Daily Gratitude: This is about as simple as it gets. And it’s so easy. But our busy lives keep us from doing it. Why? I think it’s because we feel as as if we have to actually do something that might involve a lot of effort. Often we really don’t have time to make that effort. So we feel that doing nothing is better than trying to do something else but not doing it very well. But just think about the last time you weren’t feeling your best. You checked your email or got a text or a voicemail and it was from a friend just saying “hi, thinking of you”. Nothing else. Just there 4 words. Didn’t those 4 words (or even just the last 3) make you feel better? Didn’t it take your mind off the loneliness or the suffering even if just for a short while? Then why can’t you do the same for someone else? Don’t be afraid you’ll get “sucked into” having a give more of yourself than you have time for. An email or a text can help prevent that. Just give a little bit. I guarantee it will make both parties feel better. Then you’ll wonder why you haven’t done it more often!

Daily Gratitude: Whenever I’m training for the upcoming Vol State race across Tennessee, I use a different and more hilly route (finding sufficient hills in San Antonio is tough). There is a man on the corner of a big intersection who is there every day hoping people will give him money. I’ve been pondering this for about 3 years now. He’s almost always there, no matter the weather. Picture this for a second: it’s pouring rain and you’re standing on concrete and people are zooming by splashing water on you, not necessarily intentionally but that’s just what happens when cars go through standing water. Or this: it’s 100 degrees (108 “real feel”) with 70% humidity and the sun is blazing down on you because there is no place to go. This man is not, in my opinion, just a pan handler trying to take advantage of people’s kindness. How do I know? I don’t for sure but he’s always there. This appears to be his “job”. He doesn’t call in sick when he doesn’t feel like boiling. He doesn’t go on vacation. This is his livelihood. He can’t say “I don’t feel like it” and not show up. It’s taken me all this time (I’m ashamed to admit) to realize that he works harder than I do and even harder than almost everyone I know. He has some sort of disability because he’s bent over at a 90 degree angle all the time (and I actually saw him get off a bus and head to his spot and he was just as bent over, holding on to his walker) so he probably can’t work at another job. I don’t know. I do know that he shows great resilience and I’ve come to respect him because he’s been out there when I have and we’ve both been miserable. But I am headed home and he’s still standing there. He depends on the kindness of others. How would you do in that situation? Yesterday I finally went over to his side of the road (it’s opposite the side I walk on) and told him he was always out there and I respected him for that. And I gave him some money. I should have given more but more importantly I should have talked with him more. But I didn’t because I wasn’t sure he would want to talk to me (weird huh ) and I wasn’t sure if talking to me would keep him from getting more donations (notice how we use words – when we give to a formal charity we call it a donation. When we give to a person in need we call it a hand out – why the difference?). He’s no longer just the man on the corner. He’s Joe-Joe and he has the sweetest smile. He’s now a man I’ve met and would like to get to know better.

Daily Gratitude: I think you can summarize this quote by reminding yourself that what you need (which isn’t necessarily the same as what you want) will flow into your world as soon as you just let go. Letting go is such a hard task for all of us. It means giving up control and that’s definitely not something we’re programmed to do. But once we do let go and simply say (and feel) “everything always works out for me”, you’ll be surprised and things will begin to change. “But what if the change is bad?” I hear you saying. My response is quick and easy “there you go with the control issue again”. “Bad” is just a word, a thought and feeling that YOU have ascribed to something. In addition to the control issue there’s also the issue of instant gratification. You feel you MUST have the “good” stuff right now. 1) it doesn’t work that way. The universe (God, Buddha, higher power, whatever) knows what is “good” for you and when it can arrive so it does the most good. I had to go through 13 months of suicide inducing pain after Shingles and then I had to develop major medical complications that put me in the hospital for 5 weeks. Do you think I thought that was good? Hell no! But was it good? Definitely yes! Huh? It helped get me through the severe issues at work which were totally out of my control – the two big problems were gone the day before i returned to work. That is not coincidence. And it led me to discovering IFS and neuroplastic treatment of chronic pain. Both of those have totally changed my life. It’s taken a few years for me to see all the good and I’m still finding more but it was all good. Had I learned to let go sooner, this lesson (or lessons) would probably not have been so painful. What are you holding on to in a desperate attempt to “fix” that you probably should just let go of?