By Leah E. Reinhart
A Day of Being Grateful
Every day should be Thanksgiving, a day of being grateful. But why is it only one day that we really express gratitude? I know many out there do more, but this day has the word “thank” in it, giving us focus. This year has been rough. Actually this decade has been rough, but with all the tragedies that has struck my world, I can find things that I’m grateful for. When I think about those things, it warms my heart and melts my sadness.
Back in 2009 I went on a trip to Machu Picchu and walked the Camino Inca. The hike itself was the most difficult hike in my life. But that trip was magical. I was hiking in the Andes Mountains and it changed me forever. The people in Cusco gave me a perspective, that everyone that has grown up in affluent country or state, should consider.
The people in Cusco were kind, generous, and what stood out the most for me was their expression of gratitude. They didn’t have much. Some of the homes were nothing more than shacks put together by a few materials, yet you always saw them cleaning and taking care of what they had. A sense of pride in their possessions, something you don’t see much in my area. Dogs ran around loose everywhere, big ones I might add. I never saw poop from those big dogs anywhere. (I used to work in a salon in a very rich shopping area where people would see their dogs poop and run away from it. In a shopping area designed after Rodeo Drive). Again, they were grateful for what they had, took care of it, and never expressed any form of lack.
Being Grateful Is Hard Sometimes
I bring up that trip to Peru, because I mentioned that this decade has started out pretty crappy. Covid happened to all of us. That sucked. Then I had a couple of deaths in the family. My grandma was the matriarch of our family and left this planet almost making it to 100 years old. She had a great life filled with joy and family. She taught me more than anyone will ever know, but the main thing was gratitude. Grandma was my biggest teacher and supporter. I will always be grateful to have had her my life.
Once the Covid locked down ended, my son moved across the country to go to college. Mind you no one in my family has ever left the San Francisco Bay Area, so that took some getting used to. Then the unexpected happened, my kid was scammed. It was quite a bit of money that was left to him from Grandma. So it was personal for me. During that time my kitten contracted FIP which caused my kitten to die. It was very hard to be grateful for anything at that time. The good news after five months and two days the money was returned with an extra $1500.00. I don’t know anyone that has been scammed and made money on it.
Then we come to this year. We got the exciting news that my husband and I were going to be grandparents. Unfortunately, it seems when your family grows, the older ones leave this planet. My father-in-law passed away. I know I’m at the age where these things happen. It’s part of the circle of life. Never the less it sucks. Life continues and we planned a baby shower to welcome my grandson. A week after sending the invites, his heart stopped beating. Our hearts felt a pain that none of the other experiences in this blog could compare. It felt like life was really making it hard to be grateful for anything.
Life Has Seasons
Life is all about the seasons. Some seasons are welcomed with open arms like spring, while others may not be so easy. Dry summers like in California, come with fire and devastations, or winter that brings storms that freeze people. But who really hates summer? It’s a time a vacation for students. Summer is when we’ve created many wonderful memories on our road trips. Then there’s winter, you can’t snowboard in the summer, (you can occasionally but that’s not typical.)
Spring covers the earth with color and fragrance. Everything is coming to life again. The weather is comfortable providing a new sense of motivation, hence “spring cleaning.” Then we have fall where the heat from the summer begins to cool and the trees shed their leaves after they bless us with warm color pallet of golds to reds. People take special trips just to see the color changing of the trees.
The world is going through its own season. And like the seasons in the world, we experience seasons differently. Right now I’m in San Francisco Bay Area where the leaves have turned orange and are falling off of the trees. Whereas Peru is in their springs. The good thing about seasons, is they change. And I am truly grateful to recognize that in life, we have trauma and great sadness, but we also have wonderful things happen to us too. When the leaves fall to the ground it leaves mulch that nourishes the next new growth.
Now, the Gratitude in This Decade
I can stew in the negativity that started and continued in this decade, but there’s been so much to be grateful. In the beginning of February of 2022 my daughter married her best friend and upped her game in real-estate, getting in the 1%er market . During the summer of 2022 my husband and I explored NYC for the first time. That winter we traveled to Boston to see my son’s arrangement of one of Stings songs, (which validated my vision of being in Boston in the winter.) My son graduated college and used his school in the best way possible. He got to work with Allen Stone and arrange for shows that Berklee puts on, and have his medley arrangement of Usher songs be performed in front of Usher himself. Bonus for me, LL Cool Jay was part of Usher’s entourage and they walked right by me!
When Grandma was coming to the end of her life, the blessing in Covid was that my sister and I could help my aunt with Grandma. If we had been working full time like we did prior to the pandemic, there would’ve been no way we could help. And not going to lie, I was fortunate that my grandma left me some money to help pay for my son’s college. I met some of my greatest clients during that time. I have an in home salon where people trusted their hair and health with me.
All of the tragedies in my family have brought us closer together. We’ve learned that you can move forward during a crisis. There’s opportunity to learn and even connect with your spiritual side. When you experience hardship, sometimes the only way to get passed it, is to give it to your Higher Power, whatever you want to call it; God, Divine, Universe, Collective Consciousness, Etc. You’d be surprised how much that helps. I know it helped me with all of it. Plus, it unlocked some gifts I didn’t know I had.
In Hindsight
In hindsight I can see the life lessons that the Universe has given me. I don’t know all of the “whys” maybe I’ll find the answers later, but I know life if working for me. Seasons are a part of life, and the season that are hard will let up at some point. Change is constant and I am super grateful for that realization. Life hasn’t always been easy, in fact it seems like it’s been pretty tough if I only focus on the struggles. But I’m thankful for the tough lessons that showed me how strong I actually am. When I think of what I’ve overcome it really lets me soak up the beauty that surrounds me.
I believe we are all spiritual beings having a human experience. If you’ve never had anything bad happen in your life, how could you possibly be grateful? It’s like when you feel sick, like a hangover. You feel awful the day after a night of indulging. But that next day you usually feel extra great and energized, because you feel so grateful for not feeling to awful.
So what better time to be grateful than Thanksgiving? I hope the holiday time fills you with positive memories. They can be hard for so many people. I get that. My family tends to leave this earth around the holidays, my mom, my grandma, and my grandpa. The thing is they left me with the best childhood memories during the holidays. Most of my regular days were trying, but my mom made sure holidays were special.
Again, not everyone gets that those positive experiences during the holiday season. Some people are reminded of their families’ dysfunction, but remember, this too, is a season and just around the corner will be spring.
Your Turn
Now your turn. What make you feel grateful in your life? Can you look at your trials in your life and be grateful for them? Once you start looking, or writing, or expressing what you are grateful for, I guarantee you that the Universe will give you more and more memories or anything to be grateful. This is where the law of attraction works. The more you ask yourself “what was good in this dreadful experience?” your brain will act like a Google search and give you as many answers as possible. I am grateful for you taking the time out of your busy schedule and reading this blog. Whether you spend this time alone or with people, I hope you have a great holiday season.
This Dec. 2, 2023 starting at 1:00 p.m. online and in person we will be having a sale for the holidays along with new inventory as a way for us to express gratitude to you; from stocking stuffers to gifts.
When you are grateful – when you can see what you have – you unlock blessings to flow in your life.
