Today I am grateful for examples of what I want to be.  I have to acknowledge the power of the universe as far as putting us in the right place at the right time, divine timing really.  I met with my team/mentors the other night and they had a group of people sharing their stories/successes with the business.  All of the women presenting exuded exactly the type of confidence and assurance and knowledge that I’ve aspired to have.  They say that we attract what we put out to the universe, that our energy/vibration is recognized and returned to us.  So if I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by the exact type of people I aspire to be, then perhaps I am on the right wavelength as it is.  I am grateful for this because these women have also achieved things that I hadn’t considered and it is quite inspirational, something to aspire to further in my business.  They always keep the focus sharp, they are always working on self-improvement through learning, they always keep their ears and eyes open for opportunities.  This is truly exactly what I want to do—to help people, to become a resource, and to use that knowledge to help.  How beautiful to have those living examples right at my fingertips. 

Today I am grateful for reminders that even in the darkest of times, even from the darkest situations, people can still become more.  It takes work to shed the old and to step into the new.  It takes discipline and dedication and determination.  But if we focus and tend to what we are called to do, we become limitless.  When we learn to say yes to the things that scare us, coupled with the work, when we follow our instincts, we always end up exactly where we need to be.  I got all of that from watching a show about a family in some really down and out situations, things they have continuously put themselves through because of their choices/addictions etc.  They each experience an evolution of becoming, learning to stand on their own feet, firm in their decisions.  They each reach a dark point in their lives, and they learn to work with what they have to make themselves better.  They learn not only to pick themselves up by their bootstraps, but to turn themselves into something more.  They embrace who they are, even the darkest parts, and they run with it. 

Today I am grateful for becoming my own person.  Again, from watching this show, the children all learn to do better than what their parents did for them.  Not that my parents did anything wrong by me, but in this show, they all undergo a burning desire to be something more and then they each take the leap toward the decisions they make.  They only do this after reaching what would be considered a rock bottom in their lives.  The whole point of life is to grow even if that means surpassing the expectations and habits of those who brought us into the world.  We are all limited by our experiences and beliefs and it is our job to expand that, to release the fears of those around us, to welcome and develop who we are.  To step into who we are.  The other day I had been looking around my home feeling some guilt—my parents provided so much for me materially, but they stunted themselves.  The constantly got to the precipice of moving into something more (bigger house, better career, even better finances with long term security, etc.).  They were always one choice away from changing it all.  As I’ve been trying to take those steps, I’ve felt the fear of the unknown.  This was unchartered water in every respect.  I also felt guilt, like I was leaving them behind.  The truth is life is constantly moving forward, and no matter what we do, we will all be left behind at some point.  Our parents, grandparents, all of our relatives will die one day.  We will die one day.  We need to push forward on our own paths because we are meant to grow on our own, not on the same branches of someone who doesn’t have the capacity to go where we are meant to go.      

Today I am grateful for understanding.  I mean understanding in terms of the growth mentioned above, and in terms of what actions to take.  Growth isn’t to say that we are any better or worse than those who came before us, it is to take the information they have shared with us and expand it.  We aren’t necessarily leaving anyone behind, we are incorporating their information and they nurture that growth.  People all do the best they can with what they have/know.  We aren’t always able to bring those with us if they aren’t willing to undergo the transformation it takes to get to the next level.  It’s hard to accept losing people in that fashion, even more so when we see their capacity and potential and they don’t.  But the other part of this understanding is learning to accept that and learning to accept that we have a choice.  We can choose to limit and stay behind, or we can choose to step forward.  I’ve had to reconcile a relationship with authority with my own desire for autonomy.  The other day I took a firm step toward autonomy and chose myself.  Every instinct I have was telling me to do it and normally I would talk myself out of it—but this time, I simply did it.  No permission, just action.  It felt amazing.

Today I am grateful for centering and action.  When we take divinely guided action, it feels amazing.  The assurance, the confidence, the empowerment from action is unlike anything else—and when we do that based on an instinct, it feels even better.  We learn to trust ourselves by taking chances and learning what we are capable of.  We become who we are through what we do.  Through the belief that what we want is possible and then doing that.  This isn’t something I’ve mastered by any means, I’m still working on it.  But I’ve had miraculous glimpses into it, and the more I practice it, the more it seems to come.  The quieter we get, the more we hear the inner workings of our connection to what makes us, us.  We can want it with all of our might and nothing will happen without the action to back it up.  Just make sure we are aligned with what our truest purpose is, and trust ourselves enough to follow that path. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.