Forgiveness + Xmas =Present for me! Most importantly, it means an emotionally healthy christmas. I used to dread the holidays because I thought my family had to be the most dysfunctional one out there. But really, who didn’t grow up in some degree of dysfunction? Now I can say I look forward to the holidays. This has all come out of a beautifully profound conversation I had 2 nights ago with my friend Jordan. We were discussing gratitude and forgiveness as a recovery tool for addicts and their family members. Now, you may be thinking you have heard this before but my friend FLIPPED the script on me and asked me to partake in a little exercise. This exercise is what I would like to share with you! He asked me to create a list of 100-150 reasons why I am grateful my father is addicted to crack & to list reasons how my mothers death is benefiting me? He insisted that gratitude transcends everything. Jordan uses this method with his PSR’s (person seeking recovery). He asks them to list 150 reasons why they are blessed to be an addict? Jordan believes that we are puppets to our own neurology and subconscious reasons become conscious. I found this way of thinking very interesting so I gave his exercise a shot. After I began this exercise I realized we can grow from any experience. I have always thought, “How can I take this tragedy and turn it into something beautiful? How can I make my life valuable now?” It’s the Fight or Flight/ Sink or Swim mentality. It got me thinking about the woman I have become the past 6 1/2 years and I must admit I like myself a lot more these days. My point is that if my mother had not passed away as she did and my father was not struggling with addiction, I am not sure I would have asked myself those deeper questions. Questions like: What is my purpose? How can I use my experiences to heal others? How can I serve others who are in pain? How can I touch the masses an inspire healing and transformation? How can I help reform the addiction recovery system? I mean these sort of questions would not even be on my radar if my life circumstances where different. Unfortunately, we grow the fastest through suffering. So here is my short list of why I am grateful my father is an addict & how my mother’s death has benefited me? 1.) I am grateful I am strong and independent. 2.) I am grateful I am health conscious and health is my top priority. 3.) I am grateful I study spirituality and ask the deeper questions of my existence. 4.) I am grateful I have a daily self-care practice . 5.) I am grateful I have fought for my happiness. Now no one can take it anyway! AMEN! 6.) I am grateful I love deeply because I am aware how fleeting life can be. 7.) I am grateful I had to take a crash course in finances. 8.) I am grateful I know how important it is to be resourceful. 9.) I am grateful I continue to heal. 10.) I am grateful for the level of compassion I now have for others who are suffering. 11.) I am grateful I know how to create clear boundaries. 12.) I am grateful for the awareness I have surrounding my emotional life and how emotions affect me on a subconscious level. 13.) I am grateful I can forgive. 14.) I am grateful I have found a passion & purpose to be of service to others. 15.) I am grateful I know how POWERFUL I am! 16.) I am grateful I have found a deep relationship with God. 17.) I am grateful that fear does not rule me. 18.) I am grateful I live peacefully. 19.) I am grateful I can now experience deep, profound love with my boyfriend. 20.) I am grateful for my family and friends who have shared this journey with me. It has been a wild ride. 21.) I am grateful I enjoy the simple beauties in life. 22.) I am grateful I have a desire & determination to build a lifestyle brand that educates, inspires & transforms leading others to greater healing. 23.) I am grateful reflections of my experiences have become my life’s work. 24.) I am grateful I can experience unconditional love. 25.) I am grateful I have a beautiful angel watching over me. Thank you for allowing me to use this space to share. If you want to share what you are grateful for comment on my blog link below. Love & Light, Tara taramagalski/forgiveness-xmaspresent/
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 16:42:08 +0000
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