Gratitude

GRATITUDE IS ALL-CONSUMING….No Room for Anything Else.

August 12, 2019 / / Conscious Awareness, Freedom, GAYA, Grace, Humility, Self-Realization, Source Energy

Imagine this:  no cravings, no wishes, no criticisms, no dissatisfaction, no despair, no self-deprecation, no regrets, no guilt, no shame or loathe of self, no anger, no discontent whatsoever.   NOW IMAGINE THIS:  just gratitude for all in your life in this moment.  Sit with this thinking just for a bit and FEEL THE INTENSITY of what to me feels like a spacial experience.

Suddenly I have removed myself from the mundane hustle-bustle of the world in another way.  It is so profound to experience the relief of feeling gratitude for my presence in this world.  I feel more generous in my thinking, I’m more aware of such beauty in the remarkable creation as a whole…the amazing place I fit into this global/spacial intricacy of Life.  To feel so entirely content and remarkably  humble as I acknowledge the expansiveness of gratitude….what a huge word it is.  The feeling of gratitude expands my heart and brings tears to my eyes.  I am powerless to the effects it has on me.  It is like I have been picked up by the giant hand of Source and placed on a cloud of understanding.

In the face of gratitude, how can one ever consider complaining or uttering dissatisfaction about anything again?  How can one be ungrateful for all  blessings, most of which are unknown?  How can one assume the posture of arrogance?  What could one be arrogant about, considering the Grace one has been afforded notwithstanding personal actions which may have been unbecoming  of a Blessed Person?

Now is my time to get in touch with what I really am…this spiritual being in a human condition.  When I am in gratitude, I am closer to my Essence.  I am in appreciation for WHAT IS and more in tune with what I have chosen in my awareness.  What a grand feeling consumes me.

Mr. Rogers was right:  “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”

The music is playing…Let’s Dance!         ~  Gaya

 

What is Expected of ME?

April 30, 2018 / / Gratitude, Life and Living, Life's Impressions, Self-fulfillment

What a question I have posed.  This is interesting territory!  Is the pressure ON or OFF?!!

In my small world, I am firstly, a single woman of years… a mother… a friend… a neighbor… an author…a Buddhist practitioner…the host of a weekly online  ‘live’ broadcast from my Facebook page, Just Sayin’   Kaye A. Peters… a member of a few authors’ groups on Facebook…a customer in any retail environment…and at the end of each day, lastly, I am still a single woman of years enjoying the privilege of living my life in the Human Condition with no endgame in sight, but, first and foremost I am a Spiritual Being, and must attend to my Soul.  

Each hour that I am privileged to live, I try to fulfill my roles to whatever degree my responsibility presents itself.  I essentially believe I am ‘living my purpose’ to its fullest,  doing the very best I can and being the very best I can be.  Thus, it follows, by my intentions I am nourishing my Soul and providing myself with joys and happiness and continued awareness and enlightenment that become a perpetuation of self actualization.

I am finding that I have what I will call ‘soulful antennae’.  These are feelers that extend from me and ‘pick up’ mixtures of energies that are always swirling around me and from within me too.  I notice I find it difficult to distinguish them when it comes to what, if any, action is required of me.  I’m concluding right now that it is primary that I decipher what is mine to tackle.  I am responsible to leap my own hurdles.  Sometimes there has been a soft place for me to fall, and sometimes I have been that for another too. Kindness, interest, encouragement and support are wonderful gestures to lend a hand or a leg up to someone on their own path.  Altruistic Action.

The answer to my question,  What is expected of ME?    Whatever I can do that fills my Soul while providing self-fulfillment to my human life purpose, honoring my Creator in gratitude for my well-meaning Presence in the larger world picture.

Blessed Be.  To All Be Blessed.

 

 

I’m Starting to ‘Get’ Some of It!

December 3, 2015 / / Life and Living

Until recently, I thought I understood the theory of ‘mirroring myself in another’,  I.e., when I become  acutely aware  what I dislike in someone, I’m recognizing a quality  I inherently dislike in myself!  And, when I’m  unexplainably  attracted to someone (male or female) I’m recognizing  traits in that individual that I like in myself!  Sounds simple, albeit annoying!   In these processes,  more than once I’ve been reprimanded for my ‘judgmental’ approach in my criticisms.  Conversely,  I’ve never been complimented  for my ‘judgmental’ favoritism.  Just sayin’.

Consider the word, “discernment”….in my view, this is the independent ability to make decisions about people and things that don’t have to do with mirroring anything….it’s simply an individual’s right and  choice to decide,  based upon personal integrity and perceptions, that something is different [than preferred] and  make a decision accordingly.  Ergo, if I  don’t like public nose picking and view it as a disgusting display, so be it!!

How much house does a person need…. just because it is affordable?    I live in a small home…but admittedly, I’d like one somewhat larger and in a more desirable neighborhood or a ranch property!  This is my Ego talking.   I’m grateful for what I do have  –  a paid-up homestead!  I’m dancing around this admission already!….  knowing full well, I have one foot in the hot water!    Could I even feel ‘at home’ in a  3,000 sq. ft. space, or more?  I don’t think so.  Just as I don’t think I could have two or more places of residence and feel ‘at home’ in all of them equally.  Right now, everything I have in my home has an “attachment value”…I love all of it, as well as me in it…and there’s also a story connected to most everything inside these walls.  This is an outgrowth of downsizing, making my life simpler and less cluttered, more meaningful and special to my heart.   As I write these very words, I believe I’ve just solved a personal dilemma!  ( I do believe I’ve got it! [sic])  I’M FINALLY SATISFIED…. NO YEARNING FOR MORE!

STATS:

 GRATITUDE FACTION:  STEADY CLIMB

 SELF-IMPOSED SELF-ESTEEM RESTRICTION:

RESTRICTION:  O

SELF-ESTEEM:  STEADY CLIMB

Enough is Enough

Enough is Enough

I'll take One of Everything

I’ll take One of Everything

 

 

 

 

Make Mine a New Year’s Eve Countdown…With a Twist!

November 27, 2015 / / Life and Living

Here, it’s the day after Thanksgiving Day, my absolute favorite of holidays, and I’m beginning to solemnize the coming countdown to the end of the year!

I don’t exactly remember how I started this personal tradition – it was many, many years ago – but it has become an ever so  sweet ‘encounter with my life’ as it  unfolds each past year.  There’s nothing sad about it.  There is a ‘tickling look around the corner’ , and  a standard of personal pride, as I recollect my projects and/or accomplishments, my spiritual ‘questations’, new learning, overcoming whatever challenges that had presented, and my general “Peace in the Valley”, here in Arizona.  It took me about 21 years to return, and now I’ve been here another 25 years, where I absolutely belong and thrive!

Actual New Year’s  Eve presents itself to me as a ‘rest’.  I start my process early evening, and sometimes it lasts several hours…or conversely, it can last only 20-30 minutes.  I think the duration may be directly related in part to my advancing age.

When I was younger I used to look back 10 years and forward 10 years.  I’d gently reflect my past – never came up regretting a thing! – and projected the coming 10 years –  setting out dreams and goals and ideas how I wanted my life path to wend.  Nothing was ever written in ink!  As I aged, the 10-year span lessened to 8 and then 5.   But,  last year I pulled myself up short!  I became quite unsettled in the notion that due to my actual age, I might not have 5 years to project!  For a time, my joy came to an abrupt halt!  Couldn’t I have any more dreams and goals?  Couldn’t I be wishful and even romantic in my mind as I placed one foot in front of the other on my path?  Was I so near the end of my human life that I was left to ‘settling for’ and making plans for my restriction, not my freedom of living?  Thankfully, this horrifying thinking was short lived!

Of course, I had a life in front of me…the same life with the same unknown future length of time! It became easy for me to ‘rest’ again, and review my past 5 and unknown future 5 years, without any intimidation or hesitation, as I formulated my goals and ideas and ‘forever  path’.  I laughed at myself for even entertaining such  paralyzing thoughts!  Fact is, I’ve never known when my time will be up, and never will, so I’ll just keep living ’till I’m stopped!

I’m looking forward to ‘resting’ this coming yearend as I gather all the wonderful memories and ongoing experiences I’ve already accumulated – all of which are new to me – ever!   When I peek ahead, I am aroused by the excitement which builds within me –  not unlike anticipating Christmas morn when I was a youngster –  as I begin to exercise my Magical Thinking and let loose  that side of me where absolutely anything and everything is possible!

By the time New Year’s Eve arrives, I’ll be ready….and  the twists from my magical thoughts will soar into the Universe much to my delight.

Watch Out World, Here I Come!

Ready or Not

Ready or Not

 

I REMEMBER….THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

November 20, 2015 / / Life and Living

Musing…I love it!  There are times in my life that signify thrill….utter elation…uncontrollable emotion (tearful and joyful)…those “aha” moments that made me feel like an inventor (when I said to myself “why didn’t I think of this sooner!”)…holding my newborns for the first time…first house…first love…telling my lawyer why I needed the divorce(s)…signing the lease on my first office space when I became self-employed…my 4-year-old son holding a drumstick as big as his cheeks, my mother with a Pilgrim hat on her head which my other son made in art class at school…my first color TV – Wow.  what a day that was – in my mind in color right now!  Shallow?  Not from where I sat at that time.  I was a single mother, not much money, believing I lived an abundant life, irrespective of my checkbook balance!…some reminders that twinkle my experiences past.

I revere life  in it’s entirety, which provides the basis for my joy and gratitude.  I humbly revel in the fact that I try my best, get through to the other side, find new strengths, and am Thankful in every way for what is today.

We’re nearing my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.  It’s a lot of work to do…the hustle bustle of preparation and cooking, and then the satisfaction seeing the ‘turkey bird’ all plumped up on the platter, and the wonderful mixture of smells in the kitchen…the bounty of it all.  I’ve been known to enjoy this day all by myself…cooking this whole meal just for me!  No feelings of aloneness, no melancholy or tears.  There’s a space within me that heralds the whole event to my fullest joy!  A magnificent feeling!

I GIVE THANKS FOR  EVERYTHING

EVERY SINGLE DAY

Abundance For All

Abundance For All

My Intrinsic Greatness…..My Authentic Self……

October 15, 2015 / / Life and Living

Dedicated to the removal of Self-Doubt

When I continually  feel the resonance of Peace and  Calmness within me…When I conscientiously conduct myself with poise, posture and humility never to disgrace myself or another… When facing an adversary I acknowledge  “it doesn’t matter to me or my life…it matters to that life” and believe it ….When it is no longer necessary to raise my voice out of weakness…When a scale does not set the standard of my self-esteem or self-worth…When I stop looking outside myself for my answers…When I trust myself and have unequivocal self-reliance and Faith which dictate my decision making…When I don’t shrink from my responsibilities to myself or anyone else…When I recognize I need help and turn to the source for that help… When I know I feel love sincerely for all fellow human beings and freely demonstrate these feelings by extending my hand in friendship and caring for their welfare…When I thrill to the notion of living life with abandon, albeit responsibly and self-confidently.…When I stop dreading anything,  knowing I will never face the imagined Kodiak Bear!… When I am always in awe of the Magnificence of the Universe and my place in it…  When I take my daily steps  into the unknown,  deliberately planting my feet with anticipation, excitement, wonder and  welcoming affirmation toward whatever unfolds, knowing and accepting all is ultimately for my best good and growth…When I thank everyone  from my past  and  current experiences again and again for the opportunities that have been afforded me just for the taking, and By the Grace of God…When all of my words and actions are inspired by my  generous heart with no reservations nor expectations…When the words “doubt”, “can’t”, “never”, “always” “hate” or any other word of negativity, restriction, dissatisfaction or judgmentalness  are  passé to me…When at the end of each day I look forward  to bowing my head in humility and integrity, honoring my Creator and being Thankful for the Privilege of Doing My Best Every Day Of My Life to ‘OUR’ SATISFACTION…And, finally…to paraphrase Patrick Overton:

When I come to the edge of all of the light I have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, I will believe that one of two things will happen:  Either there will be something solid for me to stand on – or I will be taught how to fly!

I AM THAT I AM.

I AM THAT I AM.

 

Matters of My Heart, Blog 8/21/2015, Addendum

September 4, 2015 / / Life and Living

I can’t believe I forgot to include the mother of my step granddaughters when I wrote Matters of My Heart.  Without her, my life would not be on this tremendous path of fulfillment, enjoying an extension of my family with step grandchildren.

This generous woman unselfishly allowed me to scoop up her daughters to love and cherish.  Many years ago she gave me a Christmas gift of a handmade cross-stitched wreath, and it has held the equally sacred place amongst those other treasures which I’ve brought with me along my life’s journey….only this one stays boxed with my Christmas decorations to continually don my diminutive Christmas tree.

The last couple of years I’ve been downsizing my home, using one criteria:  Keep it if I love it or get rid of it!  As my eyes meander throughout any room everything seems to have a story, and I feel like I’m around intimate friends and close family.  It’s comfortable and peaceful, like sitting on a porch swing in a Fall breeze.

SOME MEMORIES PLAY SO WELL IN MY LIFE’S SONG.

One Stitch [back] in Time!

One Stitch [back] in Time!

I’m joyful and grateful for all that I have and don’t have.

 

Matters of My Heart

August 21, 2015 / / Life and Living

I’ve referred to my three step-granddaughters, and how much I love them.   I don’t know how I’ve gotten along without their presence in my life for the better part of  the last 28 years!

In another lifetime,  I was in a 5 1/2 year relationship with their grandfather.   It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that we kindled ties. They’ve all come to visit…one of them twice… and there are plans for a November visit this year and an April visit in 2016!  These cherished women are my loving and extremely loved extended family… right beside my son!  He knows them, of course,  and makes a point of seeing them when they’re here.

All this time, we have been in each others’ hearts and it feels so comfortable and natural.  As I reflect, I should have known there was a significance to the “Pampered Chef” apron I’ve donned all these many years  and, the tiny hand-painted china jewelry jar that I fondly place on my dresser, and not to forget, a miniature figure of a grey cat which I’ve always imagined to be the perfect inclusion in a terrarium, along with small rabbits and a squirrel!  These treasures have had their place alongside a leather cowboy boot key chain that holds a cigarette lighter given to me by my son so very long ago.

Pieces of My Heart

Pieces of My Heart

‘…God works in mysterious ways…his wonders cease to perform.’   I now  look back on the relationship that disappointed me so, and thank my LUCKIEST OF STARS!  But for that relationship, I don’t believe I would have had the boundaries of  my life’s fulfillment thrown open this wide!

I wasn’t able to see what the Universe had in store for me…but I’m sure…more than ever before… that everything that happens in my lifetime has a purpose and moreover, it works toward my greatest good! 

I’m utterly grateful again that Providence… God… the Universe… took the reins and led me to yet another magnificent Wonder of My World!