Our world offers us countless opportunities to manifest gratitude outwardly & internally. We may start with our bodies:
the countless cells that swirl in our body systems to create tissues & give rise to functions essential to our daily survival, our microbiome that gives us inherent adaptability & resilience, as well as abilities to process our foods and extract vital energy, countless biochemical processes that allow us to meet the challenges of our (shifting) environment, adapt & evolve, our creative mind & sharp intellect that give us a compass to navigate this intricate world, …
Outwardly we may have access to relationships, resources,
inter-personal reflections, lessons & gifts.

Gratitude is not something we need to talk about & be convinced by. It is a value to be embodied, as much as actions to be taken.

Gratitude can’t be expected either, as it has to genuinely be felt to be able to be communicated authentically. Some cultures include “giving thanks” as a pillar of their daily routine. Others have reference dates which bring reflection & contemplation.
Each to their own as there’s many ways to go about it.

On our end, we thank you for being part of these wonderful educational & communal initiatives.

Personal reflection:

• Who am I grateful for?
• What am I grateful for internally?
• What am I grateful for outwardly?

Out beyond ideas of rightdoing
and wrongdoing, there is a field.
I’ll meet you there – Rumi

Hello Community, 

Life has funny ways to answer our list of gifts & requests.
It seems that the desire to get what we want doesn’t always go our way either.
On the flipside, the best things unfold naturally when we don’t expect them to.

We get what we need, not what we want!

Easier said than done, especially when we are planning & trying hard for something we care about. Note that getting emotionally and/or intellectually attached to an outcome is always an option, but it creates tension between our outlook & the reality of what is.  So how can we both control what we can & relinquish it to accept & surrender?
Well, the good news is that everyday we get opportunities to notice ourselves, 
our limited understanding & our ego-based attachments.
It’s a daily practice, and you may know it already: practice drives growth!

Personal reflection:

• What/who do I tend to control?
• What am I unwilling to compromise or change? 
  Think of habits, modes of communication & ways of being
• What can I accept to create more ease & trust in my circumstances & relationships?

Hello community,

How would we define success if we could lead ourselves to greatness?
What variables would we consider most essential?

In everyone’s life, presumably so, we reach instances of doubt & hesitation that pure contemplation cannot solve. It is through a combination of analysis, observation & direct action that tricky crossroads can be moved through. This doesn’t always need to happen with a clear plan or direction. It’s more about diving in with honesty and courage. 

We are not in charge of the bigger picture,
we are only in charge of our perception & personal decisions. 

Here’s a format that could be helpful:

1) Analyze objectively, however uncomfortable or unwanted the reality of our situation may be.

2) Observe deeply to become clear about our (emotional) stance & priorities in order to pronounce ourselves fully.

3) Take action to move toward a scenario that reflects our core principles and find a path forward that is more beneficial for everyone.

Personal reflection:

• How would I describe my ethos?
• How do I define success?
• What am I good at (i.e analyze, observe, take action)?
• What decision do I need to make to move forward?

Hello community,

There’s places that we call home.
There’s environments that support our growth.
There’s nooks that bring us back to a sense of serenity.

Feeling safe inside.

Most young children either have, find or create little places to feel cozy & safe on the inside. Worlds where anything can be imagined, birthed into reality & experienced as real. As we grow up, we tend to listen to opinions & “normal thoughts”; sometimes even going to the point of taking them as our own. 
In this process we may put our innate sense of wonder on the back burner. As we add seasons to our lives, we may progressively lose our ability to imagine a supportive world, while relying on other people & physical security to do it for us. 

Is there a way to return to our young, wild, free & imaginative self? Here’s the good news: it never left us.

Personal reflection:

• How do I censor yourself?
• What gets in my way of feeling fully free & expressed?
• What do I need to express to feel free?