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Gratitude
In the immortal words of the Rolling Stones: “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.”
My life has so far been a rich journey in which many people have come and gone or come and stayed and from each of those people I have learned a great deal. I have much for which I am grateful. In my daily practice, I spend a lot of time in meditations of gratitude. I believe that if we look at a situation from a position of gratitude, we will have a greater opportunity to figure out what we are supposed to be learning from that situation, and this will help us in living our life’s purpose. I am well aware that some situations lend themselves more easily to this than others. In the following remarks, I want to offer gratitude to some of those people around me from whom I have had the opportunity to learn and therefore grow. This is, in my mind, what life is all about.
Lorne – Thank you for allowing me to change and grow and “be” within the context of our relationship. Thank you for allowing yourself to have that, too.
Josh – Thank you for sharing your sense of humor and your unfailing insight into everything around you. Thank you for asking the difficult questions of me when they come up. Thank you for your candidness and your trust. Your presence in my life is both uplifting and humbling.
Emma – Thank you for being your strong, sweet self, for learning how to say “I’m tired” when you are tired, and for knowing instinctively that hugging is something to be done often and with abandon. I am honored to be your mom.
AB – Thank you for being present.
Bonnie & Marc – Thank you for accepting me as I am, for standing by me during terrible times, and for sharing the beauty of my children with me. And thank you, most of all, for being my husband’s parents.
Dad – Thanks for turning out to be cool after all.
Barb – Thank you for your mentorship, your support, your knowledge and your insight. You are a true role model for me and you are a dear friend.
Sharon – Thank you for more than 26 years of unconditional and deeply supportive friendship. You are truly a sister to me.
Laura – I’m not sure if there are words to describe the gratitude I have for you. I believe that goes both ways, so… enough said.
Ben – Thank you for being the “outsider cousin” with me and for the richness of our relationship. There are many things in life I can live without; you are not one of them.
Chris – Thanks for being the kind of kid who chased me up the stairs. I learned how to quickly size up any situation! You are the best brother a girl could want.
Deana – Thanks for your humor, your friendship and your love.
Kim – Thank you for the long, candid talks about all of our boys, for standing up for me even after you got hurt in the process, and for hanging in there for all these years. You are a gift.
Yvonne – Thank you for reflecting myself back to me – both the easy to see and the painful – and for showing me the perspective that I don’t always see on my own. You encourage me to treat myself with gentleness and it is a lesson I carry with me daily and that I share with others.
Pam – Thank you for your laughter and your tears; for leaning on me over the years and letting me lean on you. We have learned much together.
Lynn – Thank you for staying in my life.
Jace – Thank you for the warmth of your friendship and for the creativity and perspective you have brought to our work together.
William – Thank you for realizing what is important in life.
John – Thank you for giving me ample and consistent opportunities to practice compassion. It continues to be my most difficult, and most important, work.
PD – You gave me my first adult opportunity to know how much inner strength I truly have. For this awareness I will be eternally grateful.
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