Gratitude (3)

Dear Warriors. Day 3 of our Gratitude of December - choosing to end the year with joy.

I'm here in Kansas City visiting my family. I also got to go to my favorite restaurant Cafe Gratitude, in Kansas City. Ironically, this restaurant started in California, but can't wait to eat it in Kansas City. The food is amazing but its the culture of Cafe Gratitude that sets it apart. A constant reminder of what we feed ourselves - food and gratitude. You leave elevated and full.

When we finished our meal, our sweet waitress shared the question of the day with us, "who can you be compassionate to?" My answer - MYSELF.

So, where does gratitude fit into compassion with myself? It works like this. I constantly make mistakes, say crazy ass stuff, don't think through all my decisions. But because of the reminder of compassion I am able to be GRATEFUL for my MISTAKES.

For example, while in Kansas City I ordered some presents for the holidays and for some reason I had them sent to Kansas City. However, I now need to pack those and fly with that extra baggage home on Monday. My sister asked, "why did you send those here and not home."

The ungrateful/uncompassionate me would have beat myself up. Told myself I make poor decisions, so dumb, blah blah blah...but because of GRATITUDE I get to say this. "I'm so grateful I did that, because now, I know better. Now I know that I can be patient because it will help me in the long run. If I hadn't made that decision I would never had learned. I'm so grateful I did that. I'm grateful for the chance to refine myself."

So here's to the the waitress for her question of the day. For compassion and gratitude. And now, I'm grateful for my mistakes for they are only chances to refine ourselves.

Today, on Day 3, I invite you to be grateful for your "mistakes" Even better, write them down here. (Remember, there are no mistakes, just opportunities to refine ourselves)