MaXIMIze - Gratitude - Rituals

Last post, I challenged y'all to a daily ritual of finding 3 things to be grateful for every day for the month of November.

Here's my list thus far:

November 1st: the roughness of my kitty's tongue as she gives me affection; the contented purr of my kitties; the ability to read a good book

November 2nd: a good night's sleep; the stillness of the hours before dawn; a good cup of coffee

November 3rd: the reminder that life is short; a job I enjoy; time spent with my youngest son

November 4th: the juncos migrating through; a good dinner; sparkling wine

November 5th: fall back so I can wake in the sunlight again; health; the clouds that bring us water

Did you participate thus far? If so, great! If not, there's no time like the present to start a new ritual.

Another ritual of gratitude is to say "Thank You" for whatever grace you receive - a rainbow, sunshine, rain, snow, a parking space, a good meal, a deadline shift, etc. You don't have to say it to a specific person, just  out loud - not loudly, just out loud. What you put out is what you get back, and being thankful puts positive energy into the ether.

Being thankful for the small things makes you appreciate the big things even more.

What rituals of gratitude do you practice? What rituals can you start practicing?

Next time we'll discuss how attitude is a choice, unless a guest blogger appears in the meantime.

Until then, Namaste!

MaXIMIze - Gratitude - 3 Things

As I said in the previous post, this is the month where we celebrate those who have go before - Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), our military veterans - Veteran's Day, and individually and collectively give thanks  - Thanksgiving. 

I challenge you, my dear readers, to come up with 3 things you are thankful for each and every day this month.

My three for today are: a good night's sleep; the stillness of the hours before dawn; a good cup of coffee.

As I am a day late in posting this, my three for yesterday are: the roughness of my kitty's tongue as she gives me affection; the contented purrs of my kitties; the ability to read a good book.

What are you grateful for right here, right now?

Until next time, Namaste!

MaXIMIze - Harvest - Relationships

Okay, I'm going to get a little esoteric here...

I woke up in the middle of the night (not an unusual occurrence...) and I heard what is known as the Taos Hum, which lulled me back to sleep. As I was journaling this morning, I wondered if the Hum was Mother Earth communing with Mother Moon, who is waxing toward fullness right now.

There is a relationship between our planet - Mother Earth - and her natural satellite - Mother Moon. The moon influences the waters here on Earth, and many things were done by the dark of the moon, when the moon was full, or during the periods of waxing and waning, particularly in regards to early agriculture. Modern biodynamic agricultural practices still honor and use some of those early practices.

When I look at the world today and what is going on, I see a breakdown in human relationships, much like there is a breakdown in natural relationships in some areas of our planet.

Building, and - more importantly - keeping, relationships is not always easy. And some relationships should not be built or kept because of various incompatibility issues.

This past year has been one of both building and keeping relationships for me. I'm building relationships in my new home and job, and working to keep relationships where I came from.

I've also chosen to let go of some relationships - those that no longer serve in my life.

Relationships, even familial ones, take work on both sides.

What have you harvested in the area of relationships this year? Where are you going to focus your energy in this area next year?

November is the month where we honor our military veterans and where we give thanks as individuals, families, and as a Nation. Some of us also honor those who have gone before us with the Day of the Dead celebrations.

Gratitude is the theme for the month. We will talk about developing rituals related to giving thanks and expressing our gratitude, as well as Thanksgiving itself.

I welcome guest bloggers for this theme as well as for December's theme of Celebration. If you are interested in posting a guest blog, please contact me at maximize.beth@gmail.com.

Until next time, Namaste!

MaXIMIze - Gratitude

We are now in the month of November, which means the holidays of Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving are coming in the States this month. For me, November is a the perfect month to pause and reflect on all we have to be grateful for before the material craziness that has seemingly come to symbolize the holiday season is upon us.

I sat on my balcony moments ago, writing this post in longhand (as I always do), thankful for the rain coming down right now. I looked across the parking lot and saw my new car sitting in its covered space, and am thankful for having the financial resources to buy a new - at least new-to-me - car this fall. I am grateful that am willing and able to do the work needed to move from financial disaster to financial solvency and start this holiday season debt-free except to myself.

I am thankful that I have a job I enjoy, a loving committed relationship with a great guy, and that I am in good physical and spiritual health.

I am grateful that I live in a place where I can watch the white breasted nuthatches in the tree just beyond my balcony, and enjoy the beauty of nature in the park just beyond the parking lot of the complex I live in.

I am thankful for you, my faithful readers, and for those of you new to this blog.

Right here, right now, my life is grand - and I am deeply grateful for this moment.

My challenge to you this month is to find something every day to be grateful for and take a moment to breathe deeply in that thankful feeling.

If you wish to share your daily bits of gratitude, feel free to post them on my MaXIMIze page on Facebook, where I will post the same challenge and share mine!

Until next time, Namaste!