Someone I was having lunch with today asked me what I felt was the most important lesson I had yet learned in my life. I took a few moments to answer that and came to conclude it was between two lessons.
The first was that there is always a choice.
Over the past couple of years, I have been able to understand that the depth of peace of mind I experience comes not by what is happening in my life as much as how I choose to respond to things. For years, I had heard this idea, and although it sounded cool, it never really connected for me. Somehow, thankfully, it finally clicked inside for me.
The peace of mind that I feel inside has to do with what I am choosing to focus on and how I choose to respond and react to things in my life. I somehow realized that my happiness was an inside job. Again, hearing this over the years was one thing, getting it was another. When I truly realized this, it was as if my Heart cracked open and I became free. I would spend so much time bitching about situations I didn’t like and ranting about how I felt things should be different and better—never quite realizing how focusing on the negative only made me more irritated and agitated inside. Now I do the best I can to accept the situation for whatever it is and then shift my focus as much as I can to remember that peace of mind is a choice…my choice.
The second most important lesson I have yet learned in my life is how powerful gratitude really is.
Focusing on the blessings in my life instead of focusing on what is lacking or what I want to be different is an incredibly quick way to create a joy-filled experience. Just because I choose to focus on gratitude doesn’t mean I necessarily love everything that happens in my life, and honestly, some moments I far from love!
However, if I am truly committed to feeling empowered and supported in my life, I will choose to find the blessing in the moment—even if I want the situation to be different. Why?
In the deepest place of my Heart, I believe that every moment is here to support me.
@IntuitionHeals (Click to Tweet!)
When I say this, I am saying that every moment is here to offer me a blessing or a lesson, and it’s my job to keep my mind and Heart focused on that. It is so easy to go into the old habit of moaning and groaning. Giving myself the choice to be grateful immediately fills me with peace. Focusing on what the moment might be trying to teach me and offering to me, instead of what it is taking away from me, gives me an incredibly different internal experience. I choose to strengthen my Gratitude Muscle!
After I was done spending time with my friend for lunch, I logged into Facebook to start my Evening Gratitude Party. Every night on Facebook and Twitter, I hold Gratitude Parties where people all over the world share three things they are grateful for. Some of these evening parties are starting to get large!
At the top of my news feed when I logged into Facebook was the following statement:
“In the bad times, choose to grow stronger. In the good times, choose to enjoy fully. In all times, choose to be grateful.”
I had to giggle when I read this. The two most important lessons to date in my life rolled up in one statement. The incredible power of choice and gratitude.
May we never ever forget to choose to count the simple blessings in our lives!
What three things are you grateful for right now? Please share below in the comments. I would love to see you! We can start a Positively Positive Gratitude Party right here and now!
I am most grateful right now for my new friends on Twitter, the sound of the dishwasher, and being able to smell the sandalwood/neroli candle on the copper table beside me.
From My Heart to Yours,
Robin Lee
Robin Lee is a medical intuitive, author, mentor, gratitude advocate, and speaker who has helped thousands of people around the world understand the language of their bodies. Robin believes that our bodies innately know how to balance and heal themselves if given proper care and support. Visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter, where she shares tips, tools, and techniques to honor our bodies and heal our lives!
*Image courtesy of symphony of love.
