Gratitude.

Wake up – be grateful.
Go to bed – be grateful.
Every moment in between – be grateful.

This is exactly what has changed my life, this was the first practice that I committed to that completely changed my mindset and has opened so many doors in my life. And the best part? It is so EASY. Even when your ego is hounding you and making you believe it is too tough to carry on – it’s not. It is easy.

I have thought about writing a blog for so, so long. It is a reoccurring thought that I have pushed away for so long. And you know what they say about reoccurring thoughts – intuition. Don’t ignore that shit! And why do we ignore it? Fear. It is easier to ignore your intuition then to take a leap of faith and jump into the unknown. Especially when that unknown could involve failure. Who wants to fail? Nobody! But one of the biggest lessons I am understanding in life right now – “nothing grows from your comfort zone.” Nothing. It may feel safe and warm and cozy, but it is a fallacy. You are not meant to live here. You are meant to rest quickly and then MOVE on. Break down walls, break down barriers, speak up, do whatever your intuition is telling you to do.. because I am positive it is not telling you to sit quietly in your comfort zone for the rest of your life.

So I thought my first blog post should honour where this beautiful/amazing/incredible journey of mine started, and it started with gratitude. Actually, that isn’t even true (ha!), it started with 5 really deep fucking breaths. Five long, deep, necessary breaths that I started taking when I felt like my life was out of control (which was A LOT). When I started my journey towards self discovery, self love, understanding and spirituality, I was 25 years old. I was a mother to a three year old boy and a two year girl, married to the love of my life, and my mind/body/soul were totally out of control. I had anxiety, serious health issues, I was stressed out from the minute I woke up to the minute I went to bed – most of which was created in myself by myself. I just felt like I had no idea who I was. I knew I was a mother and a wife and a daughter, but who was I? I was lost in a body that I couldn’t connect with, I was totally betraying myself in every aspect possible – my mind, my body, and my soul.

So I took my first leap of faith – I went to a yoga class. And it was absolutely magical. It felt so good to actually connect my body and my mind – to feel what I was doing, to trust my body and to breaaaathe deeply. And so I carried on with this feeling – I took deep breaths when I felt totally out of control with my children, or whenever I was overwhelmed with anything, or when I was standing in the shower and I just wanted to feel how much breath I could nourish myself with. And once I had this practice grounded in my daily life, I found gratitude. I was grateful for the breaths that I was able to take. I was grateful for the way I was able to move my body every day. I was grateful for my children, my husband, my home, my finances, the sunrise, my eyesight, a good book, anything and everything. Because there is so damn much to be grateful for. And when I find myself going through a low point in my life (because life is all ups and downs) I know I need to stay connected to my gratitude. It always, always brings me back to my true self because it shows me what I am truly grateful for and everything else falls away.

Gratitude is a Universal language. It can be understood by anyone on this big planet.
Gratitude is a commitment between yourself and the Universe. It requires your love, your honesty and your action – but it is really and truly simple. When you are grateful for what you already have, the Universe will gift you with more to be grateful for. Simple.

Take this as your gentle reminder to stop – right now – and connect to your gratitude. It is always within you and if you stay on its path, your life will flow easily.

Lots of love,
Heidi.