Through my Lens – Life

Life has a habit of catching us off-guard when we least expect it. How we react to circumstances can also sometimes catch us off-guard.
And that is how my week began last Monday.
Suffice to say, the issues that arose were not with me. However I have not escaped unscathed as I have fought all week with the black dog as a result.
However, I am a fighter and I am strong. The dog will not drag me along after him whilst I hang gamely onto its leash in my attempts to reign him in.
I’m a big believer in “I am” statements and I am using these to their full effect right now.
I am also a big believer in gratitude and I haven’t missed a day of writing in either my Gratitude Journal or my regular journal. There is always something in life to be grateful for.
Yesterday, I was so heartened by a Facebook post from a friend with a photo attached. She had been looking in a drawer for a notebook in which to write a ‘to do’ list for the day and stumbled across something she had written some time ago.
Her page began “My life sucks but I am grateful for these things…”
She then began listing all the little things that make her happy and grateful until she filled the page before writing at the end “I guess my life doesn’t suck so much after all”.
What an amazing testament to the power of gratitude in one’s life!
I smiled as I read it and commented on her post by telling her how much she had made me smile.
I smiled even harder later in the morning after I had lay on the bed beside the Garden Gnome after unburdening my heart and he suggested we just forget all plans we had for the day and go out for a drive.
As part of our drive was a visit to the final resting places of the three brothers I have lost because I miss them very much right now.

Once there I was filled with pride and love as I watched the Garden Gnome and the Teen tidy the plaques and pick up strewn flowers around the resting places of others that they didn’t even know. I listened quietly as the GG spent time standing in the blazing sun chatting with a man who had lost his wife 13 months ago. He said to me later “The poor man was lonely and just needed to talk”.
We finished our afternoon walking along a beach on the Gold Coast. Fresh air, sea spray and the sounds of the waves crashing were exactly what I needed. My heart filled with love and gratitude.

There is much to be grateful for in this life and as I continue cultivating my Attitude of Gratitude and affirming my “I Am” statements I grow bigger than that huge black dog nipping at my heels right now and I am able to reign him closer in and bring him to heel.

So although I am here, I may not be around as much whilst other things take my attention away. I will read and catch up when I can but I have had to delete over 1000 emails containing blog posts from many of you that I follow.
I am also grateful for the love and support of those of you who have emailed me or posted comments asking after me. You are all truly wonderful angels.

This concludes my perspective of life (through the lens of my eyes and heart) and in closing I will share some of my week captured through the lens of my camera.
Blessings to you all.