Soul Musings

Surrender.  Aaaah...even just typing the word invites my body to relax a bit more. There is great relief and freedom that comes from choosing to fully surrender a situation that you are powerless to change. You know what is even more powerful than the practice of surrender?   Combining surrender with the practice of gratitude!   During an early morning time of meditation and contemplation this thought popped into my mind, "if surrender and gratitude had a baby it would be called ‘give it up’!"   I laughed.   Spirit has such a good sense of humor. I sat with the words for a bit and then they morphed into “when you combine the practice of surrender with gratitude, you GIVE IT UP!”    Get it?   Well I hope you do as it offers us a greater possibility of being with what is and in experiencing equanimity. I love playing with words. It provides an opportunity to find deeper meaning, clear old outdated associations and to shift how I perceive “what is”. A simple

We are quickly approaching the day we collectively pause and give thanks here in the United States.  Weeks before Thanksgiving, the topic of gratitude begins permeating our awareness along with the seasonally favorite pumpkin spice latte that arrives around the same time.  Oh yes, the smells and feels of the season that prepare us to stuff all our gratitude into one destined to be very full day!  Thanksgiving has long been my favorite as it is a wonderful opportunity to share the gift of gratitude with others! I glommed on to the joy of sharing gratitude as a kid intuitively recognizing it as the life preserver it is.  I have early memories of trying to get my family of origin to offer gratitude around the table.  They didn't share my desire and truth be told, were uncomfortable with the idea and often just made jokes instead.  I would relentlessly try to get some deep, heartfelt sharing flowing around the holiday table. It often fell flat and left me disheartened.   Ye