Surprises

No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.  C.S. Lewis

There are happy surprises, and there are challenging ones. It is entirely possible to have gratitude for both; I can feel grateful for the joys in life, and I can equally be thankful (usually after the fact) for the ones which are the fodder for lessons. It’s all in how I choose to receive them.

For me, gratitude is the doorway to joy, peace, and serenity. Feeling gratitude is always a choice, sometimes requiring me to practice patience, sometimes making me see with a new outlook, but always leading to the tranquility of inner stillness.

When I can let go of specifics while holding a feeling of all being well, I am often surprised by the sense of well-being which washes over me. This is serenity. When I feel free to revel in the presence of the happy surprises, I am rewarded with joy. When I step back to take a breath and look at a situation without clouding it by expectation, I am given peace.

There is such strength in the expression of gratitude! It takes me out of the helplessness of victimhood, and into the ease of inner peace. It sees me through, it nurtures me, it calms my soul, it releases me from worry.

The power of gratitude is the happiest of surprises.