GRATITUDE DELAYED 08.23.10

GRATITUDE DELAYED 08.23.10

I’ve been remiss lately in updating my blog. I’m trying to do a better job. Tonight, I pause to reflect on my gratitude from last week. I have so very many blessings in my life. I’ve said it before, and I’ll no doubt say it again, the greatest blessings in my life are not “things”. The greatest blessings in my life are people…and the gifts they bring into my life.

As I look back, I’m so grateful for that day a little over two years ago when I summoned up the courage to walk into my first Men’s Chorus rehearsal. So very many of the blessings in my life are related in one way or another to my affiliation with this amazing organization. Three years ago I would have never dreamed of having so many friends in my life, I would have never dreamed that my life would be turned so completely different. When I can walk into an establishment and know a vast majority of the people, that’s a feeling to which I’m still getting accustomed.

I’m so very grateful for my musical abilities. I’m grateful for those who are such an encouragement to me and for the opportunities I have to share my gifts. Living my dream is just an amazing blessing.

Here’s my confession: The last several months of my life have been an amazing experience of trust and faith. I’ve gone from being unemployed to finding what promises to be a good job. I’ve gone from meeting someone I thought I was falling deeply in love with to losing that relationship as quickly as it came into my life. I’ve gone from having some friends in my life who were so very special to me that have fallen away. It’s been an absolute roller coaster ride, but through it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly…I am blessed…and that is one thing I know for absolute certain!

GRATITUDE 08.15.10

GRATITUDE 08.15.10

I’m a couple of weeks behind in my gratitude update. The last couple of weeks have been pivotal periods in my life. I have started my new job. While it is a long-term temporary position, there is lots of potential there. I have to say that I really didn’t do a lot of worrying during my months without a job, because I knew deep in my soul that everything would work out for the best.

I am grateful for the unique experiences that have come my way in the last few months. This year has been wrought with so many changes, so many transitions and, in turn, so many unexpected blessings. While I find that I am still searching for my place in this world, so many questions have been answered and so many voids have been filled.

I’m grateful for the amazing gift of friendship. Friendships, just like any relationship, are difficult. There are ups and downs, misunderstandings and difficulties. I’m grateful for the friends I have. I still function best in a small group of friends, but when I look at where I was two or three years ago and where I am now, I’m just stunned at how far I’ve come. I have some of the most amazing people in my life. Knowing that there are a few individuals who would drop everything and do whatever I need at a moment’s notice is something that just defies words to me. I feel so unworthy, but so very blessed.

I’m grateful for the way things are falling into place in my life, as though they were divinely ordered. Sometimes I think it takes letting go and just relying on the one who is mightier than I to really see movement in my life. Things are not always the way we want them to be or the way we would choose, but in the end, it seems that everything happens exactly the way it is supposed to.

Here’s my confession: I have no idea what my tomorrows hold, but I know that my present is fully of many amazing gifts and treasures. I am grateful for those who take me exactly as I am and still love me. I have a million faults, but the fact that someone is willing to overlook my flaws means so very much.

Gratitude is such a simple concept. If only the whole world would adopt the attitude of gratitude, what a more peaceful way our world could operate.