Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas
Living in a state of gratitude is the gateway to grace. Arianna Huffington
What would living in a state of gratitude look like, or a state of grace? If we are grateful for what we have, would we still be grasping for what we don’t have? My grandson comes to me as I write this, asking me to read a story. He chooses “Krypto Goes to Puppy School.” He sits on my lap and asks, “What happened to him?” It is based on our first family dog.
I didn’t know what to say, so I told him the truth. “He got old, and he died, so he’s no longer with us.”
He says emphatically, “He’s still with us.” It would be interesting to know what goes on in the mind of a three-year-old. He makes observations that blow us away. It’s like there is wisdom in his innocence.
My youngest sister had her daughter the year after Dad died. Her daughter talked about Dad in her early years as if she’d met him. One day she said to my sister, “Grandpa was a really nice man.” It came out of the blue, she was little when she said it, maybe the age of my grandson or younger.
My granddaughter was born a month and a day before what would have been Mom’s one-hundredth birthday. Mom lived to ninety-nine and two months. Will she have something to say about Mom when she starts to talk? Will I read something into what she says that isn’t there?
We read about people who say they’ve visited the other side. When we hear something hinting of that from someone we know, it gives us pause. What happens to us at death, or before birth?
Being around children opens us up to energy and observations we don’t get any other way. They say things, and we wonder where that came from. They take life as it comes, melting down one moment, and laughing the next, but being fully engaged in life.
What if we could live in the moment, trusting that what comes next will be okay, and no matter what, we will deal with it? What if worrying about tomorrow is how we destroy the joy we should have today? If what we worry about comes true, we have to deal with it, but we also didn’t enjoy what we could have, and worrying didn’t change anything. What if worry is even more destructive than that? What if worrying makes us feel we are doing something, so we don’t take action to make things better when we had the opportunity?
What can we do today to make things better for ourselves or someone else? Here we are, between planting and harvest, and if we didn’t plant anything, we can’t look forward to a bountiful harvest. The internet is full of doom and gloom; it’s enough to make anyone want to bury their head in the sand.
As I write, my husband is listening to a podcast on real estate where a deal didn’t go through because the seller didn’t understand the amount of money he owed on the property. When he was given the total bill, it didn’t make sense to close the deal. The buyer is left with a moving truck and nowhere to move into. He said, “I could sue, but the seller is broke, so that wouldn’t do me any good. I’m back on the hunt for a house.”
Is life complicated, and we have to deal with it, or is life simple, but we make it complicated?
Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul. Amy Collette
Years ago, my husband and I sold our condo. It didn’t close on the expected date, because the buyers agreed to rent to us upon closing, but their lawyer insisted they take possession of a vacant condo. The closing date was revised, we scrambled to find a rental, and in the end, it worked out. Had we been closing on a new property that day, our house of cards would have come falling down.
If we were to sell our house now, my husband and I agree, we would sell, then rent, so we couldn’t be caught up in someone else’s deal not going through. This would give us the freedom to search for where we want to go next with cash in hand, and in a market like this, cash is king.
Why worry about the domino effect of numerous deals when we don’t have to? Mitigating risk is one of the ways to live a good life. Is it easier to live in a state of grace if we haven’t set our lives up more precariously than we have to? We have to trust we can deal with what life brings, but we also have a hand in what that will be by the choices we make.
What if we can live our lives with the faith children have that life will work out? We enjoy the moments of joy, we feel the hard parts of life, but then get on with life with a song in our heart and a smile on our face?
Children see magic because they look for it. Christopher Moore
Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do. Jean de La Bruyere
When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Tecumseh
Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.
