Gracies Blog

Those little things that make you happy, those people who make you laugh and smile like a dork.  Learn from the past. Don't let it break or define you. Things happen for a reason. Make sure you make the most of what you have.  Show your friends how much they mean to you and how much you appreciate them. Smile and make the most of your life. Make it what you want it to be.  HAPPY are they who take like day by day, complain very little, and are thankful for the little things in LIFE. Don't take the little things for granted.

How quickly we forget! In early summer I find myself resenting a cool 60 degree morning, when not three months earlier I would have given my right arm for that sort of tropical delight. How easily we take things for granted, and forget the miracle and gift of being alive. Entitlement is the nemesis of inner peace . It is an insatiable beast. Even laying the whole world at the feet of entitlement is not enough. His first response is, “what took you so long”, the second, “Where is the moon?” Entitlement convinces you that the world owes you a debt, and multiple gifts are barely enough payback for what you deserve. Gratitude is the anti-venom that neutralizes entitlement’s poison. Gratitude is the opposite of entitlement. Gratitude begins with acceptance of what arises exactly as it is, rather than as you wish they were or expect them to be. Gratitude is not about benefits or usefulness or outcomes. You are thankful that things are just as they are — diverse, surprising, authentic an

I’m ok at a few things. I can cook a decent curry, make babies smile in boring grocery lines, and put up with endless Seinfeld repeats. I’m also generally good at knowing when to stop drinking, spending too much, and sleeping in. But I am not good at goodbyes. Whether at funerals or airports, I just can’t do it. They hurt. And I don’t like hurting. It’s an end. And I don’t like endings. I want more. I want possibilities, chances, and just-maybe’s. I want the promise of a see-you-later. I really do. I want to see you, later. Oh I can fluff it up, focus on the good times. Celebrate and appreciate all I've learned and all I've become. Yes- cheers to the lessons, cheers to the journey, cheers to you and cheers to me. We can dress it up and dance with the goodbyes into the night- pretending you’ll call tomorrow to say what fun, let’s do it all again. But there is no tomorrow and there is no again. We all know goodbyes are just down-right badbyes. They have no rhythm, they’re

Marianne Williamson said- “When a woman gives birth, two are born; a baby from the womb of its mother and a woman from the womb of her former existence.” Being a mother, in all its humanity, joy and frustration, is ultimately a celebration of a new you. You will never be the same after all this pain, all this loving, all this letting go. In each step on the path of motherhood, you are discovering the delight of awakening to the source of life that dances in and through you. As a mother, you know what it is to feel such intense passion for your creation that you would stop at nothing to try and end your child’s suffering. As a mother, you know forgiveness like no other. As a mother, you celebrate the achievements of your child because you know better than others the struggle that often leads to success. Most importantly, mothers know how changeable life is. You know what it is to shift your roles and relationships with your kids. This is such a profound lesson in impermanence.  M

Anger is almost ALWAYS a case of mistaken identity.  Everything that annoys or enrages us in other people is something we haven’t faced in ourselves. Getting involved in other peoples’ anger is like the Irishman who found two people brawling in the street and asked, “Is this a private fight or can anyone get involved?” Another person’s anger is NOT your fight. It’s like the sign at the zoo, “Don’t feed the lions.” Don’t feed anger . It’s a misplaced primal scream. Feed the real hunger, which is a plea for understanding. It’s their cry for help. The question is how we answer the cry. It starts with compassion.  I’m not talking about pity, or pop psychoanalyzing someone in the heat of their rage. That will make it worse. I’m talking about genuinely feeling compassion for the other person, and hearing their pain. You can’t take away someone else’s pain, but it’s amazing how much compassion helps. Next time you are attacked you have a choice. You can attack back and end up in a sma