The Depth of Gratitude

Gratitude is a nice companion to have beside you, guiding you throughout life’s greatest blessings. The moment you wake up, you’re given another day to live. Another chance to make today count. To love more and live fully. With every passing minute, hour or another day, we are given an opportunity to live, love life and be thankful. Not with money or things but with our hearts, time and devotion to others. Because those things truly enrich others’ lives and encourage them to smile. A priceless and simple act of kindness that can turn someone’s bad day into a good one.

Gratitude is inspiring…

The more grateful we are, the happier we become. It’s that simple.

Being grateful encourages love and happiness to surround us. And as I grieve and continue to heal, reaching out to others with similar stories has brought comfort and peace into my life. That alone is such a blessing. Losing a young sister to breast cancer is unfair and difficult to accept. It’s awful to have a human being die in your arms. I cannot imagine anything worse than that. Yet despite the lifelong grief and healing that I continue to face, life goes on. And for that life, I am so thankful.

Gratitude is hopeful…

Denial still surrounds me. Mostly at night when I ask God to bring her back. I know I cannot and will never have a sister again. I know she’s gone. I know I cannot physically reach her. But some days I hope for a miracle. For a vision, a dream, a sign from above that allows me to view her happiness. A glimpse of her life to help me understand her departure from this life to the next. An unrealistic way to desperately get a sneak peek of her eternal life. A heaven’s perspective of a departed soul.

That may sound silly to some people but to those who experienced a loss know the feeling. We are filled with thoughts that make no sense. It’s a way of coping and understanding the reasoning behind the loss. We will always stay hopeful and pray.

Gratitude brings us closer…

I may have friends who are  very sister-like, who love me and support my journey as I heal. Who have been there when I wept. Who hugged me and shared my tears. Who listened and acknowledged my sorrow. And I appreciate that more than words can express. And even though no other woman can replace the sister I lost, I am not alone. Losing Iza brought me closer to so many amazing sisters in heart. 

I would love to call my sister today and chat. Through the clouds. Across the horizon. Against the wind. Above the sea. Just be sisters again. Talk. Hang out. Laugh. Cook together. Watch our shows in the evening. Drink green tea and eat sushi. Make stew or get Popeyes chicken. Whip up turmeric ginger smoothies or bake salmon. Enjoy a frothy caramel latte. Or do absolutely nothing and just sit next to each other. But I cannot do any of that because she’s gone. Heaven is now her new and forever home…

Gratitude fulfills us…

Gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and return kindness. According to Randy A. Sansone, M.D. a professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Internal Medicine at Wright State University, “gratitude is the appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to oneself.” Simply being thankful for who we are, what we have and where we currently are. In this moment right now.

We are not lacking anything in our presence. We are happy because we are complete within ourselves and are not searching for more. We feel fulfilled as we are.

Iza is gone and I am slowly accepting that. I am happy for her happiness in heaven. Her joyous eternal life she’s living without any suffering. No more pain, needles, chemo, radiation, transfusions, drugs, shots, brittle bones, blurry vision, edema, anemia, nausea, weakness and so forth. When she left us, all the horrid symptoms that accompany cancer vanished. Finally. And for that, I am grateful and always will be.

Gratitude is simple…

The fact that we are alive, breathing, moving, talking and doing anything is just enough to appreciate oneself. We are the value of life. We are the meaningful souls of this planet. And we have everything we need to be happy. Wanting more to be happier is just our inner voice leading us towards greed which in the end leads to more wants and needs. It’s a never ending cycle which tends to mislead us in the wrong direction.

Happiness lies within the priceless things that warm up our hearts. The life that happens off cameras. Away from social media. Before it’s captured in pictures. The real moments. The little things. The pure love of everyday life.

Can that be enough to count as a blessing? Can we be happy with not wanting more? Can we be satisfied with just enough? With today? Of course. We are alive. And today is more than enough. And deep inside we already know that. We just have to believe it and acknowledge the depth of it.

We all have reasons to love, live fully, inspire others and be grateful. Lets form a heavenly life on Earth. Express gratitude and plant it in our hearts each day. With each sunrise and sunset. Enjoy today and pray for tomorrow. But mostly appreciate the right now. Because the now matters more than any other day.

Let those in heaven guide you and take you to places you’ve never been.

Your journey awaits!