Merhaba from TURKEY
Happy Thanksgiving
“Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.”
Merhaba from TURKEY ;)
What a tough, tough year it was for my health this year; never in a million years would I have ventured that I would be lucky enough to endure the BEST TURKEY this Thanksgiving. And here I am in Istanbul, Turkey!!!!!
Mashallah, I am blessed and grateful as it was destined for me to recover my health here so that when I return, I can attend to my family and life even more than the joys I’ve managed this year. Although comforting, seeing my children grieve about my pain, I do not wish my health would be their burden. For those who followed my last nine months of health tribulations and stayed by my side, please pray I return home with the greatest blessing; good health.
~ Aneela K.
attitude of gratitude
This Thanksgiving, I would fancy focusing on the 'Attitude of Gratitude. If you recall, last year's Thanksgiving blog centered on 'Giving Thanks to God/Universe' was a resolution. Primarily the end goal is the same; to be grateful and express it. I would expect that this alternate process would be an addition to last year's thanking methodology. And, of course, practice makes perfect. I will supplement an excerpt and link for previous year's Thanksgiving blog to hone that attitude of gratitude practice.
So last year, we focused on giving thankful declarations to ourselves without limitations. For example: 'Thank You I woke up today, Thank you for my eyesight, Thank you for my home and food on the table daily, and the thanking is perpetual.
{Excerpt}
I would wake up and notice my skylight and say to myself, "Thank you God for waking me up and thank you for this magnificent skylight window in my room."
Then I would get up and use my bathroom and say, "Thank you, God, for this bathroom." As I went down my stairs, "Thank you, God, for these stairs." As I opened the drawer to grab a spoon for my cereal, "Thank you, God, for this spoon." And the entire day would continue like this.
Follow the link below to fully comprehend the ideology.
This year was turbulent for many of us; ergo, I aspired to initiate a daily practice that can essentially shift into what I believe would be a weekly inspiration, maybe a monthly habit, and eventually a personality trait. The notion starts small so that it is not too challenging yet still meets the purpose of gratitude. Start by closing your eyes for a brief moment and the first person that comes to your mind or heart, think about them a bit longer. Then proceed to believe in them in a positive light and something that you are grateful for because of them. It need not be a tangible item, anything at all. Even if they sent you a text earlier that week asking how you were doing? It could be a little thing, still, thank them. And do yourself a favor, genuinely mean it, and sense for what you are thanking them. See what happens here is, firstly they will feel appreciated and additionally you will feel great as you thank them and pay forward gratitude. That's it! How simple was that?
The next day, think of someone different. It can be anyone. A family member, friend, colleague, or even a social media acquaintance. Thank them for anything big or small. And by any means, you are not limited to one 'Thank You' a day. It can be as much as you like or as little as you like. Begin with at least one person a day.
It's just a mere practice of repeating the same pattern the next day, the day after, and the days to come. After a week of this method, it will become habitual. A month later, it will become innate. Following that, you now transformed your personality into an even more grateful individual.
You see, you attract what you conceive, so continue to think of all the people, moments, and things you appreciate. Eventually, you will notice you barely hold time for negativity, drama, or annoyances. At some point, you might even surprise yourself by behaving completely differently than generally expected during a problematic situation. Whereas you usually act upset, now you learn to focus on the greater good in life and will not bother wasting any time on nonsense. Spend your blessed days with countless blessings rather than anything less.
Bountifully Beautiful
If you are reading this blog, most probable, you are using a smartphone, a laptop, or maybe a desktop? Which presumably indicates you are living more favorably than ninety percent of the world. Can we pause on that thought for a moment and reflect? How blessed are you? Why do we worry about bad days and become frustrated so quickly? Have we not a plate of food to eat and a roof over our head to keep us dry, safe, and warm. These amenities are way more than the bare minimum for survival; we are beyond blessed with countless blessings. So stop telling yourself your life is hard. Conditions can be challenging, yet your life as a whole is not. Moments can be difficult; still, your overall existence is not. Let it be that you have an issue, not that the problem has you. Regain your focus to count the infinite, beautiful blessings. Do you own clothing and a car? Do you have friends and supporters? If so, once again, you should be ever so grateful.
On your most challenging day, youtube children in Africa or observe what is currently befalling in Afghanistan. Would you switch your life for that? Maybe even swap for a day? I'll take an educated guess here and confirm, 'not likely.'
Therefore can you assess how bountifully beautiful your life is from the second you wake up till you go to bed at night? You are lucky; better tell yourself that every damn day.
My Gratitude strategy
For a time and an unnecessarily long time, I was locked in my world, clutching tight and the need for a release from the pain projected upon me. As more and more pain kept befalling me, I grew smaller and smaller (in my mind). I became angry and resentful. I wished for God to take revenge and show justice because I was perplexed about how his children would intentionally hurt his other children, for I do not understand the intended affliction of pain. This is beyond my capacity. I can control where I can bestow my love, though I could never intentionally place someone in grief. As time went on, I cried and cried; my tears made me stronger and granted me the strength to advocate for my well-being. It was the most challenging moment of my life and a harrowing one at that. As God witnessed, I was somewhat removed from these pointless afflictions and motivated to grow stronger and more robust (mentally).
That's when I truly realized that God is always watching and showing mercy regardless of one's actions. We should not wish revenge on anyone. That was my pain and anger talking. That's when I decided to show gratitude regardless and forget and let go. Although it wasn't great, I kept my focus on the greater good. There were gaps of moments that could have evolved. Yet you see, when you finally start to grow that seed God planted in us from the get-go, others cannot handle that we can no longer be manipulated. Therefore they become aggressive, discretely insensitive, or poke you.
Again I was confused, that at the end of the day, regardless of all my good; people never change, forget about teaching an old dog new tricks; you can't train stubborn dogs either. And once I accepted this, I felt so blessed. I no longer wanted to worry about approval, acceptance, what others say or consider of me. It is entirely irrelevant. My purpose in this world is to evolve, please God and those who love me for all I am. For he is watching, and he knows the whispers of the heart. And for the sake of divine wisdom, I FORGAVE. Yes, I did. I want to think of it like babies making repeated mistakes because they do not know any better.
So first, I thought forgetting was good enough. While it helped, it wasn't the solution. Forgiving is the best solution because there is no anger, no resentment, nothing when you forgive. Your mind and body will feel lighter. And you feel great that you finally freed yourself from matterless aspects and now mastered your peace of mind.
Part two of my gratitude strategy is to pray for such lost souls. I do. I pray for their well-being, their health, their minds. I do not hate anyone. Except I also am not obligated to love more than I can handle. By respecting myself and my boundaries, I feel amazing and love my life (too bad it took me years to realize this but better late than never.) So wish good for all souls—even your not-so-favorite people. Be happy for their happiness. Pray for their sorrows to go away. I don't even really verbalize that I pray for them. On occasion, I'll send a message saying I prayed for you. Whether they believe the authenticity is not my problem. I do it in the silence between God and me. I know he makes all my prayers come true. When they feel less miserable and less angry deep in their subconscious, they will no longer be insensitive or blame others for misery. So pray for them. Wish them well, genuinely in your heart and mind. They need it more than you. Praying is very personal and comes from the core of the heart. God hears selfless prayers more than selfish ones. Only those that stand on strong toes can pray for even their foes.
happy thanksgiving
I feel beyond grateful for the life granted to me and what I built out of it. I do honestly wish the same for all my readers. I hope you feel the genial warmth, the zestful love, the moment of value, and the importance that you rightfully deserve. I hope this Thanksgiving fills with unlimited glees, happy stories that make you laugh so much your stomach hurts and yet you want more, your face is saturated with nonstop sparkling tears, and most of all, I wish for you to open your mind to all the greatness given upon you and be thankful for it.
Today, regardless of my health. I feel ever so beholden for every moment in my life, good and bad. For I would not be who I am today without those sharp tragedies and soft fulfillments. I hone into my feelings and hold all those in my life today with bountiful love, admiration, and honor. If I told you even once that I love you or that I genuinely care for you, know that my heart bleeds for your love and that I hold in you in the deepest place of my heart. May this Thanksgiving day be one of the most notable moments you’ve experienced with your loved ones. Although I am not with my beautiful, brilliant family today, I've never felt closer. For love, trust, and happiness is one. In their joy truly lies mine.
I should cease the blog and start embracing my first Thanksgiving in Turkey before I get too mushy;) Lots of love.
May your table be fully EMBELLISHED
May your bellies be FULL
May your hearts be CONTENT
May you and your loved one’s be SAFE
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
