitude Reflections” and “Path of Gratitude Coloring Book” all of these and much more at www.graceofgratitude.com 541 862-7021  Here are 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 info@graceogratitude.com and let me know of any you particularly like, or send your own in. I would love to hear from you. _______________________________ May 15 “In order to help usher in the golden age we must see the good in people. We must know it is there, no matter how deeply it may be buried. Yes, apathy is there and selfishness is there – but good is there also. It is not through judgment that the good can be reached, but through love and faith.” -Peace Pilgrim What a challenge, yet how rewarding, to seek and find the good in everyone! To be in a state of gratitude, I focus on the good — not only in others, but in myself, and in all situations. I praise and celebrate the good, and it expands. For this and so much more, I am incredibly thankful. May 16 “Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths, or the turning inwards in prayer for five short minutes.” -Etty Hillesum I am deeply grateful for my steady routine of prayer and meditation each morning, it keeps me centered and renewed and fortified. If I am worried or feeling harried, I return to the Godspace of love and peace that is always there inside of me. Then, if I fall out of a state of grace, at times, I remember to stop and breathe and I blend again with the All-is-Well. So thankful for these ways to counteract the stress of everyday living. May 17 Today I give thanks for the many hats I wear -- I am thankful for my professional hats, which include one for book designer, one as an author, and one for being a practitioner for the Centers for Spiritual Living. Each of these hats feels so good to wear and fits me perfectly… And I also wear a photographer’s hat, an artist’s beret, a family bonnet, a pet mom cap, and a friendship garland, at various times, not necessarily in this order. Each hat adds to the peace, love, creativity and illuminated joy in the world! * What hats do you wear? And how do they fit? May 18 “The world cannot ruffle the dignity of a soul that dwells in its own tranquility.” -John O’Donahue There is certainly ever-so-much to ruffle our peace of mind in this world -- media flaunts it all so repetitiously, ad nauseam! But our souls know that there is so much more than meets the eye or ear. Deep down I know that there is nothing to worry about in the Cosmic Big Picture And I am so thankful to know how to dwell in my own sweet serenity. May 19 “The unendurable is the beginning of the curve of joy.” -Djuna Barnes There is such a spectrum from sorrow to ecstasy, from hatred to love, from mad to glad -- we humans get to experience it all, like it or not! I often marvel at the way I can one day feel I’m suffering and then suddenly life lightens up, my spirits lift, and I’m vibrating with joy and peace and bliss again! And even though the sorrow or anger or lack of love doesn’t feel good, it does show me what I really want to experience — it IS a contrast so I can fly high with my happiness when it arrives… and it always does. So yes, I am thankful for the gamut of emotions I experience. ____________________________________ Deborah Perdue, RScP Author of “Grace of Gratitude Journals” and “Grace of Gratitude Reflections” and “Path of Gratitude Coloring Book” all of these and much more at www.graceofgratitude.com 541 862-7021  Here are 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 info@graceogratitude.com and let me know of any you particularly like, or send your own in. I would love to hear from you. May 1, 2017 “The world is a place where the extraordinary can sit just beside the ordinary with the thinnest of boundaries.” Jodi Picoult The dance of majesty with the mundane is truly remarkable, and I am grateful for the thin veil between the grounded things we can count on, like gravity and space and time, and then the miracles and magic that are Spirit’s domain, and reveal themselves with a deeper intuitive vision. Amidst newly sprouted grass pop up tiny yellow wild irises today, and this reminds me of this dance. May 2, 2017 “The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within—strength, courage, dignity.” Ruby Dee Although I sometimes bemoan being older, because my youthful beauty has diminished, it IS so true that beauty from within is immeasurable and precious. I am so grateful for my brave and strong spirit. I walk in the elegance of dignity. I am thankful to appreciate the innermost shrine of myself, and others. May 3, 2017 So grateful for longtime friends who I can be completely natural with, where there is no pretense… I treasure such cozy friendships, filled with honesty, love & support. And it does not matter how long it’s been, we start right up again as if no time has passed. I have a plaque that I love which says: “Make new friends and keep the old. One is silver, the other gold.” I am thankful for all of my friends, both silver and gold. May 4, 2017 Dear friends, Today I offer a thought of thanksgiving from one of my fellow gratitude aficionados, Lee Inkmann. I have shared some of her wonderful thoughts before. Thank you, Lee! Today I am grateful for routines and how comforting they are. To structure life’s bonuses and surprises and challenges around a solid core of familiar rhythms, makes sense to me. I am content with the things in my life that are remaining the same. I even thrive on these patterns! Lee I. May 5, 2017 “And so, our work — no matter where life takes us — is to let the light of the soul and the depth of the world bring down the walls of fear.” Mark Nepo I love the work of bringing down the walls of fear……. catching the times that I am going there and re-routing myself into the realm of ALL IS WELL. And as I bring down self-imposed walls, I light up my life and come to be a lantern to the world -- a fulfilling, rewarding vocation! I am so grateful to be on my spiritual path, stumbling upon wisdom and illumination here, there and everywhere. ____________________________________ Deborah Perdue, RScP Author of “Grace of Gratitude Journals” and “Grace of Gratitude Reflections” and “Path of Gratitude Coloring Book” all of these and much more at www.graceofgratitude.com 541 862-7021  Here are 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 info@graceogratitude.com and let me know of any you particularly like, or send your own in. I would love to hear from you. 4-24-17 You are vast. You are infinite. There is a wisdom in your deepest depths, and you can trust it.” – Rev. Dr. Michael Gott Incredibly grateful for my own intuition… I listen to the whispers of my Soul, and know that the infinite wisdom and knowledge of Spirit is revealed, because I am always a part of it. Answers and solutions always arise. I trust my intuitive nature, and it doesn’t let me down. 4-25-17 “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Madame Marie Curie I am grateful to confront my fears, to place them in the light and let them be revealed. Almost always, the fear itself is scarier than knowing what is actually going on. So thankful to be brave and courageous and outfront! 4-26-17 I am so grateful for my knowledge that God is like an infinite ocean of which we are all a part… All of us are swaying in this Oneness; all interconnected; all a microcosmic drop of the whole. From this ocean upswells love, peace, joy, wisdom, well-being and abundance beyond measure. I celebrate my part in this deep, vast sea. 4-27-17 “No matter how much we know, no none is exempt from the beautiful tumble through the thousand moods. We burst alive, then slip and fall. We dart through the hole in the clouds after a ray of light, to get caught in the storm.” Mark Nepo To be honest, I can be a moody person. Just like Nepo talks about, I can be residing in the light, feeling joyful and carefree only to find myself quickly dipping into anger, or sadness, or blame, or worst of all, feeling like a victim even though I know so much better! So, I am thankful to realize this is a condition of being human! And as we each transform and clear our past grievances, we stay in the brilliant sunlight more, shining it on the world. And the times of stormy inner weather do subside. 4-28-17 “I have experienced liberation from so many prisons of my own making in this journey of faith.” Rev. Dr. Michael Gott Here’s to freedom! Freedom in my own mind and heart. I free myself from prison each time I let go of a thought that is not serving me, every time I release an obsession or confront a fear. I free myself from my own self-imposed prison when I allow joy and laughter to flow when I get too serious. And here’s to freedom and emancipation of ALL people. I am deeply grateful to hold the keys to letting myself out of the jail of my petty ego mind. ____________________________ Deborah Perdue, RScP Author of “Grace of Gratitude Journals” and “Grace of Gratitude Reflections” and “Path of Gratitude Coloring Book” all of these and much more at www.graceofgratitude.com 541 862-7021 |
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