Warning: f-bombs ahead. 

Gratitude.

I’m bringing it back to gratitude today.

With the energy of gratitude comes clarity. It has a seriously astounding way of altering our perspectives and shedding light where fog and haze seem to reign supreme.

And as the smog clears, a new approach presents itself.

Realizing that rather than trying to figure things out and analyze situations like I always do—which never, ever gets me anywhere—what I need to be doing is count my blessings and acknowledge all of the miracles that are happening all around me, especially those I’ve co-created.

Then I can really really sit in, soak up and exist in that energy. That power. Those moments when I look around me and see where all of my hard work and perseverance and diligence has gotten me.

Which is exactly where I need to be.

I’m in the exact place I should be in, because I’ve gotten here through surrender, trust, faith, positivity, light and love.

I’ve dedicated to committing to a whole new way of being, way of seeing, way of breathing and way of feeling.

Want to know what the true test of that is? Drama.

Even in the midst of drama that’s not my own, I’m still not shaken. It’s oddly liberating, because I feel empowered, and I feel empowered because the way I’m reacting (or not reacting) is truly proving to me that I’ve become a different person. I’ve grown and shifted.

I’m changing the way I react, and that changes everything.

I’ve changed the way I let things effect me, and that changes everything.

I’ve changed the way I perceive things, the way I deal with things, the way I look at things—all of which has taken me my entire life up until this point.

The way you look at things is the most powerful force in shaping your life. In a vital sense, perception is reality…Our intentionality constructs the landscapes of our inner world. Maybe it is time now for a phenomenology of soul. ~ John O’Donohue

And this point is perfect. It’s perfectly imperfect.

It’s shifting and morphing and changing and expanding and contorting and liquefying and flowing according to my will, my intentions and my source—my inner guide. My growing spark of intuition. And if nothing else, this is what I’ve come to trust above and beyond all.

This all comes back to presence; presence and persistence of purpose, which has led me to evaluate a few things, like how much I get attached and how willing I am to let go of both good and bad, because obsession over and consumption with either one isn’t good.

I’m striving for neutrality here. Rather than resort to anger, I’m honoring myself enough to know when to call bullshit as I see it, and to know when something is good for me or not.

I’m choosing to honor and be grateful for the good energies that are in my life and know that bad energies exist to, but they’re only as powerful and prevalent as I allow them to be.

So right now, rather than get sucked into energies that aren’t my own and are not of my own creation, I choose to divert that energy into something more positive. I choose to see that my life is what I make of it. It’s how I see it and what I allow into it. I’m the boss of that, even if other people try to change that; ultimately, it’s all my decision. It all lies within my own actions and responses.

I don’t know what’s going to happen or where I’ll be or who I’ll be in a year from now, but what I do know is this: this is life—this is a joy ride, because that’s what I’m making it. As crazy as shit gets, there’s still this moment, and the next, and the next.

Nothing is fucked here, dude. Nothing is fucked. ~ Walter Sobchak, The Big Lebowski

Nothing is. Things only become fucked when we see them that way—when we see problems instead of solutions.

When we see negatives instead of positives; when we are blind to the silver lining in seemingly dire and stressful situations. We have a choice in every single moment—the choice of perception. The choice of thought. The choice of action or non-action.

The choice to hold onto our power rather than allowing outside forces and energies that are not our own to try and wrangle it from us.

We’ve got this one life, right now. This one experience, in this moment. While we can’t always avoid negativity and drama and stress and chaos, we always, always have a choice as to how we choose to react.

Everyday we wake up
We choose Love
We choose light
And we try, it’s too easy just to fall apart. ~ The Submarines

It’s not always easy, but the greatest rewards come from our greatest moments of strength. The choice between reaction and non-reaction encompasses all of those moments.

When it really comes down to it, we’re faced with such a simple decision—one that we make from our own wholeness.

Actually, it’s pretty validating, because when we do find ourselves in those situations, we have the power to surprise ourselves. We have the power to see the energy and conflict, acknowledge it and let it go, all the while allowing it to feed our own feelings of growth, maturity, strength and personal evolution.

Every moment of your experience is the peak of life experience. This is where your powerful now is. This is where the desire is radiating from you and is being allowed by you. ~ Abraham

See? Silver lining. It’s all about the silver lining, in every situation. Life grows and thrives and improves on the rippling waves of what each individual has to offer, and in each moment, we’re given a fresh chance to allow the power of choice that is always available to us to really shine through and change our lives.

This act transforms the energy of being a victim to circumstances into the power of focused, pointed positive thought, action and manifestation—this is the ultimate alchemical process of turning the base metals of the ego into the radiant golden rays of the soul.

This is life, and it will unfold and reveal itself and grow in the exact way we believe it will.

That is true power. Never be afraid to stand in it and claim it, because if you don’t, someone else will.

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Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: Gregg Pratt at Pixoto