With a Grateful Heart

I end this year, with a grateful heart...

I am grateful for what is - and for what is not...

I am grateful for what happened - and what didn't...

I am grateful for the challenges received, and for those endured, and transcended, and for the ones that still remain...

I am grateful for the persons that came into my life, and those that exited as well...

I am grateful for connections made, and for those severed...

I am grateful for the many blessings received - those that were obvious, and those that remain hidden...

I am grateful for my community, for the comfort of prayer and meditation and practice, and how it enriches my life...

I am grateful for loved ones, and for those who still harbor negativity towards me - for they come bearing lessons...

To all whom I encounter - may all negative intentions and feelings - only be met by undulating waves of love and compassion rippling at the very shores of my soul...

I am grateful for surgery this year - and what it both brought into my life - and what it enabled me to release... And, I am grateful for the skillful and sensitive surgeon, who chose a more time-consuming but less invasive route, that enabled me to heal more quickly...

I am grateful for the places I was able to travel to, and the experiences I had, most especially in Istanbul and Ephesus...

As this year ends, I review events and experiences of this year - I set my intention for the goals I have chosen for the coming year - ever mindful that a grateful heart will be the soil on which to cultivate greater humility, compassion, and simplicity...

I grateful to be here, at this point in time in our history - and to have the grace and opportunity to step into all that 2012 brings...

Comments

Anonymous said…
Olga, I have already shared your words with a couple of friends ... thank you for putting them out for us to find :) Happy New Year my Friend ... hopefully we'll be able to meet up for that smoothie we keep talking about :) Love you, Sheila
December 29, 2011 at 12:02 PM
Olga Rasmussen said…
Thank you Sheila! Yes, we will get together in the New Year. And thank YOU for being my friend! Love you back! Olga
December 29, 2011 at 1:32 PM
YogaG33k said…
I am grateful for your blog Olga! Your words are always so full of inspiration and they touch so many hearts. Namaste
January 1, 2012 at 9:06 AM
Olga Rasmussen said…
Thank you! I am grateful for you as well! Namas te and blessings, Olga
January 1, 2012 at 10:06 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rumi - "The Lord is in Me" and "Love Said to Me"

I was sent a couple of poems by Rumi recently, and I wish to share them here. May you find inspiration in them for a glorious weekend! The Lord is in Me The Lord is in me, and the Lord is in you, As life is hidden in every seed. So rubble your pride, my friend, And look for Him within you. When I sit in the heart of His world A million suns blaze with light, A burning blue sea spreads across the sky, Life's turmoil falls quiet, All the stains of suffering wash away. Listen to the unstruck bells and drums! Love is here; plunge into its rapture! Rains pour down without water; Rivers are streams of light. How could I ever express How blessed I feel To revel in such vast ecstasy In my own body? This is the music Of soul and soul meeting. Of the forgetting of all grief. This is the music That transcends all coming and going. Love Said to Me I worship the moon. Tell me of the soft glow of a candle light and the sweetness of my moon. Don't talk about sorrow, tell me of that treasure...
Read more

Upside Down Siva and Ultimate Freedom

Image
While I was in Denver last month, on Thursday May 7th, the day of the week in which the Guru and teachers are traditionally honored, I was drawn to buy a "murti" (sacred statue) of Siva doing a one-handed handstand. I bought this statue the very morning I was to demo this pose, unbeknowst to me... The murti of Siva is now on my desk in front of me, where it is constantly in my peripheral vision, every time I sit at my computer. It is also to the left of the meditation alcove I built into a closet. I was drawn to this piece from the first moment I laid eyes on it, and so after receiving it in the mail, I wrote to Dr. Manoj Challam, from whom I purchased it, asking him to give me more insight into the meaning of this representation of Siva. A primary focus of the week that Anusara Yoga teachers gathered in Denver was the study of the Siva Sutras with Dr. Paul Muller Ortega, a pre-eminent Siva scholar. I have always been very drawn to Siva , and this particular murti was so ...
Read more

An Advent Guided Meditation

I wrote this meditation for an Advent Quiet Day for St. David's Episcopal Church in Ashburn, Va, last week. And while it is long, I wish to share it here, for those who would like to embark on a little journey of going inward to experience the quiet and the true gifts of this season. Enjoy! Introduction: Advent is a time for waiting, for preparing, for embodying joy, faith, peace, and love… Advent is a journey, which invites us to sojourn more deeply within ourselves. Advent is a time to slow down, to open our hearts to receive the Gift of the Divine in our lives, and to share our own lives with one another, for there is no greater gift that we can give… Let us take a few moments to settle ourselves – our minds and hearts and body into stillness, that we may open, prepare, and receive the gifts of the season… Centering: Begin by making yourself as comfortable as possible, sitting in whatever way will enable you settle most deeply… If you have to make...
Read more