Giving Thanks

The Buddha said "Happiness never decreases by being shared" so be sure to share your happiness and appreciation with everyone around you during this wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend (there's something right there to be thankful for; your weekend starts two days early!).

My inaugural post for this blog back in the summer of 2007 began with the words of a song called "Thank U". The writer was inspired by the gratitude she felt since her trip to India. Today I post the lyrics again and wish you the happiest of holidays!

How 'bout getting off of these antibiotics
How 'bout stopping eating when I'm full up
How 'bout them transparent dangling carrots
How 'bout that ever elusive kudos

Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence

How 'bout me not blaming you for everything
How 'bout me enjoying the moment for once
How 'bout how good it feels to finally forgive you
How 'bout grieving it all one at a time

Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence

The moment I let go of it was the momentI got more than I could handle
The moment I jumped off of it
Was the moment I touched down

How 'bout no longer being masochistic
How 'bout remembering your divinity
How 'bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out
How 'bout not equating death with stopping

Thank you India
Thank you providence
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you nothingness
Thank you clarity
Thank you, thank you silence

- Alanis Morrisette

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." - Melody Beattie

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."
- William Ward

Attitude of Gratitude

This morning I read a wonderful article about Kym Hampton, a former WNBA professional basketball player who had a 12-year sports career (she played professionally in Europe and Asia, before the WNBA existed and came calling). In addition to her athletic career, Kym is also an accomplished singer, actress and model. Her positive attitude and passion was evident. This is sampling of what she had to say:

Daily Gratitude

"The most important thing I do every day is immediately give thanks as soon as I open my eyes. I say thank you that I can see, that I can hear, that I am pain free - all the things that we can take for granted. It's important to be grateful for where you are and what you have right now. I remind myself that I am a child of God and I was placed here to do wonderful things. I am here to be special. I am here to let my light shine. I also pray and give thanks. I focus on what I have, not what I don't have. That's been my focal point and things have started to turn around for me."

It's All In Your Head... And That's A Good Thing.

"My own lesson is to relax and do your part by being honest with yourself. Once you find something you're passionate about, do your part. Life is mostly mental. We have ideas planted in us - from parents, teachers, friends - and the things we choose to believe about ourselves impact us. Stop with the negative self-talk. Stop with the self-doubting and enjoy who and where you are. Sometimes we need to revisit our thoughts and ask, why am I allowing this in my life? Everything is mental. We have to check ourselves. When you don't feel good you have to face it. When you start to question yourself you'll get answers. We can be better if we choose to be better. When you start to treat yourself better it shows up in all areas of your life. Buy the best stuff for yourself. The way you treat yourself invites people to treat yourself the same way."

I couldn't agree more! Remember, your thoughts become "things".... your thoughts create your reality. If you are thinking negatively, then you're creating a negative environment around you. If you are thinking positively, then you're creating an atmosphere where you are open to receiving all the goodness this world has to offer. Additionally, focusing on what you do have, is key. If you are always focusing on what you don't have, that is negative and results in a sense of lack, frustration and inertia. If you focus on what you do have and express gratitude for it, you open yourself up to more abundance and create a feeling of fulfillment by realizing all the great things that you are already have in your life.

Try to do what Kym does: when you wake up in the morning, take note of all the things in your life that you are grateful for. By making this an everyday practice, I think you will see amazing results.

Welcome to my New Blog "Buddhafly"

Thanks for visiting my new blog. I had thought of the name "Buddhafly" awhile ago, because of my fondness for Buddha and for butterflies. Butterflies are beautiful, elusive creatures that have transformed from modest caterpillars to flying works of art and that has always amazed me. Butterflies epitomize the wonders and mystery and breathtaking beauty of nature and will never cease to delight me. Butterflies live very short lives, so that also teaches us to be in the moment and savor the here and now, for tomorrow is never promised to anyone.

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."


GRATITUDE

Today I had a "a-ha moment" while stretching at the gym. Although I've always loved this song and have listened to it many times before, it really struck me today, as it came on my iPod, while I was winding down from my workout.... it is "Thank U" by Alanis Morrissette and the lyrics really hit me today and I realized how grateful I really was, here, in this moment and just in general, that I have so much to be thankful for. I was having some negative feelings about a particular situation and when I heard the lyrics "The moment I let go of it, was the moment I got more than I could handle. The moment I jumped off of it, Was the moment I touched down." I finally let go of the negative feelings I was holding onto and just released them. A tear came to my eye, I exhaled and just let it go. It felt WONDERFUL.

Here are the complete lyrics to "Thank U":

How 'bout getting off of these antibiotics
How 'bout stopping eating when I'm full up
How 'bout them transparent dangling carrots
How 'bout that ever elusive kudos

Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence

How 'bout me not blaming you for everything
How 'bout me enjoying the moment for once
How 'bout how good it feels to finally forgive you
How 'bout grieving it all one at a time

Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence

The moment I let go of it was the moment
I got more than I could handle
The moment I jumped off of it
Was the moment I touched down

How 'bout no longer being masochistic
How 'bout remembering your divinity
How 'bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out
How 'bout not equating death with stopping

Thank you India
Thank you providence
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you nothingness
Thank you clarity
Thank you thank you silence