What are you grateful for today?

“The litmus test for self-realization is a constant state of gratitude. This gratitude is not something you can look for or find. It comes from another direction, and it takes you over completely. It’s so vast that it can’t be dimmed, or overlaid. The short version would be ‘mind in love with itself.’ It’s the total acceptance and consumption of itself reflected back at the same moment in the central place that is like fusion. When you live your life from that place of gratitude, you’ve come home.”

- Byron Katie, A Thousand Names For Joy

This year more than any other I feel like I have touched that eternal place of gratitude that Byron Katie speaks of. I have many people (I’ll start with myself!), events and situations to thank for helping me achieve that feeling. Each time I experience it I am overcome with a sense of oneness, deep connection and serenity. That sense of gratitude always brings tears to my eyes, no matter how long it lasts, and no matter where I am. It stops me in my tracks and nearly takes my breath away. Then it asks me to breathe deeply, see the magnificence all around me and hear the heartbeat of all things. The feeling of gratitude gives me a glimpse into what peace and acceptance really are.

Today I am grateful for a daily gratitude practice, my parents, siblings, friends and mentors, the work and words of Byron Katie, a clutter-free office, my students and clients, new business opportunities, the ability to think and act "out of the box." Also, Sunday music sessions, a sweaty workout at the gym, all of the money that I have now and that is on the way and the food in my 'fridge and in my belly.

What are you grateful for today?

(The gratitude image is from Twin Muses, the creator of "greener greeting cards.")