Gratitude

For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes.

Dag Hammarskjold

Happy New Year!

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Jim Rohn

Interesting quote. I saw it somewhere recently and thought about the motto I created when I moved to Arizona almost two years ago. I used this motto Match Me or Raise Me as a reminder to be mindful about who I chose to spend my time with. Match Me or Raise Me just means meet me where I am or inspire me by who you are or by your accomplishments to reach higher, to do better, to excel.

Sometimes we don't fully receive the effect that people have on us or realize the consequences of time spent with those who detract in some way instead of add to our lives.

When I began this blog last January, my first entries were mostly narrative as I wrote about various topics about receiving. (You can look back by going to the menu of months on the right). Over time I added poems and quotes. I was thinking about this blog today and what I wanted to write on this first day of the new year.

In my years of exploring different facets of and deepening my understanding of receiving, I have come to understand that when I am fully present (truly a receptive state), I make better choices. And those choices reflect in how and with whom I spend my time.

As I reflect back on the last year and make plans for the year ahead, I am very happy with my top five people! I hope you are, too.

Attract

Is life attracted to you? How does life express this attraction? Through people or animals; strangers or friends? I remember years ago watching a dog trainer, Barbara Woodhouse, on TV. It seemed as though any animal that crossed her path immediately adored her!

I actually experienced something remarkable recently. I typically have flowers in several vases around my home. Their beauty adds to my life and I actually coo over them quite a bit. When I am in the same room I tell them how beautiful they are -- not that my pleasure is not obvious anyway!

So anyway, the other day I went over to my sink to wash dishes. Right in front of the sink were cheerful yellow flowers and I swear I felt from them such a wave of affection that it stopped me in my tracks. Now, I am used to expressing appreciation for them, but it had not occurred to me that something happened energetically that they would have what ever a flower's version is of love and appreciation. Anyway, I was genuinely moved and awed by that experience.

To receive is to be open, aware and responsive to how life speaks to you. The Law of Attraction, a Law that has been getting a lot of attention these days, is about attracting. Yet, if you are not attentive to how life speaks and relates to you, you may not be able to draw what you want toward you because you have missed the signals and information that would be helpful to you.

You can’t force someone to be attracted to you. But you can learn how to become attractive, to open up to and receive life and the people in it.

Today I am going to be attentive to how life speaks to me. Who or what is attracted? And why? What do I put out and how does life respond? This will be an interesting project for the day.

Do you have any thoughts on this? How does life respond to you? Take notice today and tell me about it.

Noticing

I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about today. But I had a dream this morning about noticing. Yes, noticing. Receptive states are experiences of being in the present and one of the ways to be fully present is to simply notice or pay attention to what is going on around you.

So, for today I am going to pay attention and notice what is in my environment, what I am doing and what I am feeling or thinking. Right now I am noticing how comfortable my chair feels. I see that the blinds I forgot to open are still closed. I just heard the heater turn on (yes, it’s been chilly here in Arizona!). I am also noticing how peaceful my home feels.

I don’t often think about the importance of noticing. But today I will.

Gratitude

I've been writing in my gratitude journal (sometimes more and sometimes less) since I started teaching my Receive classes several years ago. I made writing gratitudes a part of the class curriculum when I realized that whenever we are focused on feeling grateful, that we are are also fully in the present. It's about being receptive to life's givingness.

I want to start this year with the reminder that whenever I make a point to write down five things each day for which I feel grateful, I tend to keep noticing things throughout the day that I also feel grateful for whether a beautiful tree, a phone call from a friend or my morning coffee.

So for today, my five gratitudes:

1. I am grateful I live in beautiful Arizona!

2. I feel so blessed to have such good friends.

3. I am lucky to have found work that I love.

4. I am thankful I found a handyman who is a nice guy to fix things in the house.

5. I'm really glad I ate only half of the Doritos in the bag last night!

I like to spend sixty seconds immersed in one of my five gratitudes. Today I am choosing the one about feeling blessed to have such good friends. And for the rest of the day I am going to make a point to notice and say thank you for all of the ways that life gives to me.

Feel free to add your own gratitudes or any other message.