It Starts With Gratitude

Last week I felt like my life was spinning out of control. I had almost two weeks off during the holidays and had hardly touched my personal "To Do" list. Then five amazing friends came into town to share a long weekend with me and celebrate one of my best friend's 30th birthdays. The weekend was so much fun, but oh, the time and energy needed to prepare... and clean up afterwards. Then I was off to New York to give a 30 minute presentation on "The Art Of Listening" to 50 of my colleagues - which I hadn't even put together yet. Not to mention many other deadlines at work, teaching yoga on the side, a good friend's 40th birthday party, and a lovely cold that seemed to arrive at the most inopportune time.

You should have heard the thoughts that came into my head - and were expressed out loud to my husband: "There is no way I can get this all done. Something's got to give. Why is life so crazy? Perhaps if I cut sleep out, I can make this work. I don't like this one bit."

But somehow I maintained my meditation practice (though it was a bit abbreviated compared to "normal"), worked out a few days, and got it all done - while having an AWESOME time. As I was landing back in Ft. Myers and mentally preparing myself to teach my Saturday afternoon yoga class, I thought: "What an amazing few weeks these have been. I am so blessed and so thankful for all that is in my life." Yes, I was thankful for the things I was cursing just a week earlier.

That's where gratitude came into play for me. Yes, life is busy, and yes, things happen that can stress us out. But the reality is that there is always going to be SOMETHING going on that can stress you out. Instead of looking at the busyness of my life as a curse, I changed my perspective to look at it with gratitude for all that I have: fabulous friends who want to spend time with me, a fulfilling job where I am respected and challenged, the ability to travel to fun cities every once in awhile, being able to teach yoga and share my passion at a studio that I love, and being given the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and public speak to my peers. What a full life I have!!

I often get caught up in where I need to be, what I should be doing in my life. I want a crystal ball and a plan for the future, and sometimes believe I won't be happy until I get to that ideal image of me in the future. But I love what John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans." I was busy alright, and often am, but that is life. As long as I have gratitude for and allow myself to experience the present moment wherever I am at in my busy "To Do" list of life, then I can be happy. And it starts, as I said, with gratitude.