Gratitude. Big focus this week. Blessings.
It’s all about giving thanks.
What about the things that, at first glance, don’t look all dressed up in their Sunday best, ready to appear in our gratitude journal*?
What about those unwieldy curves life throws at us that turn into surprise blessings?
Can you name something that initially seemed like an obstacle or challenge BUT turned into a blessing?
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Last week I met a woman that lost the use of her right arm for 4 months after breaking her wrist and needing surgery. She taught herself a new way to listen to her clients instead of taking notes and can actually memorize their sessions (she’s a coach). Her memory has moved to a level beyond what she ever expected before her “random” accident, and it has helped her be more successful at what she already loves doing, she listens differently.
Now she says she has to make sure she doesn’t slip back into her old habits of taking notes and not using her newly formed skills.
Another friend from the East Coast recounted a story to me about a car accident that changed her course when she was 17-years-old. She went from a hard-core, tough punk who almost died to one of the kindest, most loving individuals with a heart of service I’ve ever met. Oh, and she has that strong “take no crap” attitude, but puts it to use helping others.
Has your life ever taken a downturn that you weren’t expecting and didn’t want; yet it turned out to be one of the best things that’s ever happened to you?
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Have you ever gone through a breakup that seemed like the end of the world at the time, yet as you look back on it, fits the “blessing in disguise” profile? Or been fired from a job you actually hated? Or has your life ever taken a downturn that you weren’t expecting, and didn’t want, yet it turned out to be one of the best things that’s ever happened to you? We hear those stories all the time, how someone down on their luck found the strength or miracles in those rock bottom moments that turned things around.
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A successful friend of mine who enjoyed a blessed life went through an incredibly rough patch; suddenly his business was faltering, he was over $100k in debt, he was afraid of losing his home, and none of his romantic relationship interests panned out. As an inspirational speaker up to that point, he was completely unrelatable. He had been the epitome of the “Golden Child”. Both his wise mother and I explained that to be able to speak to the masses, this was definitely a gift from the heavens to help him on his path. Cut to a few years later, not only has his speaking career taken off, he has a sense of humor and authentic connection that makes his new business thrive!
Another inspirational woman, who happens to be blind, uses her heightened senses to teach others what she’s learned. The same abilities which allowed her to be a great judo martial artist in college!
A friend I’ve made through the brain injury journey who has astounded me with her new brain abilities. She was intelligent before, but now she has what I call “empathetic reasoning” which means she has surpassed what the neuropsychologists tests are capable of showing: she feels the reasoning based on parameters given to her in word problems on reasoning. “So I’m the bouncer for this VIP Circle/Square Club. And this little circle isn’t allowed in with the bigger circles and squares, because he isn’t capable of showing these characteristics.” She puts herself in the position OF the circles and squares to figure out the differences. I think it’s brilliant!
I’m learning to appreciate the myriad of lessons from having my brain injured, which automatically changed up my mind (pun intended). And my way of thinking AND forced me to look at the world through different eyes.
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There’s an old story we tell students about the son of a farmer who became deathly ill: bad. He got better and was able to ride his horse again to check their lands: good. Because he was still weak, he fell off his horse and broke his arm: bad. As the country went to war, the boy was excluded from the military stayed home to heal: good. The story goes on further but suffice to say: everything that happened you could label good/bad.
Life is filled with things we can label. Good/bad. Right/wrong. Just/unjust. Fair/unfair.
What if they were just things? What if each experience came with both sides of the equation? What if they were things we could be grateful for, since they are all a part of living?
And what if when we expanded on the blessings, they grew?
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*A gratitude journal is a terrific way to take note of what we count as blessings daily; it gets us into the energy of thankfulness. As an extra step, take occurrences that didn’t seem like blessings at first. Make yourself spend time to look for the blessings.
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This story has been republished to Medium.
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