Sleepless in South Jersey ... post Thanksgiving gratitude.

"Once you stop learning, you start dying."  - Albert Einstein

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, I have been thinking a lot about gratitude. Plus, I've also been battling a mean case of jet lag that just won't quite. I recently returned from my trip from Bali, and I've been so inspired that I can't help but fill the nighttime silence with the sounds of my own thoughts and clicking keyboard. It just seems more productive to share it all with you, rather than stew in my own frustration over the fact that I can't sleep.

Anyway, I digress, back to gratitude …

I'm grateful for many things in life … my supportive family, fun and trusting friends, a loving boyfriend, coaching and the path it led me down, NYC in all its resilience when most vulnerable … the list goes on and on. But one thing that became really clear to me over the holiday break is how grateful I am for our capacity as human beings to learn. No doubt my 30's have provided me with a lot of learning. So much, I feel like a bag of microwave popcorn. Every kernel that pops represents something new that I've learned about myself and life ... and at the same popping velocity to boot. The capacity to learn enables us to grow, which is a real gift.

All of life's experiences provide us with something to learn, whether we judge the experience to be good or bad. Whether we experience joy or pain, love or hate, happiness or sadness … there's always something to discover. Even when we feel the most stuck, fearful, or even hopeless, there's always a breakthrough waiting to happen. Our minds are truly powerful and reward us with this ability. Developing self awareness and higher levels of consciousness can be a profound life-long journey. It's a gift, though a personal choice as to whether or not we accept the offering.

Regardless of what is chosen, there are a few things that I have learned to be true from my experiences …

Being open to the learning is essential. That means … being vulnerable and allowing ourselves the time to heal and receive support from others, despite how hard it might be to ask … being authentic in our expression and confident in who we are, no matter what … trusting in our intuition since the answer always comes from within … loving ourselves first and foremost, so we can share a whole and healthy heart with others … being present and in the moment, so we can observe and take it all in … and finally, believing that we have the capacity for all of this as well.

That, to me, is a gift worthy of gratitude. 

xoxo, B