Embracing This Life

We embrace this amazing existence not by doing more, but by focusing on what is truly important.  We are probably more similar than dissimilar in the things that are most dear to us.  We all want to be happy, and to have loving relationships that are mutually supportive and nurturing.  We want to have strong, healthy bodies that can waltz (or boogie) us through our life's dance.  And we all want to be seen, and known, openly and honestly, for all that it has meant to be our unique selves.  I believe this is true for most of us. 

Thank Goodness for the challenges, for they help us find those rather elusive answers about what has the greatest value to us.  It's pretty easy to get caught up in the demands of the day, and end up spending long amounts of time separate from what is meaningful.  At times, I remember to ask myself, "At the end of my life, is this what I will remember?"  There are things that fall quickly down the priority list when I view them in this way.  Ultimately, a life spent involved in what provides meaning infuses our lives with joy.

It is said that happiness is not in having what we want, but in wanting what we have.  It's tempting to focus on what is still lacking.  But the life of our dreams comes from finding the good that is always present, standing right there next to the distractions and concerns.  We embrace our lives, and our good, when we recognize the gifts we've been given.  How sweet life is when we cultivate a joyous dance of unfettered gratitude, not only in our thoughts, but in our prayers and in our hearts as well.

So today, I embrace my life with an amount of gratitude that has no limits.  I am here, in this healthy, strong body that is infinitely capable of walking me though all of the adventures of my making; in the middle of a glorious day filled with unlimited possibilities for me to experience wonders of all sizes, shapes and colors; and for as long as I am here this is my daily legacy, as a child of God.  Today is the day that my heart beats, and I choose how I want to show up. Today I am.

May you embrace the gift of living another precious day as your unique and perfect self, and may this tool be a blessing. . .