Albert Einstein, the most renowned physicist of our time, once stated, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” I love this quote. It speaks to living a life where gratitude is not your guide, or perhaps not even present, versus a life where gratitude is your guide. This is so profound. To tell you the truth, I have been practicing gratitude for years. I don’t think I have been practicing blindly or without intention. Lately, I do believe that my intention and my purpose for practicing gratitude has gained far more meaning and as a result has become more significant in my daily life.

Let me take a moment to explain. I have been doing Oprah and Deepak Chopra’s 21-day meditation challenge titled “Manifesting Grace through Gratitude.” So, I have had three weeks to ponder their daily help and lessons on the power of living your life as if each moment is a blessing. It has helped me reflect on what it is like living with gratitude in my heart rather than skipping my practice and finding myself sliding into a more negative mindset.

This meditation journey has also helped me realize that I am more open to the possibilities of the Universe when I am practicing gratitude daily. When I am not practicing gratitude, I tend to lead my life from my ego or social self. I tend to try to think myself through my choices. I try to figure things out. This isn’t a wrong way to operate. However, it is not the most powerful or authentic way for anyone to conduct his or her life. I already know that when my social self or ego is driving my life, I tend to become disconnected from my essential self. I also become disconnected from my body, which is the primary way my essential self speaks to me.

Additionally, I had the amazing pleasure of getting to hear and meet one of my mentors recently. Lynne Twist, author and proactivist, is known for writing The Soul of Money. She is also a global visionary committed to alleviating poverty, ending world hunger, and supporting social justice. Lynne continually speaks of practicing gratitude. She believes that our mindsets are very powerful and how we perceive the world determines how we interact with it.

As a matter of fact, this is why she refers to herself as a proactivist. She does not feel the need to be anti- anything. So, instead of being antiwar, she is propeace. Instead of being antipatriarchy, she is proequality. Lynne speaks of the three toxic myths of scarcity and the radical truth of sufficiency. She says that seeing the world and our lives through sufficiency is a choice that we make moment by moment: “We each have the choice in any setting to step back and let go of the mind-set of scarcity.

Once we let go of scarcity, we discover the surprising truth of sufficiency. By sufficiency, I don’t mean a quantity of anything. Sufficiency isn’t two steps up from poverty or one step short of abundance. It isn’t a measure of barely enough or more than enough. Sufficiency isn’t an amount at all. It is an experience, a context we generate, a declaration, a knowing that there is enough, and that we are enough.”

Personally, I see living a life of sufficiency as identical to living a life of gratitude. And, in short, the principle of sufficiency states that what you appreciate, appreciates! Who doesn’t want that miracle on their side? I for one know that I feel better, my life flows better, my business runs better when I wake up every morning and say “Thank you,” and I say “Thank you” again before I turn out the light to go to sleep. Therefore, it’s a no brainer to me. Hence, why I choose to see the beauty in life. I choose to see the possibilities. I choose to see the love in every moment. I choose to practice gratitude because my life improves when I do. As Lynne Twist stated, “People’s lives are so miraculous when they pay attention to them.”

Are you paying attention to the miracles in your day-to-day life?

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Sharing Corner

I wanted to share with all of you that I am collaborating with Lucy Fischman, a former teacher and administrator who now runs The Teaching Spirit. There, she helps teachers and principals reconnect with their spirit and find a way to work and live differently. Together, we are offering a series this summer just for teachers who want to slow down, revive, and reconnect. In fact, that’s what it’s called: Slow Down, Revive, and Reconnect—A Summer Renewal Journey for Teachers.

Check out the specifics here. Come join us on this fun-filled journey! (Note there is no link, because this program is not currently being offered. I encourage you to reach out if you’re interested in seeing me offer something like this again.)

Slow Down, Revive, Reconnect

Summer Renewal Journey for Teachers

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Inspirations

When I think about all that I am grateful for, I am overwhelmed by inspiration everywhere. I am inspired by the kindness of strangers, which I witness every day. I am grateful for all of the flowers that spring produces, from the daffodils to the flowering trees. I am grateful for clean water. I am grateful that life coaching is in my life and for the opportunity to coach others. I have learned to be grateful for every gift. Sometimes those gifts are obvious and sometimes they are less obvious. So, I encourage each of you to look around at your life and discover all the gems that make your life as wonderful as it is. Finally, I wanted to share this beautiful song by Josh Groban titled “Granted” that I find truly inspiring. I hope that it inspires you too!