Phil and I really enjoyed Mother Nature on our walk this morning. It was cool, but not crisp fall air yet. The trees were turning and the leaves beginning to fall. We certainly see and acknowledge the beauty of their letting go.

Why can’t we see that same beauty in our own releasing of things?

We view releasing as tragic or sorrowful. Yet, is it not like the trees releasing their leaves?

Friendships end. Jobs terminate. Doors close.

We see those as tragic and yet they are transition points to the next better thing.

I was asked this morning what brought Phil and I to the Tri-Cities. Tragedy. The utter loss of a business. It was heartbreaking and sad. It was financially devastating and ego wounding.

Yet, looking back, it was what HAD to happen to bring us to where we are and doing what we are doing. Certainly, we could have made other choices once we arrived here. Yet, surprisingly, one thing after another just “worked out” in our behalf and led us to stay here.

Though Phil’s first impression of this high desert of Eastern Washington was one of horror. As we crested the hill past Hermiston and dropped down into the valley, there wasn’t a tree in sight. Coming from Seattle, Sacramento, and Houston Texas most recently, Phil hadn’t really lived away from trees. His comment was, “What have you done to me?!” A few weeks of spectacular sunrises and sunsets softened the blow a bit. Now, dynamite couldn’t get him out of this area!

With the remarkable landscapes, the mild weather, and warm friendships and kinships, we flourished here. Once established, we were then able to be of service to others—where our true calling came into being.

Looking back on those losses, I’m eternally grateful for them! I see them as freedom rather than loss. I perceive them as wiping the slate clean rather than forfeiture.

More losses appear as life happens. Loss of health. Loss of vitality. Loss of concentration. Loss of moments that slip by too quickly. These losses however can be seen as blessings. With loss of health and vitality, I’ve learned to ask for help. (That’s a big one for me!) With loss of concentration, I’ve learned to move from one idea to the next more quickly—I get less bogged down in analyzing things to death. Loss of moments as they slip by is replaced with cherishing each and every experience.

Loss hurts. Yet, loss opens the door for the next wonderful thing to happen. Finding gratitude even when there is hurt, sorrow, and pain not only blesses the soul, but speeds delivery of new, amazing experiences.

To find a blessing in hurt and sorrow, complete this sentence, “I’m really grateful this is happening because . . . “ Sit with it. Ponder it. Allow the truth of it to come to the surface. When all we see or experience is the hurt and loss, we miss it. Even when the sorrow is happening, the blessing is already there! Focusing on the sorrow blocks us from seeing the blessing.

Take a new look. Be blessed and really feel the blessings flow!

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