Before anything else: if you’re in the U.S., today is Election Day. Please go vote. It matters, and your voice is part of it.
It’s easy to take that for granted. I’m grateful to live in a country where we get to have a say, where we can stand in line, mark a ballot, and be counted. However you vote, I’m grateful you can, and I’m asking you to do it.
Last month we talked about courage. This month, I want to talk about something quieter.
Gratitude.
Not the list kind. Not the name-three-things kind. Lists can be lovely. But somewhere along the way, gratitude became something we do instead of something we feel.
So this month, I'm inviting you into one simple practice: feel what's already here.
Right now. Your breath, moving without being asked. The surface holding your weight. A warm drink, a text from a friend, the light through a window. Not to force a smile. Just to let it land in your body.
I'll be honest with you. This year, gratitude and grief are sitting at the same table for me. My greatest teacher, Sri Bhagavan, passed away just weeks ago. I'm so grateful for everything he gave me, and I miss him. I've stopped trying to choose between the two. They can hold hands.
Later this week I leave for India, for a wedding and to sit where Sri Bhagavan has been laid to rest. I'm so grateful that my partner is holding down home so I can do this. I’ll carry gratitude and grief with me, side by side.
If your table has an empty chair this season, or a full one that feels like a lot, you're not doing it wrong. Gratitude isn't a requirement. It's an invitation. You get to feel what's already here, even when what's here is mixed.
That's Pause-Feel-Respond™ in its simplest form. Pause. Feel what's already here. Respond from there.
Here's one question to sit with this week:
What is already here that I haven't let myself feel?
Start free. 10 minutes a day tops. Begin today at RadiantReturnWellness.com
In Radiance,
Catherine