A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine. November's Theme: "Grateful"
Volume 7 Issue 1 ISSN# 1708-3265

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Illuminations Aleesha Stephenson About the Cover Orna Ben-Shoshan The Answer Is: Heart Dj Brown Gratitude - Rote or Heartfelt? Rev. Cheryl Jewett Souvenirs Alegria Imperial Past Options Phil Kotofskie Grateful Someone Else Has Control David Reber Unusual Friends in Unusual Places David Suzuki PhD Women debunk myths in Mythogyny Women Elders in Action (WE*ACT) The Envelope Please… An Interview with Jeremy Safron Being Mindful Janet Alston Jackson Pet-sense Jean Hofve DVM Get On Track! Lucy Brandt Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Walk Your Talk Aleesha Stephenson Wiccan Voices Crystal Blanton, HPs Meditate a Moment Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson Cards & Curios Tarot Deck Reviews: with Dan Pelletier Lotus Birth The Waterbirth of the Malcolm Twins Davini Malcolm Raw Protein Bars Francine's Finest Archived Reviews All of T.S.M.'s Reviews

I am grateful!

What is grateful? After doing a quick google, this is what I found:

feeling or showing gratitude; "a grateful heart"; "grateful for the tree's shade"; "a thankful smile"
affording comfort or pleasure; "the grateful warmth of the fire"
showing appreciation, being thankful; recognizing the importance of a source of pleasure

WOW! I am so grateful to be able to write down my gratitudes!

Where do I start? Well, I am grateful that I have a choice to work out or not to work out. Some mornings/evenings I choose not to and that's okay. I know my body and there are just those days that I can't or won't and I'm okay with that. You should be too.

As I have written in other columns for this online magazine, there are plenty of ways to work out simply and cheaply, or even free and for that I am grateful. Simply taking the stairs instead of an elevator is (can be) a workout. Try skipping steps going up! That gets the leg muscles moving.

Parking far away from your destination and walking the rest of the way is an awesome workout.

Playing with the dogs, or walking them is one as well.

All these various, free methods can be incorporated into your daily life.

For those folks who may be reading this that are confined to a wheelchair, or even bedridden, you TOO can work out. There are many exercises which can be incorporated into disabled folks IF they wish it to happen.

That is where the choice of working out comes into being. Isn't it satisfying that WE have that ultimate choice? That WE are the ones who will decide that? And it's okay if I skip a day because I know the next day I can begin again. To me this is very gratifying.

I start my mornings writing down appreciations. These are many things I appreciate and in turn am grateful for. It can be something as simple as the morning dew on a plant or the wag of my dogs' tails.

Then as my day goes on, I am grateful for many things. Grateful for those steps. Grateful for walking, bending, lifting, tightening, breathing. Then I am grateful when I am finished working so I can do some physical activity either outside or in my own home.

Exercise is not only a physical thing, it is also a very spiritual thing; mind over matter if you will. What could be more fulfilling than spending time outdoors be it gardening, which I did last night and am paying for it today (insert tongue sticking out here), but what a feeling! Or taking a walk, or a run?

Something else that I just thought I will start doing is record a daily grateful exercise list. Even if it's a full blown workout or just trodding up and down steps. Seeing what I am doing in black and white will really help keep me on pace of my workouts. This could also be a goal-oriented form. Say for the month of October I am not doing what I feel I should/could be doing as far as my workouts. Then in November I could see where I was slacking; begin again and work harder.

See? I'm grateful that I have a brain to come up with these game plans and goals in life!

Every day I get out of bed, every day my feet hit the floor, every day I open my eyes, I am grateful that I get to do "it" (whatever it is) again. For me? My "it" is working out; in addition to being the best, healthiest, happiest, peaceful person I can.

I have fallen behind lately and I could let that become an excuse for procrastinating and thinking, "I'll start Monday…". I don't know if you are like me, but Monday-goals don't usually happen. There's another excuse that will creep up and knock it out of my head.

I like being the one who stands out in a crowd of my peers and my family, the exercise nut; the health nut. Call me crazy, nutty, whatever, but who wouldn't want to live like this? It's healthy both mentally and physically. And when we are healthy in both those fashions, we view life differently. I know when I workout my mental ability becomes sharper. I have a ton more energy. I sleep better. My appetite is suppressed. All over - both mentally and physically - I feel different.

I look around and even though I care deeply for my friends, co-workers and family members, I do not want to look or feel as they do. Most of them are unhealthy, unhappy, merely existing day to day in their humdrum lives. I know how exercising and moving makes me feel. I know how eating right and sleeping makes me feel.

What is so exciting is that so much of this is free. No cost involved; unless you want to join a gym or invest in oodles of workout equipment, DVDs or such. If we watch children and pets, they are both always moving. Stretching and using their bodies in the way they were intended to be used. They rest when they are tired. They move when they have energy. They eat the right things.

I am grateful I have the where-with-all and ability to realize all of this, and (the huge bonus is) I can share this with all of you. I am grateful that the Universe has sent Aleesha to me and we have connected. I am grateful I have a Universe to appreciate.

Speaking of Aleesha, do you know what she does? Whenever she is out with her hubby, she has her hubby drop her off a mile from home so she can walk the rest of the way. Not only does this get her out of unpacking the car of groceries, but it gifts her a gorgeous FREE walk! Why not try this one yourself some day?

Lucy Brandt is a active member of Raw Food Talk and absolutely loves the Timeless Spirit Magazine. She joined us as a regular columnist here at Timeless Spirit Magazine in 2009. She immensely enjoys her life with her three fur pals, Dug 'da Pug (who is just a baby boy), Inga (who is a Great Dane in a Yorkie's body), and Emma (who goes with the flow - a wirehaired mini Dachshund). When these three aren't asking for ALL of her attention, she has five grandchildren, all from her daughter. She also spends quality time with her son and his girlfriend and her Mom, who is her best friend. Being a keeper of the forest (meaning total lover of nature) is a much rewarding, time-consuming job for her as well.

Besides holding down two jobs, she enjoys gardening, both indoors and outdoors, bird-watching, day dreaming, and soul searching. In her spare time, which is rare, you can catch her laying in the grass becoming one with Mama Earth.

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