Welcome as we enter into the Season of gratitude. Let’s practice the gifts of being alive in the abundant energy that arises when we make an effort to nourish our inner light. It’s the harvest season of gathering and celebrating our bounty.

In our troubled world today, we are seeing the struggles of conflict and the collective distraction of feeding fear and anger. Now my teacher would remind me that I am just being foolish to hold on to my habit of worry. Clinging to worry and doubt, I just deplete my nervous system, which leads to exhaustion and loss of my joy. It takes great effort to move inward and link to my breath when my little mind is distracted by all the noise around.

My inner mantra today is to thank myself for making the time to share these words, “today, focus on what is beautiful. Free your heart from judgment, live simply, give more, expect less, and notice the light in someone’s eyes. Smile and offer to listen with the intention of being present.” These are just words to the mind of intellect that is wired to protect the self-preservation of one’s identity.

We are human beings moving too quickly as the adrenaline pushes us to do more. Pause, put your hands on your heart and just observe the beating. Is the pulse too fast? Slow your breath and just feel the air meeting your nostrils. Notice a simple shift and how it changes everything. Maybe not in the outer world, but something internal has shifted. Now add a thank you. Inhale and say to yourself, “thank you,” and on the exhale, again whisper, ”thank you.” This is the small, conscious choice of welcoming in gratitude for your life.

It is not what you do that defines your self-worth, but living in the awareness of an appreciation for who you are. Being kind and being your own friend opens your heart to the world. It takes effort:

• to move in the direction of the heart,

• to focus the mind in the direction of observing the feeling of the breath,

• to meditate on the profound wonder of being present in life itself,

• to make an effort to move away from the habit of creating distractions,

• to make time and space to celebrate a practice on a daily basis.

The collective energy to make a commitment to go inward on a daily basis is a great offering we can do for humanity. It is not easy, and we need a collective community to cultivate these tools.

YAF, together with all our teachers, is sharing in the abundance of this life energy as we say “THANK YOU” for being a part of our collective journey. The path of healing and nourishing the inner light is in all of us. May we come together this Season by sustaining these thoughts, as my mentor, Joseph Campbell, would inspire, “Be the JOY in the sorrows of the World.”

Blessings,
Laura Jane