Blog / gratitude

I'm still committed to my daily meditations. This morning I woke up and was tired. Lately it seems, I get an adequate amount of sleep every other night. What is a girl to do? Maybe I could start taking valerian but I honestly just think I've got a lot on my plate. This morning I woke up early after not a lot of sleep and once again my mind went into a tailspin of worries. I remember the first thought this morning being, "Oh right, I have to deal with all this shit again today." It's getting boring to notice the continual dialogues that I run in my head. I sit in meditation to get my mind connected with my body. I also did some stretches this morning and I nearly slept on the floor. Lately, what has been working is this picture that I hold in my head. I imagine that all people around me are full of empathy and compassion towards me, themselves and one another. I imagine that my problems find solutions that are better than I could even imagine. I imagine that I have something really grand to look forward to and that I have good friends here where I live that want to be with me just because of who I am and not because of how I might be able to help them or provide for them. This helps me to stop the endless mind chatter of worry that my brain likes to engage itself in. I also like to start and end the day in gratitude. This helps to keep a feeling of thanksgiving present with me throughout the day. These days have been rough, no doubt about it. Life is full to over-flowing and stress is present. I am doing the best self-care that I can provide for myself amidst a busy life with dogs and kids and homeschool. If I could somehow get 7-8 hours of sleep consistently each night, I would feel more able to function through the daily stressors. The gratitude helps me to remember that there's always something really to be thankful for amidst the chaos. Right now I'm grateful for an easier week of school assignments. I'm grateful for the walk today in the beautiful weather. I'm grateful for a fun day of homeschooling with the kids. I'm grateful to have gotten some homework assignments handed in. I'm grateful for good friends in NJ who are keeping me on track and keeping me in check. I'm grateful for the plethora of healing peeps here in VT who help me to stay healthy. I'm going to take my tired body and ride the bike for a little bit. This will help to tucker me out so that I (hopefully) get a great night's sleep. Here's to meditation, visualization and gratitude, Linda

Hi there,

Got a phone call today that was SO pleasant to receive. A woman called me to say she attended one of the documentary workshops I've held recently and she said she wanted to thank me because it has changed her life. She's been researching raw food and changing her diet and her own medication is dropped significantly and her blood sugar has also changed dramatically. She said it's so amazing and she can't ignore this. How cool is that! I love these kinds of phone calls and I want to hear more of them. It is so supportive to me personally. Just helps to keep me plugging away.

A heartfelt thank you to you that write me and send me feedback or call me with your stories. I love to hear them.

Many blessings to you!

Linda

my grateful list for today and always

1. I'm grateful for my kids, who are my greatest teachers as well as gift blessings from the heavens
2. I'm grateful to Matt for giving me said kids :-) - I'm also grateful he's been with me through so much
3. I'm grateful for my extended family - the family that raised me along with the many aunts, uncles, cousins and grand parents that I love so much.
4. I'm grateful for this life journey so far and look forward to more "travels"
5. I'm grateful for my friends, old and new
6. I'm grateful for all life around me, the dirt, the trees, the animals and yes, even the bugs.
7. I'm grateful for the feeling of limitless possibilities
8. I'm grateful for great health in my mind, heart, body, soul and spirit
9. I'm grateful for the earth that is below me and the moon, stars and sky that is above me
10. I'm grateful for the space and peace within me and around me as well as in others.

So mote it be. LOL! :-D Happy Thanksgiving! Linda

I wrote this on the car ride down to NJ. Forgot to actually post it up though! :-) ~~~ Traveling to NJ I'm in the car typing as we listen to a book on tape. We're heading down to NJ to have Thanksgiving with family. I got a phone call this morning from someone placing an order and was wondering if we were having a RAW thanksgiving. I replied and said that we'll be going down to NJ this year - I said that I am bringing 2 raw desserts and plan to make a salad and will take Matt's miso dressing with me so that I'll have something to eat. She asked if I would have anything that other family members would bring and I said that I might have some veggies that will be on the table providing there is no cheese or dairy in them. (For me, dairy and cheese doesn't work well - not even raw dairy.) Later I asked what she planning on doing for thanksgiving and she said the same thing although she finds it rather hard to not eat what others have brought... then she feels bad later on... I hope with this thanksgiving, she will feel good about her day and her choices, no matter what they are. A little bit later in the day, I went to the store on our way out of town and I bumped into a person I know from when we homeschooled our son. Anyway, we got into a brief conversation and she mentioned that a year ago she was trying Doug Graham's 80/10/10 diet and was finding it working well with her. Although, she said, she didn't feel that she needed to follow it so religiously and she feels OK to eat things when she's at other people's houses that she might not at home. She called it "receiving a gift" and I totally agree. To me, it's much more important that things are made with love than whether or not they are 100% raw or not. I don't follow a purist's lifestyle and I never have. I do feel like if anything that I'm doing starts to feel like I'm practicing a dogmatic religion, then I'm probably getting too controlling over it. This is a journey of a life to live, and for me the important lesson is to be gentle with myself. If that means to eat some fruit or a juice or smoothie in this day, then great. If it means that someone wants to give me a gift of their homemade bread, for example, than I accept quite willingly. It *IS* a gift like my friend said at the store - a gift that was made with love and good thoughts and intentions for me or my family. Why on earth would I shun the gift and say it's not 100% raw? That's rather shaming to me although I do understand when a person feels so strongly that they are giving themselves a gift by being 100% raw... Anyway, I feel It is akin to a spiritual practice to be able to receive something with love and grace and gratitude. What a wonderful way to end this post as this is the time of year when we think most about our gratefuls. in love and gratitude, Linda