The Gratitude Process

There is not a day go by that we as humans, do not want for something. It is often a minor thing, like a hot cup of Chai. Yet, at times it can be something that would prove to be life changing. Normally, depending on the magnitude of the want, we either attend the craving by obtaining whatever it was that we wanted; however, the larger ‘wants’ seem to go unsatiated and we go on wishing for something to come or way or to happen for us.

Many people believe in positive visualization or they believe that somethings are just not attainable for them in this lifetime. There are a multitude of reasons why people settle for going without what they want. Often times, we feel that the dream is too big or that we are somehow undeserving. There are those that truly believe that they are just not ‘lucky’ enough to get what they want.

The truth is this; there is no luck. I love the Oprah quote,  “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” I didn’t quite understand the quote at first. It took me a few weeks of processing and relating the quote to my personal experience before I was able to fully appreciate the logic. It goes without saying if you want to be a chef, you need to do the ground work and educate yourself on cooking. I get that. What took me time to grasp was how that logic applied to me.

I know plenty of people who honestly seem to have an easier ride in this life, than most. They ‘seem’ to have things and opportunities arrive at their door, seeking them out, instead of the other way around. I remember the day I sat down with one of those people and I basically interviewed them on how they managed to live and create what I can only label as a ‘charmed life.’ The answer I was given changed my life from that day forward. I took their words and advice and added some wisdom that I already had and I have employed them together, ever since. Have I lived a ‘charmed life’ as a result? Not necessarily. Do I feel that my well is full and that I am living a life that I adore and appreciate? Absolutely!

I refer to this process as the “Gratitude Process’:

There is no safe guarded secret or ancient recipe that I was given, rather, I was given a set of tools which serve me well. Do I always attract what I hope to? Not always and not exactly, but what I do attract is what is best for me and my journey at that point in my life. There is a great saying…”Thank goodness for unanswered prayers!” Sometimes what we think we want is not what will best serve our better good, and it turns out in the long run that we are grateful that what we prayed for did not find us.

The first piece of sage advice I was given was to remember that life is not perfect. Not everything will always look like we had hoped; however, if we stay true to the course, it is usually revealed that we received exactly what we needed at that time. We need to remember to go with the flow and to not get hung up on the plans we had made, rather, appreciate what we have at any given time.

The second tool that is absolutely essential to acknowledge is that if you are thinking it, you are feeding it energy, and that is where the beginning and ending of most everything starts… in your thoughts. For example, if you want a new bike, you need to start utilizing positive visualization. You need to imagine yourself at the store purchasing the bike you want. Then you need to imagine riding ‘your’ bike. Imagine how it feels under you. Picture yourself putting it away after a great ride. You truly need to experience having it in your mind.

Once you have accepted that although you wanted a blue bike, you just may have to settle with a red one. Once you have experienced the ‘feeling’ of owning it you then need to talk about it. Discuss with your friends your intentions of owning this bike. Tell them how you intend on paying for it, where your first ride is going to be and how excited you are about having it. Really by discussing it out loud, you are verbalizing it to the universe that you want this ‘thing’. You need to remember, that if you do not set your clear intention and let the universe know, how will the universe provide for you?

A major key to this powerful equation is that you need to be full of gratitude for what you do have. You cannot be hung up on not having this item that you want for. You need to first make peace with what you have has served you well and that if this other ‘want’ does not come to fruition, that you are equally at peace with that. By letting it go before you even have it is such an important part of obtaining what you want. If you were to get obsessed with the want, it will become a negative experience for you and you will end up surrounded by your own negative energy which will not only repel what you ‘want’ but also the people around you.

Finally, you need to go after what you want. You need to seek out whatever it is that you need to achieve in order to have the wanted thing. You need to do the preparation in order to be in a good place to receive the thing when it comes along. Preparation meets Opportunity. Be prepared. What I find incredibly beautiful about this step, is that half the time, you have done the preparation without even knowing it or you completed it years ago without giving it any thought how it would benefit you in your future!

So to recap; you want to accept that what you wish for may look different than what you think you want. You need to positively visualize and imagine what it will be like to have the think that you are after. You need to share your intentions with the universe so that the universe can help to provide you with what would be of service to you and finally you need to be absolutely grateful and humble for what you do have and you must accept that perhaps the thing you think you want, may not be in line with what is best for you at this time in your life. Once you have completed your preparation, you are ready to receive. That may sound like many steps, but I cannot explain to you, how easy this process is or how often it has worked for me personally.

To give you an idea of what I am talking about, here is a recent example of how ‘the process’ has served me.

Besides owning my own jewelry design company, I have otherwise been out of the work force for exactly 10 years. A whole decade has passed and I have not been on anyone else’s payroll, except my own. Ten years is a long time to be out of the work force. Things have changed in my previous field of work. I have spent that past decade having children and nurturing them into the school system where they are presently flourishing. I, on the other hand have been craving to wet my feet again and rejoin the work force in some capacity. I have been toying with the idea for about a year now.

Six months ago, I spoke about my intention to seek some sort of employment for the first time. Since then I have inquired a few times about a few different jobs but at the end of the day, their needs did not match up to my availability. I have school aged children. I need to be there to drop them off at school and there to pick them up after school. There are stat holidays, easter and spring breaks, and then of course the two months off each summer where they of course are 100% my priority. I kept thinking to myself that I would love to find a part time job, but I was very doubtful about someone hiring me with my limited availability.  Then of course there was is my need for financial benefit. Unless I feel like I am making decent money, why would I work somewhere part time? It would make no fiscal sense.

Fast forward to one month ago. I was sitting on my deck, designing jewelry when I remembered my ‘Gratitude Process’. I felt like kicking myself for taking so long to remember how important it is to me and how well it has served me over the years. I immediately put down what I was doing. I pulled out my yoga mat. I went through some poses and began to meditate. I focussed on the perfect job. I decided in that moment that I wanted to be someone’s ‘girl friday’, a professional assistant, an executive assistant with a strong personal assistant gear. I began to imagine how valuable I could be to the right person. I focussed on what I could do for someone, rather than what they could do for me. I considered the multifaceted nature of my experience and skill set and I imagined how beneficial that could be to someone. I made the decision right there that I was going to approach two different people that I knew and pitch them my offer to work for them. Both individuals I knew well and respected. I had also decided that I needed to know the person I was going to work for because I knew I only wanted to invest my time, energy and love into someone that I could sincerely care for. The first person I approached took no time to shut me down. They simply did not have the room on their payroll for anyone else at this point. So, I went to the second person on my list and they were gracious to hear me out. They were thoughtful while I pitched my idea and they actually were intrigued and agreed that at some point in the near future they would call on me and we could set up an arrangement. A month later and I had heard nothing from them. I took that as a time to let go and let the universe provide me if and when this ‘want’ was going to be in my best interest.

I had let the idea go last Saturday, and on this past Thursday is when I saw one of my friend’s twitter feeds. She was advertising that she needed a part time Executive Assistant who could also cross over into a little personal assistant work. I could not believe my eyes. There it was! Someone I knew, liked and respected, needing exactly what I want to do in the capacity in which I was available to do it. I applied right then and there. I heard from her the next day. We arranged to go for a walk to discuss the position and both of our different sets of needs. Today was the day we walked. I found her needs were within my realm of knowledge and my needs which were mostly about the time I needed to be with my children. On every count that I was concerned was going to put a wedge between me and this job, it actually was a none issue and in fact worked well with this person’s schedule. I could not believe my ears. The more this amazing women spoke about what her hopes were for the position the more excited I became. Right there in front of me was the person and the job I had been visualizing. Once again the ‘Gratitude Process’ worked. Again, it did not come to fruition in the way I had planned or in the timing I had originally wanted, but it arrived in it’s own divine timing.

As it turned out, I was one of a dozen different applicants, and I was told that I was one of a couple that were actually in the running for the job. Both the other applicants and I had a different set of skills, and what I thought was going to be hurting my cause actually helped me to get the job. My age… Forty years old and out of the work force for ten years… instead of seeing me as out of the work force, it was seen as ready for a challenge after a good rest. My age was seen as a mature and responsible person. The time off I needed was also time off that my new employer also needs. Money was not an issue and I feel fabulous and appreciated by my new salary.

You simply never know what is around the corner waiting for you. You never know how you or what you think are issues, will actually be perceived. Here I had this great
process and I spent 6 months forgetting about it. Then I allowed negative chat to enter my head which worked against me for another 6 months. Not until I remembered to value myself and all that I bring to the table, was the universe able to provide for me. Half of the experience that makes me valuable to this position are tools and experience I gained between 10 & 15 years ago. I was preparing for this job without even knowing it.

I cannot help but wonder what this new job will be preparing me for. I don’t know. What I do know is that I am excited to step out into this new chapter of my journey.
I can hardly wait for tomorrow to get here so that I can jump in with two feet and begin to hopefully inspire and to be inspired.

I encourage and invite you to give some thought to the process you evoke when you want something. Does it work for you? Do you have an ‘attitude of gratitude’?
Do you think that perhaps you have room in your repertoire to try out the ‘Gratitude Process’? I promise you that life feels lighter and brighter when you are thankful for what you have, where you are and who you are with.

Namaste,

Tiffany

Time Waits For No One

Do you ever find yourself in a moment when it seems like 6 months has passed and you have barely surfaced to breathe?

Life just gets so busy, so routined that before you realize it several months have passed and you are in an entirely different place since the last time you ‘checked in’ with yourself.

I had that moment today. I was chatting with my daughter who is not quite ten years old yet, and I had to stop our conversation, look at her, and then look again. At some point in the past year she has solidly arrived as a pre-teen. Her thoughts and her contribution to our discussion
were far beyond the capability and credit I had been giving her. Her wisdom and depth were thoughtful and thought provoking. At some point when I wasn’t looking she has transformed into this incredible person, and less the child that I thought I was still speaking to, rather than with.

After the conversation I had with ‘B’, I went directly to my husband to share my experience and so that he could help me to help me process the revelation I had just had and to try to fathom the ramifications of this newly discovered person I had stumbled upon. The range of emotions were vast.
I felt cheated. I felt cheated that the little girl I have loved, adored and raised, had exited without any pomp or circumstance, and this new young adult had arrived in her place with nothing more than a chance unveiling. I felt elated that this new found person was articulate, wise and thoughtful, yet, I was stricken with fear that the chapter as a parent I have spent the past decade cultivating was now done. There is a belief that who your children are by the age of 5 years old is whothey will ultimately be. The jokesters will be the jokers, the princesses will be the princesses, the serious ones will remain serious and so on…

Well, judging by my experience today and upon further reflection, I can see truth in that theory. I am delighted by my handy work and who ‘B’ has become, but I still thought that I had more time. I thought I had more time to polish and buff, to ignite and nourish, but today I learned somewhere
along the last few lines, the chapter has changed, and I never even noticed.

I suppose that is the biggest misconception we humans invest in, that we have more time. The truth is that our time is up. Our time is now. What we think we will have time for, make time for, or what we will enjoy later, is actually never going to manifest. The truth, our truth, is that if we do not stay present and make what we want apart of our ‘now’, it will likely not see the light of day, or worse, it will happen and we will not even notice, until the joy of the experience is but a reflected on memory.

We have all heard the elderly tell us to take the time we need to listen more to the young and the old, as that is where the world’s wisdom lies. I believe this now more than ever. Of course, I cannot get the past decade back, but I can listen and be more present with each day that arrives. Having turned forty years old several months ago, I have found a place where I do enjoy listening more, speaking less and just watching. I watch what people say vs. what their actions say.
I listen to my intuition more, and I have learned to disregard fear more than ever before. I have been actively trying to live more and fear less, but what I have ignored is the need for balance.

Today I learned that I have been so preoccupied with listening and watching the bigger picture, that I have overlooked the daily lessons and learnings that are happening right in front of me. I learned that no, I don’t have time to do ‘things’ later, and that I now have a new role in this next chapter of parenting. I am excited and anxious about the new task at hand, but I am ready, and I have two beautiful little spirits to discover this new journey with and a loving and supportive partner
to share the learning curve with. I have learned that I need to balance ‘now’ with the bigger picture.

So what is next? Well, we will all be putting down the electronics a bit more often. We will interrupt each other a little less, and we will create more time for one another a lot more often. We will fumble and fall. We will help each other up and we laugh while we do it all. Will it always be delightful, no, but that is real life. Not every day is going to be rainbows and butterflies, it will be challenging and filled with compromise. The one thing I can say for sure, is that we will do it together as a family.

I invite you to take a long, hard look at all of the relationships in your life. Do you need to take a new snapshot of who those people are and what they mean to you?
Do those relationships still nurture you, and do you still nurture them? Is it time to reevaluate the purpose of yourself or others in those relationships? Is it time to let go, dig in or give more appreciation where some is lacking?

Today I learned life truly is short. If we are not actively taking inventory in our day to day life, it will not call you in, rather, it will pass you by…


love & light,

t.

A New Year, A Fresh Perspective

There is something sacred about the different calendars that the world follows. Our calendar here in the West holds a great deal of power and tradition.We follow the calendar through the months, by the seasons and by where and when the light of the sun touches our earth, and we do so with great respect as the solstices come and go. It truly is amazing that the ancient rhythms, that guided our ancestors, continue to guide us today.

At this time of year especially, we put a great deal of pressure on what the new year will provide for us, and we raise our own personal expectations to match the heightened energy that surrounds us. Many of us tend to focus on all of the different things that we either didn't accomplish during the last year, or on the things that we need to "fix" in this new year. We create lists of resolutions and make pacts that we will do better, be better and live fuller lives. The disconnect occurs when we spend little to no time basking either in our accomplishments or enjoying the fruits of all that we did well or achieved during the prior year. We forget to welcome those accomplishments into the
new year with us. We seem to fool ourselves into thinking that, with a new calendar, we must move on, move ahead and face the new day with little thought of the previous twelve months.

The truth is that we actually deserve to relish in the goodness that we've manifested, and with an open heart. It would serve us well to bring the joy created by our achievements into the new year with us, so that we become able to further nurture and grow those things that served us so well before. Naturally, it is important to create and pursue new goals, but it is also important to continue to celebrate the goals that we have already realized. There is, in fact, something very refreshing about a new year. January brings with it a fresh start and a clean slate. During this month we want and need to aim higher and invite new challenges and experiences into our journey; however, we must remember to honor all of our hard work from yester-year and build on any momentum that will further our personal growth going forward.


There is a fine balance at play that requires us to use impeccable discernment when deciding how to begin a new year. We can charge into it with great hope and excitement, or we can greet the new year with the pressure to redefine ourselves with unachievable expectations (which may only lead to failure). We must remember that turning a page on a calendar, however freeing that ritual may feel, does not change who we authentically are. But it also doesn't hold us back from who we are destined to become. The new year simply acts as a reminder of where we are in our journey. It highlights all that brings us joy, and it reminds us that there is no time like the present to change that which is not working for us. It invites us to take inventory of our bucket lists and it allows us to adjust the many lists in our lives accordingly.


While you are making renewed promises to yourself to practice yoga with regularity, to meditate daily, and to eat local organics whenever possible, remember that you are exactly where you are meant to be and doing exactly as you are meant to be doing right now. You are perfectly imperfect this year… just as you were last year. Any improvements you employ will be worth celebrating, and any moments that remind you that you are (after all) human are all as exquisitely amazing.

If you make yourself any promises in honor of the new year, allow it to be this: That you will be as kind to yourself as you are to the strangers that you meet. That you will find as much compassion for yourself in your perfection and imperfection, as you do for your friends and family. And, most of all, even as you spread your light and love into the world through your thoughts and gestures, remember to surround yourself in the same white light that you so generously give to others.

If we as a society could manage to keep this promise to ourselves, imagine the world we would live in! But it's not necessary to try to manage the world, because you can only (and only need to) manage yourself. By allowing yourself to tread into 2014 with an open heart and self-compassion, accepting yourself exactly as you are, you are setting the intention that this will be a year filled with love and light… which we all innately deserve, we truly can affect our community in this way, and perpetuate our light in ways that we cannot even fathom.


Happy New Year!

love & light,

t.

The Blessings & Depths of December

Here is the second article I had published this month. I hope that you enjoy it and that a piece of it finds a way to resonate with you:


When I hear of daylight savings, images of bright, crisp skylines are evoked with a promise of light and uplifting mornings. Then, without any pomp or circumstance, I soon realize that the darkness of the season has descended upon us and no amount of daylight savings time will save me from the darkness that blankets us during the fall and winter.

Because we depend on mother nature's natural light to keep us moving and motivated, it is no wonder that so many people fear the depths of December. Many of us already have a deep seeded regret of having to wake up in the dark and having to come home from work in the dark. In the past we have grown to expect the days to be long and short in all of the wrong ways.

What I have learned however, is that the darkness also brings blessings of its own. Where December can be quite a busy month, filled with places to go, people to see, things to buy, it also brings with it and invitation to reinvest in ourselves. I know for myself, that with each early sunset that is bestowed upon us in the autumn, I am more inclined to cocoon myself in my home and to nurture the pieces of me that are easily stretched too far and thin at this time of year.

It is as if, I focus inward and hit the 'rejuvenate' button, and I simply let the darkness of the season envelope me. I take it on as a warm hug that is allowing me to slow down, and to reenergize myself when I am not out in the world being something to someone else. I accept the depths of December to mean, that at I am allowing myself to dig deep and to being open to receive the gifts of rejuvenation prior to welcoming a new year. By preparing for the new year, and being emotionally, physically and spiritually balanced when it arrives, I am announcing to the universe that I am open and ready for all of the goodness it has coming my way.


If we do not take care of ourselves during this time of darkness, the time before the light returns, we will not be readily available to welcome all of the blessings that await us. Instead, we could still be trying to navigate our way out of a blinding sea of darkness. Perspective is a gift unto itself. If we can reframe what the darkness of autumn means to us, we can set ourselves up for a much healthier season. We set ourselves up to be successful during a time when so many of us feel like we are unable to keep up with the hectic pace that often accompanies this season.


My wish for you is to reclaim the depths of December and release what you thought you know about it.

Rejuvenate. Redefine. Reframe.Reclaim. Release.

Happy Reframing!


love & light,

t. xo

Merry Christmas… Or is it? You decide...

I have spent the past half hour looking out my front window, watching the first snow of the season, falling.

There is a quiet calm in the street, but there is an underlying excitement from the people walking by. 

There is a magic that belongs to the first snowfall. It represents that the next season is officially upon us, and it means that Christmas is not far away.

I have mentioned it before and will again, this time of year is not merry for all. For some it is a dreaded time of year filled with mixed memories. There was a time when I understood that heavy heartedness, but I would have to say that I remember the day that I made a choice. 

I was 18 years old when I was alone on Christmas morning. I spent breakfast at the Sylvia Hotel with two fellow Christmas orphans, and then we drove around all day in a limo, watching families walking by and enjoying one another. It was then it dawned on me, that my joy is where I find it. Christmas is about that feeling you get when you feel seen, heard & and that you matter. In that moment of being 18, being with Lisa Morrow and Geoffrey Last, I was in my joy. It wasn't what others counted as a traditional Christmas, but it was myChristmas and it brought me joy in all that it was, and more so for what it wasn't.

At this time of year, we walk down the street and there is always someone either asking for money,

or requiring extra patience from us. I want to invite you to give them at least, a smile. It costs you 

nothing, but it may give that person the feeling that they were seen, and maybe if you can offer them

a hello, then they get to tell you, and so they get to be heard. It is what the holiday spirit is about.

I have decided that Christmas was the singular, best time of my childhood. It was 4 or 5 days of peace, usually. So I make a point of reliving it every December. I try to invite as many people into my home and to help them feel the spirit, and to enjoy the feeling of warmth and love. It is a romantic idea, I get it, I own it, but I feel that it is my way of sharing the happiest part of myself and that is a gift I give myself.

I try to engage as many Christmas traditions as possible with my children. I want for them

to feel the riches of traditions in a way that will inspire them to take these holiday 

traditions into their own families, one day.

It's true, I send out over 125 Christmas cards. I feel like it is a beautiful and lost tradition

within itself. Everyone wants to feel remembered and missed. It is the one time of year that 

I reach out to those who have touched my heart and lifted my spirit. It is my time to reach

out and say " thank you again, I remember your love. " I believe life is too short to not remember 

those who have warmed your heart along your journey. It is a dying tradition that I will

not give up on. 

Christmas to me is all about Santa, traditions, love &  beautiful ornaments, not about Jesus or Church.

It is a time of year to give continued thanks for the blessings that have found us, and to 

hope to be a blessing to others. A blessing to you.

Wishing all of you, the love and light of the season and that it warms your heart.

With love & Light,

t.

Living As Your Authentic Self

It is with great excitement that I share with you, my first published article. I wrote last month and it has been a great experience working with new editors and writers. I hope you enjoy the article and that perhaps something within it resonates within you.

Enjoy:

Each year as October greets us with the promise of a new beginning in yet a new season–offering us another chance at creating positive changes and new routines–she also brings with her a reminder that we have but a couple months to wrap up the loose ends that are lingering around us, waiting to hold us back from finishing this calendar year with all of our goals accomplished.

October arrives out of nowhere and, before we have our flip flops put away, she demands that we pull out those cozy sweaters in preparation for the coming months that will inevitably find us preparing to cocoon our way through the fall and into the winter. Oftentimes we tend to withdraw from our social circles and adopt a more central focus as the dark months descend upon us.

This can be a time for managing those action items on our to-do lists that we have yet to see through to completion. It can be a time for setting our intentions for the coming year and deciding what we wish to manifest for ourselves in our lives. It can also be a time when we unintentionally allow ourselves to be burdened by our inner voice, reminding us of all that we have yet to accomplish.

Each year, we set forth with a list of good intentions that we convince ourselves will promote our higher well-being. For example, we decide that we are going to eat organic, that we are going to do more yoga and that we are going to connect more often with loved ones. The one thing we often forget to do, that would enable us to bring all of these wonderful goals into fruition, is commit ourselves to being truly authentic with ourselves at all times.

As a new year approaches, we create these goals that we believe are for the betterment of our lives and the lives of those around us, but we sometimes do so with judgement instead of self-compassion. We hold ourselves to these goals without an ounce of self-compassion, which is the worst thing we can do if we want to live as our authentic selves. The minute we find ourselves unable to meet a self-projected expectation, we harshly judge ourselves for not following through in that given moment. Instead, we should focus on being in the moment, acknowledging that for whatever reason we are unable to achieve our goals that day, and allowing ourselves the right to be human and to have an off-day. Often, when these types of situations arise, we tend to give up on that goal and chalk it up as a failure–chalk ourselves up as failures. As a result, we go forward not living up to our potential. All this because we did not honor the fact that we are exactly where we are meant to be right now, and we are always doing what we are meant to be doing in any given moment.

If we are going to live our best lives, and achieve great things for ourselves, we must first give ourselves permission to be in the present moment and to honor it despite it looking different than what we had originally visualized. We so easily get caught up in our to-do lists, and we forget to just "be." We need to allow ourselves the moments that we did not count on coming our way. Life is always full of surprises. Surprises that sometimes leave us feeling overwhelmed, bewildered and down. Human nature predicts that we will not prepare for these moments, regardless of if they arrive on our doorstep month after month or year after year. We only seem to plan for the easy, cheerful moments that nurture our spirit; rather than the ones that challenge our self-compassion.

As we head out of 2013, and embark on what is sure to be a blessed 2014, I encourage you to be gentle with yourself. Move forward with the intention of completing the goals that you set for yourself in 2013, but work to accept the fact that a few of those items may be carried over to 2014. Acknowledge that some of these goals, that you will carry forward with you, are in fact worthy of a little more effort. Treat them with the respect that they deserve–the respect that you deserve.

We all have a reel of "negative speak" that runs inside our heads. It has a mind of its own and it plays on repeat when we need it the least. I hope that one of your goals for the coming year is to hit the delete button on that recording. That once and for all, you become conscious of the havoc it plays on your ability to be kind to yourself. I hope that you learn that hitting the delete button will allow you to achieve your dreams and to live as your most authentic self.

My wish for you as you embark on the next leg of your amazing journey in 2014 is that, when that reel of negative self talk begins to run inside of your head, you THINK. That you ask yourself the following questions with love and compassion:

T - is it true?

H - is it helpful? 

I - is it inspiring?

N - is it necessary?

K - is it kind?

Wishing you light and love in a world where your beauty shines.

love & light,

t.

ThanksLiving.

As you know, I love autumn. I love everything about it. I especially love Thanksgiving. It seems to me that we all slow down and take a sort of personal inventory of the blessings in our lives. We stop to be grateful for so much of what we often take for granted.

Life is so precious and fragile. Everyday we hear stories on the news that should remind us how blessed we are, but somehow the insulation of the bubble that many of us live in, protects us from realizing how close to home these heart wrenching stories, actually are.

This Thanksgiving, one of my children was seriously ill. It took away my ability to be grateful for my family's health. It made me stop and look around and to really notice that other than my family and friends and the beautiful life my husband and I have manifested, nothing else matters when you have an ill loved one.

Today marks the 8 year anniversary of my husband's best friend's passing. Not a day goes by that we do not think of him, talk about him, or benefit from having him in our lives. Having had a such an amazing person in our lives was such a gift. He taught us, and everyone around him how to live in the present moment. He taught us how to live life to the fullest and to not make apologies for being true to ourselves. Randy was the epitome of an adventurer. He was such a good person and he had such a love for life. It breaks my heart to this day that cancer took him away at such a young age.

Although saying good bye to loved ones, and I have said good bye to a few very dear loved ones in the  past decade... I must say, I am so grateful for having known them and for having them in my life for the short time that we shared together. At this time of year, I am always brought back to the questions - Am I thankful enough? Am I grateful enough? Am I using my life to the fullest? Am I wasting any time, talent or opportunities? I ask myself these questions at this time of year because I am faced with the fact that in order to be truly grateful, I must use the gifts and blessings in my life to their fullest, in order to be as grateful as possible.

I recently saw something that read: "Thanksgiving is a holiday, ThanksLiving is a way of life." I must say that this quote has really resonated with me. It is a beautiful reminder that living in gratitude is the easiest way to live life without taking the little things for granted. I do try to live mindfully; however, being human allows me to get caught up in the mundane and I sometimes lose sight that without gratitude, no other blessings will find me. It is just a belief that I carry.

ThanksLiving, gives us the gift of the feeling we experience around Thanksgiving, all year long. I do not think that we can ever be too grateful or too appreciative of the many, many blessings that surround us. Most of the people I know, need for not. They love, and they are loved. After health and home, there really isn't much else to be grateful for, nothing else really matters.

Wishing you all the blessings that come with a ThanksLiving attitude.

love & light,
t.