Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: gratitude

  • What Comes Next?

    Certain times of life and/or experiences of life seem AMPLIFIED.

    In Hard Pivot: Embrace Change. Find Purpose. Show Up Fully. Apolo Ohno says every person will have an experience that changes their life forever.

    This has certainly been the case with John’s surprise open-heart surgery.

    In Hard Pivot, Ohno suggests we make the best of these times by practicing.

      Gratitude: A daily practice that lets us maintain perspective, cultivate empathy, and alleviate stress

      Giving: Selflessly giving our time, attention, and resources to others

      Grit: How to develop mental stamina, resilience, and toughness to persevere through hard times

      Gearing Up: Ways to prepare ourselves to meet challenges with flexibility and grace

      Go: Developing the courage to take risks, learn from success and failure, and come back stronger

    Ohno says clearly, “Though we can’t usually predict when we’ll need to reinvent ourselves, sticking to a daily practice will prepare us when we face our next big challenge.”

    One of the demonstrations of this is our walking practice. We began walking for health back in the 1980’s when we participated in “Dump Your Plump” with friends and members of Stevensville United Methodist Church. For the most part, walking has been a steady companion all of these years.

    While not as obviously directly impacting John’s recovery, our habit of spending less than we earned contributed to our being here in the sun and warm rather than in Michigan during white-out conditions today.

    This morning I baked cookies and John delivered some to our friend, Richie. Richie is supporting his wife as she undergoes chemo. I wrote on the package: A guy should be fortified while he is supporting the wife he loves.

    As I am writing this post, I am listening to Kyle Gray’s live event titled: GIFTS AND GUIDANCE FROM YOUR ANGELS. The gratitude you feel stimulates a light in the middle of your chest until this light washes over and through your physical body. You are encouraged to bask in it. It has the capacity to shine in darkness. Call that light up and out, for the greatest good for all.

    What comes next may not be obvious from every point of view, but perhaps these guardian angels have a broader perspective.

    Kyle is speaking of cutting the cords by speaking your intention, “I am the keeper of my mind and my body. Wherever love is present, fear is a stranger, and love is present in me.”

    He says when you are feeling safe, affirm that by saying, “I am safe. I am free.”

    Other words might be used to speak about this. Without a doubt, spiritual or esoteric practices speak of angels. So do some religions. Angels may be what native peoples call “ancestors.”

    “Before you were in this body, before you were in this lifetime, you were ONE with divine love.”

    Kyle shares opening of many spiritual experiences growing up, including personal close-encounters with angels.

    “You have felt called,” Kyle goes on.

    Perhaps you have felt called to spirituality, religion, art, nature.

    “Your angels will always speak to you in the language most familiar to you,” Kyle assures us.

    “When it comes to your having your direct connection with your angels, it is important to pray first not last,” he continues.

    “Instead of saying, please angels help me with this, pray, thank you angels for helping me.”

    Sue Mierau shared a gorgeous snow photo today on Facebook.

    “Don’t just pray when things go wrong,” we are reminded.

    “When you are in prayer, make it a space of gratitude.”

    There is beauty in every season of our life, whether the weather is sunny or snowy.

    What comes next after summer is autumn.

    What comes next after autumn is winter.

    What comes next after winter is spring.

    It occurs to me that what comes next after gratitude is the balance of Ohno’s list: giving, grit, gearing up, and go.

  • Grateful

    Even a wounded world is feeding us.
    Even a wounded world holds us,
    giving us moments of wonder and joy.
    I choose joy over despair.
    Not because I have my head in the sand,
    but because joy is what
    the earth gives me daily
    and I must return the gift.

    ~ Robin Wall Kimmerer

    WORD FOR THE DAY from Gratefulness.org

    My meditation this morning included listening to Ho’oponopono, chanted by Celeste Yacoboni, author of “How Do You Pray?”

    Listening and chanting along inspired a poem:

    How Do I Pray

    Prayer is so much more than bowing our heads or folding our hands. We pray by breathing in the life force our Earth Mother offers and releasing all that blocks that. Like evergreens, we pray by growing upwards. Like potatoes, we pray through roots deep down in the soil. Gratitude for our life, kindness toward all beings, generosity of spirit; wisdom, honesty, integrity, joy — each an example of prayer. As gravity holds us safely on our earth home, prayer holds us securely in the universal heart.

    Daily Aaron Quote for November, 26, 2020

    It’s very helpful to wake up each morning with the commitment, or even consecration, “I consecrate this mind and body to the light, to service to all beings for the highest good. Today may I be of service to others and do good for others and for myself. May I be loving to all beings with whom I am involved today, including myself.”

  • Let’s Do a Happy Dance

    Sacred Stories

    Her plane was due to leave for San Francisco (SFO) at the same time another plane was due to leave for Los Angeles (LAX). The LAX flight loaded, but then it just sat at the gate. The plane’s door wouldn’t shut.

    Her flight was, by then, an hour behind schedule. The plane was at the gate, passengers just weren’t invited to load. Finally, they got the invitation, but that was quickly revoked. They were told there was an air traffic control three-hour delay at San Francisco.

    Having had a chance to get to know the seven people sitting around her, she said to her seat mates, “Our advance gratitude is more powerful than a corporate entity that doesn’t care. Let’s give thanks in advance and do a happy dance in our minds that we were able to board and fly out of here.” All agreed, and they sat and concentrated for a while.

    Ten minutes later they were informed the delay had been lifted and we were invited to board!

    As her plane took off she could see the fully loaded LAX plane still sitting with its malfunctioning door.

    Giving thanks for what you welcome can’t hurt, and it might just pave the way for a wonderful happening.

  • Mulling About the Mundane

    I am working on the theme of Mundane Made Holy for the Mother’s Day service at Pilgrim United Church of Christ. That had me checking online for antonyms for ‘mundane.’ Here are just a few:
    One rainy morning this week, I was moved near tears with gratitude for being able to walk over to the little community center and ride the stationary bicycle. It is not always possible to do what you really desire, but life continuously provides us with wonderful options. I could have grumbled about not being able to ride outdoors in the warmth and sunshine.

    Walking home, as I went past the home one of our neighbors, Mark, I was again awash with gratitude. Shortly after we moved in, Mark came over and helped John with the demo and construction of our new deck. It was hot. The work was hard. We did not know Mark, and he certainly did not owe us anything. Some internal sense of willingness moved him to this generosity of time and energy.


    I hope you can see the list of opposites to the word mundane and find yourself inspired.

    Mother Teresa is given credit for having said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

    This is how you make the mundane holy….

  • Tapping into Gratitude

    My grandson, Brad, and his wife, Christina, spent five wonderFULL days with us on Pine Island. Brad had been working for Charter Media in Murfreesboro (Tennessee) since earning his Master’s Degree three years ago. Recently, though, he declined a large promotion with Charter that would have meant their move to North Carolina. It was not the move itself that was a deciding factor, it was the corporate lifestyle that demands you live to work rather than work to live.

    They called their visit “Retirement Training.” He decided the reason they call it retirement is that first you are tired because you are working so hard, then you are retired because you are playing so hard.

    They rode bikes, went kayaking with dolphins, watched manatee in the canal, took a pleasure boat ride to lunch at Fort Myers beach, grilled fresh shrimp, participated in music on the island, played shuffleboard, and went to dinner at early-bird schedules. In the early morning, and late in the evening, Brad would work remote as a consultant in data management. It was way beyond great.

    After they left, I participated in a World Tapping Summit talk on gratitude with Carol Look. I loved her words, “Expressing gratitude is like planting seeds; many good things will come from it.” She stressed the importance one not do it because you will get something. Do it because it feels good.

    But what about those times when it is difficult to catch a whiff of gratitude? The darkest of the dark days? Especially then, it is important to start where you are and cast a net of well-being with the WHAT IF frame: “Even though thus and so, what if there could be a solution I don’t yet know about.”

    I also appreciated learning the importance of tapping thank you to the universe or god or whomever/whatever you conceive: “Thank you for brining me a solution to thus and so.”

    Finally, Carol says you will benefit by moving through the points just expressing anything and everything you are grateful for. “Nature, family, friends, sunshine, dolphins, manatees, health, freedom, kindness, flowers, trees, birds, bicycles.”

    Today, I am tapping thank you for Brad and Christina having been able to visit, and for the wisdom they have at 27 years-old to avoid clamping on golden handcuffs.

    (If you are new to it, here is a short instructional video and introduction to EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), commonly called just “tapping” with Jessica Ortner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAclBdj20ZU)