18 Nov

I Will Give Thanks For My Blessings

Posted by kjnelan in Ethics, Series | Tags : |

tràme
Image by zunardu via Flickr

I Will Give Thanks For My Blessings

Do we see only those areas we need to improve, or do we also recognize those things we do well?  Do we only see that we may not have pleased a client today, or do we see the 5 other clients who were thrilled beyond belief for the services they received?  Do you see the glass half full, or half empty?  Do you have a positive outlook, or do you focus on those experiences that have kept you down?

I have a special place in my heart for the old saying, “Tis better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” [See Bottom for Citation] and have discovered in the course of many meditations that this one phrase has profound meaning both literally and figuratively.  If there is something which can be remedied, then do so rather than focusing on the fact it existed in the first place.
Even deeper still is the thanks we can give for the darkness.  If there existed no darkness would we really understand the light?  Would we even have need of a such a thing known as a candle?  The darkness then is a balance to the light.  Without one, we can never know the other.

We’re not talking about things which are negative.  Remember that energy is neither good nor bad, positive nor negative, it simply exists and it is our perceptions of a thing which make it one way or the other.  Keep a positive frame of mind, and things will turn out positive.  Look at the negative of things, and the same will happen.  Karma is simply mysterious that way (actually there are very real psychological terms and descriptors for Karma, but that’s for another post some day down the road.)  We should even be thankful for those things which may seem negative in our lives.  Without them, would we truly see or appreciate the positive?

By giving thanks for what we have, we recognize there have been moments in our lives when we did not have or had less of what we do now.  We learn to appreciate those things, aspects, people or what have you, into our lives.  We learn to NOT take things for granted; that they will always be there when we need them.  Instead we work towards the positives and improve that which can be improved.

Even those things in our lives which are less than positive can be things for which to be thankful.  Everything we do, or every reaction to something we have done teaches us a valuable lesson.  If you burn your hand on the stove, it does not become a negative experience unless you continue to dwell on the experience so that it becomes a part of your living fears.  Instead it should become a learning moment where we recognize we have learned not to touch a burning stove.  Be thankful you have learned the lesson and were then able to move on.

Being thankful does not mean replacing the negative experiences in our lives with a positive outlook, but it instead helps us recognize there really is no positive or negative experience.  There exist only the pureness of the experiences.  They are neither good, nor bad, but exist to help us grow in this life and move forward on our path.  It is our own perceptions of the events which determine how we treat what we  view through our own understanding of the world around us.
Be Thankful that you live and are able to feel; that you are able to experience and learn from those experiences.  Be thankful you are, and because you are, you will always be.

The simplicity of the Five Principles is perhaps the greatest achievement a Reiki practitioner can ever hope to achieve.  They are things to which we should aspire, and help guide our ethical beings on the path to health, wellness, and personal wholeness.

[Citation from above: A version of this saying was used by John Kennedy, in his acceptance speech to the Democratic Convention, in Los Angeles in 1960: "We are not here to curse the darkness; we are here to light a candle." Who originally coined the phrase is unknown. . 2009. Online.]

Be Well Everyone!  I’ll try to think up something for the next series, but have to finish the 4th in a series of things.  For those who know what’s going on, this will be the last of the series and will be the companion to the other 3.

Peace, Love and Joy
K

Related articles

Comments are closed.