A Living, Breathing Gratitude Journal

Wisdom often comes from the least expected sources. As an example: a coworker shared her perception of a current situation with me. It wasn’t until after she left that I comprehended what she told me. She understood what she had, but there was little appreciation for it. That realization just made me sad. 

Instead of getting stuck in that sorrow for more than I moment or so, I engaged the reframe. (The power of the reframe is strong within me.) Instead of judging her, my internal voice asked me when I experienced what I perceived she was experiencing — when my understanding was disconnected from my appreciation. Or, what was present in my life that I understood but did not appreciate? 

As the memories slowly trickled in, I was humbled by many things that I take for granted. I recognized the number of seeds that my lack of gratitude planted in the ground of my being. I asked myself, in this moment, how I could shift to a place of gratitude? This shift requires an ongoing commitment to the bridge between my understanding and appreciation. 

My biggest takeaway from all of this? Not to take anything for granted. There is no understanding and moving on without gratitude. Even if I only spend a brief moment acknowledging my gratitude and feeling it course through my being, that is enough. It is not the duration of the gratitude that matters, it is the act of gratitude itself.

When we commit to this way of being, we do not keep a gratitude journal, we become a gratitude journal. How do we do this? Here are some simple tips:

• Set your intent each morning to find those things of which you are grateful. 
• When you come upon one, internally or externally, vocalize your appreciation. This might be a whisper in your mind or words uttered from your mouth or even a physical expression.
• It is inevitable that you will miss an opportunity for gratitude. Whenever you recognize it, acknowledge what your appreciation in that moment in the most appropriate way. 

When we live in gratitude, we consciously and intentionally share its spirit with everyone we meet. In doing so, we become a beacon of unconditional love and support in an uncertain world.  

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive, Coach, Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa  (vanessa@intentandaction.com) for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2020 

Gratitude: An Outward Expression of a Happy Heart

Gratitude: an outward expression of a happy heart.  Who doesn’t like a thank you? I know that I do. There is an art and science to being thoughtful. It involves both tangible and intangible components. Both are necessary as we ride the line between too little and too much gratitude. 

Even if the thank you might cause a tinge of embarrassment, we feel a warmth in our heart that radiates throughout our lives. As a result of gratitude, our thoughts are lighter, our words more gracious, and our actions move lively. We try a little harder, do a bit extra work, have a can-do attitude.

The opposite is true as well. If we do not feel appreciated, our approach to a person or a situation shifts. Our investment lessens. We may find our self responding less and reacting more. This change might not even be a conscious one. Unaddressed feelings of non-appreciation are strong depleting motivators. 

How do we identify when we are hooked by under appreciation? I am a big fan of full body listening. Periodically throughout the day I check in with what my body is telling me. Whatever I feel, I correlate to my current thoughts and emotions. Then, I reflect upon what is at their roots — this might be an interaction, a relationship, an ongoing situation.

What do we do with our realization? The answer is rooted in our power of choice. Once we acknowledge how we are feeling, we choose how to relate to a given situation. We choose how we prevent any feelings from negatively impacting our relationships. Then we act from our heart and not from our hurt. For me, this awareness often provides a wake up call to stop being so hyper-responsible. I am mindful about what is mine and what is another’s. Sometimes what I do is not needed nor wanted. 

Probably the most important thing that I do is to ask myself how I am appreciating myself. Naming the ways that I show gratitude to me is necessary to keep a strong connection from my heart to my actions. 

Through all of this we may recognize that while people are not grateful in ways we want, we can model and attitude of gratitude in ways that we need. This changes how we relate to our imperfections, and in doing so, make the world a little less uncertain.  

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive, Coach, Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa  (vanessa@intentandaction.com) for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2020 

Consensus on the Bridge Between Head & Heart

The longest night of the year wrapped me in her warm embrace whispering, “it is time.” And, I wonder, “for what?”

As we near the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century of the common era, how would you to “it’s time” as an individual and as part of community? The answer is fashioned by how we are living in the moment. 

I believe that we can all agree deciphering the meaning of “it’s time” is tough. The first step in forming an answer is to navigate the longest distance we will ever walk — that between our heart and our head. What we want logically is not always met with enthusiasm in our heart. We cannot always figure out why our emotions pull us in a particular direction. 

Through discernment, conscious reflection and introspection, we shift through the debris littering the between of our head and our heart. Crossing the bridge, we reach internal consensus. Now, I bet you are thinking, I didn’t know I could reach consensus with myself. Well, you can. When head and heart collaborate, we change our consciousness. The magic of the seemingly impossible manifests. 

We create a bridge between head and heart. On this bridge we create strategies that encourage us to be our best self without extravagance of too many wants. We are gentle and compassionate to our self as we create a space of joy and gratitude by exploring “it’s time” with our four aspects:

• Physical/body aspect: ask yourself: do I really need another sweater, that piece of chocolate, or some other material thing?
• Emotional/heart aspect: ask how you are getting caught in drama be it yours or someone else’s.
• Mental aspect: what thought(s) fling(s) you onto the hamster wheel of judgments, assumptions and mindlessness drawing you away from this moment?
• Spiritual aspect: where is your connection to the sacred manifest in your life? Or, how do you live with compassion, joy, and gratitude? 

So, it is time — not to create another movement of resolutions that may bring about change in the new year. No, it is time to create a way of life in which you listen body, mind, spirit, and heart to the  wisdom that speaks on the bridge connecting head to heart.

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive, Coach, Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa  (vanessa@intentandaction.com) for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / 

Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019