Gratitude

Let’s talk for a minute about how gratitude changed my life.

When I started to see my life through the lens of what I did have rather than what I did not, massive shifts started to happen.

As I stood amongst the wreckage of my marriage and the life I thought I was building for 20 years, it would have been really easy to dwell on all that I had lost and was in the process of losing. My husband, my house, my car, the family I had called mine for 2 decades. Everything was slowly stripping away, right down to the possessions I had to sell to pay legal fees and the mortgage. What was left with was only EVERYTHING that actually mattered. My kids. Myself. My authentic, brave warrior self. My family and friends who truly loved me and had my back. My dreams and goals. My power. My spirit. Courage and faith. The things that no one could take away.

The journey back to myself was hard. I did things I never thought I could do. I faced fears I didn’t even know I had. The tearing down of the old life was excruciating. The rebuilding of a new life, terrifying. But I kept going. I KNEW I could not stay where I was any longer, so I CHOSE to push myself forward, into the unknown, with an unwavering faith that something better was on the other side. It had to be.

When I finally got to the top of that mountain and planted the flag of victory into my new life, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I was filled with such immense gratitude as only someone who has lost can truly understand. The kind of gratitude that spills out of the corners of your eyes and streams down your face. Gratitude for my people. Gratitude for my boys and how fiercely they weathered the storm. Gratitude for myself and the courage and strength I had cultivated. Gratitude for the new home and life I had created. Gratitude that reverberated through my entire being and altered how I existed in the world.

It was through this lens of having lost so much that I was truly able to appreciate what I did have, and by appreciating those things, I was able to attract more to be grateful for. It was through a recipe of faith, courage and gratitude that my desires began to materialize at lightning speed. The perfect house, the exact amount of money I needed to pay a debt, free trips to tropical places, the list went on and on like I was a mother effing sorcerer. Any time there was something I wanted, it would magically appear. It was only when the intensity of my gratitude would wear off that my manifestations would slow down.

And here is the rub, it wasn’t just appreciating what I had that made the difference, it was actually being grateful for losing everything. I am grateful for the whole effing ordeal. I am grateful for the heartbreak. I am grateful for the hardships. I am grateful for every lesson I learned along the way. I am grateful for the opportunity to become stronger, to find my power and my voice and to uncover the badass version of myself that stands here today. I am grateful for the whole traumatic, heart crushing experience.

So yeah. Gratitude. Gratitude journaling is a great way to stay connected to a deeper appreciation for your life. It can definitely shift your perspective when you are having a crappy day to appreciate a sunset or perfectly steamed latte, but when you can truly be grateful for the the sh*tstorms of life, when you can pause and take stock of the things and people in your life that truly matter and understand what your world would be like without them in it, that is next level gratitude. Not just words, but the gut wrenching emotions that come from losing and then finding it all. That is literally the gratitude that dreams are made of.

It is my sincere hope that you do not have to lose it all to truly appreciate what you have. That you can put yourself in someone else’s shoes and find that level of gratitude within yourself to make whatever shifts you are craving in your life, so that you too can be a mother effing sorcerer and create all that you desire.

To all you warriors out there today, I salute you!

Hold on. Keep going. Have faith. Be brave. Count your blessings.

Great things are coming for you.