Daily Gratitude: Boy is this a valuable and key life lesson. And since we live in the day of instant gratification, it’s hard to remember. We want to learn to play the piano within 24 hours of getting one. “Practice? Why do I need to practice? Why can’t I just sit down at the piano and play like a classical master?” Think back to a baby learning to walk. The baby didn’t go from crawling and sticking its feet in its mouth to see how they tasted. They had to focus – as much as a baby can focus. They had to get up, fall down and get up again. Over and over. If they quit because they couldn’t walk the first time they tried, where would we be? Maybe cut out a picture of a baby trying to walk and put it over your piano (or wherever else you’re learning right now). Look at that baby every time you get frustrated that you haven’t yet been invited to be in the most orchestra in the world (or some other grandiose plan your mind has concocted). Small steps. Consistency and persistence is what makes you great.

Daily Gratitude: Can our purpose in life be this simple? I think so although it’s much easier to say Than to live. However, no matter how you pray (using “God” in your message, doing meditation, setting intentions, whatever you consider as a power outside yourself), this should be the essence of each and every day of our lives. We must get out of ourselves. We are a tribal being and as such, we are supposed to be caring for each other – in order to ensure the continuity of the tribe. Our purpose is NOT to go out and get everything we can just for ourselves. Ask for guidance every day on how you can best be a blessing to someone else. That guidance will come if you ask for it. What feels better? Getting a package that you ordered from Amazon. Or, getting a surprise package from someone? When you get someone from someone else, it’s not just about what it is but it’s also about the thoughts and meaning behind that gift. It is much more than what is in the box. Try it for one day. Be a blessing to someone else.

Daily Gratitude: Have you ever felt that you’re just not good enough? That you can’t “get it?” I have. But then, if I take the time to look at everything, I’ll realize “of course you’re not good enough, Terrie. You just started doing this.” And that’s usually the case. It’s something i just decided to delve into because it seemed interesting. So of course I wasn’t doing it well yet. That’s more of our instant gratification Philosophy. We need to realize that we can get better- a lot better- if we just keep plugging away. But here’s where comparison comes in, and is, as usual, dangerous. We may see someone else doing this thing and doing it a lot better than we do. So, instead of saying “I can get that good too, if I just continue to practice.”, we mope around, feeling inferior and unhappy and then decide to give up on it. What if we just kept trying to get better and continued trying ? I think we’d get better at just about anything we’re doing. Keep on trying and stop comparing. Do daily and weekly evaluation and you will see progress no matter how small. Keep going!