Good morning, friends out there. Yesterday, there was a lovely meeting with colleagues. I feel so grateful for this. Meeting and sharing and enjoying was naturally unfolding. And I am looking forward to spending some time with a dear friend. Today is her birthday and we will be together with some friends, celebrating all together and will enjoy whatever comes along our way today. It is such a gift to be here together with trusted friends.
Diane, could you please explain what your hygge practice means? I remember that quite a while ago, you talked about this, but somehow, I forgot . Sorry for this. So if you don´t mind, please would you tell about it again? And I am missing Aine. Anyone heard something? So if you by coincidence read it, Aine, we are dearly missing you here. Greetings to you, and feel embraced.

My early interest to sense and understand the way of how my parents and other people around me perceive the world, their way of being and their way of communication. It was a needed tool. I wanted to understand why they don´t understand each other, why they suffer and make others suffer, including me. It was an attempt to try to change this. Later I was drawing portraits, sensing, observing and diving down into the person´s or situation`s specifics. I still sense, try to understand and portrait, only now it´s my patients. And sometimes, something which cannot be made but appears adds to this, which I feel as God´s grace, and their suffering eases. Then, there is deep gratefulness and sensing awareness in all concerned of the deep mystery and the immeasurable love, which cures.

By seeing and valuing the beauty of experiencing the enormous variety all around, in every individual expression of Gods creation. Then, the differences are pure enrichment, free of judgement, they are as they are and exist to enrich and nourish our lifes and creation itself. If we can see that we are one choir composed of a broad variety of voices, colors and beings in general, every expression is enriching and so widening my perspective through being and living together on our beautiful planet.

Grateful for the friends who came this evening for meditating together. We shared tea and cookies, and while talking, it was easing to share recent difficulties, where we failed, too.
Yesterday,I came across strong antagonistic impulses inside myself, which left me deeply sad, as they repeatedly cut me off from my dreams to become real. Seems I always stumble over my own feet in this and still do not understand enough, what the mechanism is like. So painful it was, and so self-inflicted.
I am grateful to feel I am not alone in meeting the same patterns again and again, and that we can be a support to each other not to give up but understand and let go what hinders to become authentic with full integrity. In my situation of yesterday, I have to find out more, but it was a mix of fear, of not being good enough, and in the same time the opposite, the fear of allowing myself to realizing full potential.
So while sharing this with S., we could both stay balanced and left with the intention to keep balance and peace inside despite that it is not at all as it should. Not ignoring the problem, not escaping, but dealing with it and sharing. We were warm with ourselves and the other, and kind. I am so grateful for this softness S. offered to me and that I could respond to it. I guess, I hope, a good basis to let go old habits and hinderances, in both of us. Have a good night, you all out there.

Yes, I can.
It invites to be kind, and it calls to be mindful in everything I do.
It includes imperfections and to be kind with myself and others when things go wrong, but being aware everything I do, even my breathing, has an effect on others leads me to act more careful for not to cause harm or suffering for another one or even so for animals or plants.
And it inspires to follow more positive, caring, creative or fun impulses, encouraging words and constructive thoughts. If I can manage to ask myself in time: what would love do? and then respond from my heart, love and happiness appear instantaneously. I will be mindfully keeping this inspiration of yours. Thank you again for this question, dear Gratefulness-team.

Another beautiful day arrived. I am so grateful to be able to spend some days at a quiet meditative place in the Swiss mountains. So grateful for the possibility to contemplating, being together with some friends, sharing, walking in the snow and let my busy mind relax.
Outside, it is all white, with a breathtaking view on the snow-covered mountains in full sunlight already, blue sky and fresh clean air. Such a richness already, while the day just started! I am deeply grateful to be able and allowed to experience all this.

As tomorrow morning, there will probably no time left for grateful notes, I am sending greetings to everybody tonight.

Pondering on Jesus not being a “Plan B”; I would assume he is love- both Plan A and Plan B and …. love from Alpha to Omega, so to say.
I can only express a feeling, that this to me seems to be true. From the very bit I am aware of concerning the bible, he is the lived example of pure love in all of his expressions, in a depth I would fall on my knees in deepest devotion when I come only close to this internally, and that through him hope was born into the hearts in a time and area where there was no light seen to find inner orientation of the heart´s guidance. This radiates until today, no matter the religion, into every heartfelt deed or thought or movement of spirit of every living soul, and arrives. So probably, what I want to say is that to me, love is inseparable.

Greetings to all who share here. A wonderful morning begun, freezing cold again but clear fresh air and the sun is about to arrive. Special. Grateful for having the chance to protect the skin with some cream before going outside. If ever possible, it is “biological” products which I have the chance to buy, and which smell so nice. Isn´t it amazing how much we are offered by creative people for our well being, which enrich our days? That we have the choice at all?

I am thinking about Aine´s post, where she mentions the input of Rev. R. Rohr that Jesus is not a “Plan B”. Thank you for this, dear Aine. To shift awareness from things to the love which is inside of everything and to actively choose to act from there, instead of applying love, like I use my cream to heal or protect. I will ponder on this. A lovely day to all of you.

Dear Sylvie, thank you for sharing. Your comment reminded me in a poem which I heard as a song, and which touched me deeply. Just yesterday night, I was about to be able to let the soul fly, but very unfortunately, I stopped myself the silliest way.
So if you are inspired by such poems, I hope this at least may add to your expansion into free flying!
It is most beautiful music and text to my ears, from “four last songs” by the German composer Richard Strauss, who created extraordinary music for this text of Herman Hesse, “beim Schlafengehen”. It goes
…
und die Seele, unbewacht,
will in freien Flügen schweben,
um im Zauberkreis der Nacht
tief und tausendfach zu leben.

I had nearly forgotten this song, which I heard sung by Jessye Norman.

Yes, I live in Switzerland. If you visit, let me know, it would be nice to meet then, if you like. And Northern Italy is not really far.

So interesting that your family background is that multicultural, it must be really adventurous and joyful to consider all the colorful influences of your ancestor´s heritage, which have imprinted your life and the ones of your kids.

I saw a really great docu of only 5 min. on YouTube, which you could google easily, if you search for “momondo, the DNA-journey”, where people were completely stunned about their interrelated and completely interconnected existence based on their true lineage of descent. May be it serves you, and may be, Anna, you are interested as well, as you mentioned your genealogical tree? I feel everybody should have the chance to see it, as it is so uplifting and widening our all perspective and brings such joy. Have an even joyful day, dear Diane.