Whether your attention’s on Thanksgiving, or the presidential election, ’tis the season for giving thanks and expressing gratitude for all we have, the blessings, the miracles, the imaginable…maybe even the unimaginable.
Unimaginable Possibilities
Honestly, I struggled with writing my blog post this week; words weren’t coming; nothing sounded worth writing; I felt stuck.
Even as the polls closed on the eve of a historical election, I struggled to find words to express my scattered thoughts and feelings.
Once the results were pretty inevitable, I went to bed rattled and unsettled…yet, curious about what daylight would announce…and what words word come.
The morning after the election, I lay in bed consumed with anxious vibrations from lack of sleep and nervous anticipation; totally, in awe of the unimaginable.
My sense of what was felt loose and unanchored, yet fascinating; my head pounding.
I felt the weight of uncertainty, fear, and wonder as I moved through my morning routines…
Coffee in hand, I opened my gratitude journal to set my daily intentions, as I do every morning, and have for almost a year now.
I stared at the page, uncertain, and off balance.
Tuning into my body, breathing deeply and slowly, my hands clammy, and my head throbbing, the words flowed as I completed the day’s prompts…
Today I would love…To allow gratitude, gently, and move with ease in thoughtful, compassionate, reflective, contemplation.
Today I AM so grateful for…My coffee. The quiet. The expansiveness. The opportunity of uncertainty.
My top 3 inspired action for today are…Move gently. Expand. Manifest.
My intentions for today are…I AM gentle. I AM loving. I AM expansive. I AM curious.
I stared at the page feeling grateful.
Yet, the gratitude I felt wasn’t the typical, cozy, comfortable feeling of gratitude that flows forth when I express gratitude for my home, family, loved ones, pets, body, and life…for what’s known, certain, dependable.
The gratitude I was connecting with had much more to do with the unknown, the uncertainty, the unforeseen opportunities, the unimaginable possibilities.
I felt expansive, in a strange, tingly sort of way.
Brooke Castillo would say, “It was always meant to happen that way…The minute you say it. The minute you believe it. Peace happens. Resistance leaves. A higher, more intelligent force enters the room. And smiles.”
That higher, more intelligence force is gratitude, unimaginable gratitude.
Allowing Unimaginable Gratitude
Expressing gratitude can definitely be a “feel good” experience. It can warm our heart, strengthen our immune system, improve our relationships, and even rewire our brain!
As a daily practice, expressing gratitude is proving to influence how we experience pain, depression, anxiety, and a myriad of social, emotional, cognitive, and even physical issues.
I know practicing gratitude has been a game-changer for me.
However, practicing gratitude is about so much more than giving thanks for all the perceived to be good, happy, beautiful, loving, joyful things in our lives.
Practicing gratitude also involves allowing and accepting…
…what in the moment feels unfathomable, incomprehensible, even mortifying.
…that which rips us to our core, throws us to our knees, and scares the crap out of us, literally.
…what turn us inside out, tests our gravity, and totally devastates what we’ve come to know and trust.
Practicing gratitude means opening our hearts and giving thanks for all that we receive, even the unimaginable.
Practicing Unimaginable Gratitude
In Pam Grout’s amazingly awesome book, Thank and Grow Rich, “Party Game #3” is just the game for practicing unimaginable gratitude. She calls it, “Shake Your Pom-Poms at Dang Near Everything.”
The game invites us to play with the art of allowing, which means opening to everything that’s in front of us and trusting that what is, is what we’ve called forth.
Trusting what is doesn’t mean we like, agree, or condone; it simply means we allow.
The art of allowing means we openly accept the excruciating, the mortifying, the terrifying…all of it.
It means that instead of fleeing to Canada, resisting, or retreating, you decide with your whole heart to allow it, bless it, and go all in by calling it good.
Whew! Feel like a stretch?
Maybe…or maybe not. Give it a little time to percolate.
What’s cool is that we can choose; we get to decide.
We can choose to accept that nothing new can come into our life until we are grateful for all that we have, even that which vibrates through our bodies with anxious uncertainty, and unimaginable fear.
All of us can decide that even in uncertain, unstable, unpredictable times, we can choose how we want to think, feel, and act, all of which influences our results and the outcomes in our life.
As Pam Grout invites, “Anything you refuse to embrace and fully bless imprisons you. It puts up a fence between you and your highest good.”
So for today, and eventually everyday, allow unimaginable gratitude.
Explore with curious, playful, childlike wonder, that which on any other day, you’d reject, resist, and refuse.
Give yourself permission to experiment with amazingly awesome possibilities, unfathomable miracles, and unforeseen blessings.
Imagine the power and freedom that comes from deciding to express gratitude for everything and everyone that shows up in your life, even the unimaginable.
Sending you inspiration,
Kari says
Thank you for this, Kelli! Yes, I do sense this time as an opportunity, but admittedly I have been consumed by fear – despair even. Yet I feel a renewed sense of purpose, a clarity that had not been present before. I pray we use this to fuel our passion and commitment towards love and equal rights but I am still frightened of the possible casualties this sort of scenario may create. But I go on, with fear, forward. Forward to protect those around me, forward to represent love and tolerance to all, forward to combat hate and “ism” in the world. I will practice “allowing” what is rather than resisting or lamenting – as much as I can moment to moment. Much love to you, light-bringer.
Kelli says
Hi Kari! Thank you so much for your thoughtful, meaningful comment. I truly believe the Universe had my back when it prevented me from blogging until the final hour. Stillness speaks, if we allow, get quiet, and trust our inner true self. Allowing doesn’t necessarily feel good, yet it’s raw, it’s real, and it’s fully accepting what is. From that place we can find our way. I’m right beside you dear Kari. Much love to you also, light-shiner. <3