WEEK 139
God, how would you have me live this day?
Let the tenor of the day be one of
deep appreciation.
Of what?
Your life’s blessings.
Spend some of your time today being aware
of the ripples that have spread through
your soul from original blessings experienced.
Consider your relationships…
the lessons learned,
the love shared,
the pain borne…
the compassion engendered –
the strength gained;
the wisdom won.
Consider serendipitous moments of random
coincidence,
and plans that manifested accordingly
whether in times of need or plenty.
Consider gifts given and received,
whether time, talent, money, physical or spiritual.
Why all this?
Because appreciation deeply considered
leads to insight and an expansion
of understanding; a realization
that life itself is truly a blessing – a divine gift
of priceless love – one which has been given you.
Take this not for granted… your life and time.
Today, give it a good look
and see the gift to you, of you.
Each day is a new one… a new present to open and live.
Today, see this one with the eyes
of appreciation;
with thankfulness for past days that brought you here…
and with bright eyes for days and times to come.
Evening Reflection
To appreciate is to value the benefit and positive addition of an experience or a thing or event.
Today’s encouragement to appreciate a whole life can be daunting, depending on one’s age and the travails and vicissitudes one has encountered, been through and/or endured.
To appreciate one’s life is a gift back to the One who created you.
This evening my wife and I hosted our monthly community event, which is an evening of tap dance, a meal and a contemplative second-half. Tonight’s theme was, “Here Comes the Sun”… and we asked participants to share a story of the sun coming into their lives. We heard amazing stories that evoked appreciation for the experiences that were shared. It was a community experience of appreciating other people’s lives and what they had done and experienced and lived through.
It was amazing to hear, in the beginning of our event, the experiences they considered interesting that we asked people to offer as an icebreaker. We applauded with feet and hands the unique experiences offered. And yet, they were now all in our studio to tap dance… and to connect with their bodies in a unique way.
It was a great night of appreciation, from hearing stories of being free from stress to become more peaceful… to climbing glaciers… motorcycling on long trips… to being in a part of the world where the sun doesn’t go down!
What did the guidance bring up for you?
