As I sit here in Napa California for a weekend of serenity and relaxation, I look forward to some fine wine and food. My husband Cody is finally reading the Shack (I was not ready to give it up!) and he loves it. We sit in our room, overlooking the vineyards and hills. Gratitude is the order of the day. Cody took a long run thru Calistoga, and is preparing to find “the best coffe in town” as he is a coffee snob of the first order. I think about courage and the ability we have each day to choose. Well, today I choose to courageously move into the day and enjoy every moment. I just began reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin. I have heard about this man Mortenson the abundant consistant courage he exibits in his life. I will let you know more about one man’s mission to promote peace, one school at a time. He built 55 schools for girls in the forbidding terrain that gave birth to the Taliban. I look forward to this story of adventure and the power of the humanitarian spirit.
Have a wonderful weekend. I send you love and blessings from Napa Valley,
Here is another video of Matt, doing his little dance around the world. Please join in. Here at Living in Courage, we love following Matt and the Gratitude Dance.
Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online
Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! ~Constanze
Gratitude is such a big part of our receiving. This wonderful quote reminded me that when we do our own personal gardening of the soul by pulling weeds of negativity and planting seeds of positivity, we become charming gardeners. Have a wonderful week and I am grateful to you who visit me here at Living in Courage.
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
As I sit near a window overlooking the pacific ocean, I can in this moment, only feel grateful. I look back on my life at all the stories, real, imagined, my history, each one that has brought me to this moment. I have come to the conclusion that living in the present, “this now moment” is a gift I have been given and one I have not spent enough time with. I takes great courage to live in the moment, without being distracted by the furious pace of the world.
There are many gifts presented to us daily. Which ones get opened is a choice only we can make for ourselves. I wonder how many truly gratifying gifts I missed out on because they were not wrapped in pretty paper. A gift that is content to wait patiently until I open my eyes enough to see it. When I live totally present in each moment, completely immersed, life is dramatically different than when I am distracted.
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift - that is why we call it the present. ~~Unknown Author
Gift yourself in courage to live in the present moment. Try it on for size and see how it fits. I am sure you will find the more you live in the now, the happier your life will be. Here is a book “The Present Moment” by Thich Nhat Hanh you may enjoy. It is a retreat on the practice of mindfulness.
Today I am grateful for every beat of my heart, for every breath I take, and this gift of life I have been given. What are you grateful for? Think about it. Gratitude is essential for manifestation. How can we be given more when we are not grateful for what is already in our lives? Doesn’t that seem to go against the natural laws of the universe? As a whole, we greatly underestimate the power we hold to create excellence on our lives.
Those who have achieved greatness in the face of adversity pushed through every obstacle, using their will, courage and spirit that is the core of achievement. There are many times when we get what we want, and instead of savoring the moment in gratitude, off we go, running to the next thing that seems so important. Focus is lost. Gratitude is sometimes forgotten or ignored. We start asking why our lives are not working as well as expected. A circle of activity that repeats over and over until we take action to make things change.
With the wonderful presence of new technologies, the pace of life has accelerated greatly, leaving many people with “not enough time” for the simple pleasures in life. Make a choice to choose what brings you joy and peace. Be grateful. When waking up decide how you want your day to go by placing a clear picture of the activities in your mind, feeling positive and successful. When going to bed in the evening, be grateful for the activities of the day. Write it down 5 things. That may help put it in a more solid form for you to look at from time to time. This will keep you out of worry and negative thinking habits, allowing your mind to reprogram itself to success. You are so powerful. Take a stand in your life. It is so important you do this. Your happiness and a courageous life “well lived” depends on it. I send my love to each of you as you take your stand in the joy your were meant to be. Go out and make it a great day.
I asked my incredible, amazing friend Nicole McKinney what the word Courage meant to her and this was her answer. I love the clarity Nicole brings to this in her life. I see that the Courage Nicole calls forth daily is bringing all her heart’s desires to her doorstep.
Here is what courage means to me. The grace and peace of believing that abundance and wealth resides with me, no matter what the struggles are. For myself the limiting belief of lack of deserving, lack of money, lack of success, lack of romantic love has always been the dominant sub conscious theme that dominated my other beliefs and put that forth into the universe over and over and over again. Hence, that was what was always presented to me. My courage now… is being open and honest to admit that truth and to that say that I accept myself, I love myself and I forgive who I am. Now I take my courage and my power and say that I am the wealthiest person on planet earth. I have so much love and support from my family and friends, I have a beautiful spiritual cat who gives me love in ways that are unexplainable in words but explode though feelings that look like rainbows. I now believe that the being that I am and the abundance of my being is infinite. To know that I am eliminating the belief of lack, replacing it with the never ending abundance that I have right now, as I write this note is the most important gift of courage that I can give myself. With that……… a gratitude dance is in order!
Do the gratitude dance every day - it’s fun and people are doing it all over the world. Dancing makes you happy, plus it gets your energy up and focused for a fantastic day. What are you grateful for?
I really want to know. I will start with, I am grateful for every breath I take and every beat of my heart. I am very grateful to my incredible friend Nicole McKinney for sending me this video and suggesting it for your enjoyment.
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