I mailed out my personal hand written thank you notes this week.  I tried my best not to write any reflection posts until December, but my tradition to express gratitude to the people who have impacted my year calls for a reflection and in this case a small reflection post.  This year has been full of reflection beyond anything I have ever experienced and I will talk about that more in another post.  As I was thinking about my year and who to thank a complete sense of gratitude washed over me in a way that I have never experienced or felt.

Gratitude does not exist in a vacuum; it can only exist between an individual in response to another person, place, thing, thought or phenomena.  Gratitude for many comes as a result of personal reflection, and for the skilled, it comes in the moment as the moment(s) of gratitude occur.  This year I have experienced both forms of gratitude and I am trying to build my awareness so I can be fully present and able to identify moments of gratitude as they occur.

While I had four – five hard months this year the sense of gratitude that I feel makes it all worth it.  While I am still in deep waters without a safety raft in site, I was so moved by my sense of gratitude this year that I had to express it as I felt it in it’s vibrancy.  This is what I posted to my friends on facebook:

“ Of all the years where I have done a year-end reflection, words cannot express how amazing this year has been.  It has been the most challenging year of my life, because I challenged my comfort zone and faced any fear that presented itself to me. It was not easy.  Many times this late summer/ early fall I wanted to throw in the towel because of the weight of what I was learning about the human condition.  Now that I have perspective and can see all the people and mentors I met, the experiences I had and all the lessons that I learned along the way, words can not express how humbled and grateful I am for choosing a different approach to my goal setting technique and my approach to how I live my life.  This year has been the most successful year for my goal setting, because the results of this year, helped me grow beyond expectations and has shaped my life for years to come.  I’m so proud of myself for pushing through my toughest moments.”

My wish for you this Thanksgiving is to take in each moment fully and completely.  May you experience the fullness of your gratitude each and every day.  If you have never expressed gratitude before or struggle to find it, even in the small, may you find a place in your heart or in your life to give thanks and allow life to show you your beauty and the beauty that is life and beauty that is in store for you.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Sincerely with Love,

Stephanie

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