My oldest shouted, “Mommy I want some breakfast.” “What do you want?” I asked. He answered with, “Just some plain toast.” While I was preparing the toast, he kept asking if the toast was ready. I urged him to wait a few more minutes. He began growing impatient and I began to get slightly annoyed. After I put his toast on a plate and broke it up into small pieces, I grabbed an apple to cut for myself. Mid slice he walked over and said, “That’s a big apple. I want some. The whole thing.” I looked over, saw that he had not touched his toast yet, and responded, “Eat what you just asked for and then you can have your own apple. ” Then came the drama, “No! No! No! I can’t want that toast anymore! I want some apple!” He stomped his feet, folded his arms, frowned, and gave a whole performance. Because this triggered too much emotion in me, I knew I needed to pause and view this scene from a different lens before I reacted. There was something beyond the surface that I needed to learn. Before I knew it, I said, “Be grateful for what you have and you will receive more.” I instantly realized that I was talking to myself.
Too often I find myself suffering from self-inflicted anxiety or being anxious about the future without being appreciative of the present. I get caught up in wanting to check my next goal off my list or wanting to make it to the next milestone. I will even talk myself out of my happiness by putting my focus on what I haven’t done and what I have not received yet. I end up getting upset and complaining about “more” similar to how my son was acting. Earlier that morning I asked God to show me what I needed to learn and to guide me to do what He wanted me to do. The interaction with my son let me know exactly what I needed to do. I took some time to think, corrected myself, and decided on how I would move forward. I made a list of all that I was grateful for and realized that I had many of the things that I had prayed for plus more! This helped me raise my vibration and align with my Higher Self. Whenever we send out gratitude into the universe, we receive more to be grateful for. When we send out complaints, we attract more things to complain about. Writing out my gratitude list and doing a self-evaluation helped me get back on track and shift my energy to the positives.
I am grateful that my three-year-old continues to challenge me every day to look in the mirror of self and go within. I am grateful that he served as the vessel for me to learn from. Most of all, I am grateful for the Infinite Love of the Creator that gives grace and opportunity after opportunity for me to get it right. That’s love!
P.S. If any of this resonated with you, check out the poem, “Gratitude” and the painting, “Heart of Gratitude” located in my Art Gallery.
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