Hi,
This is Theresa Conte and welcome to Day 28 of 30 Days of Gratitude to Inspire and Uplift You.
Today,
I'd like to begin by sharing a quote by A.
A.
Milne,
Author of none other than Winnie the Pooh.
Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart,
It could hold a rather large amount of gratitude.
And now,
A thought to ponder.
What a wonderful teacher.
No matter how young or old or how wise or educated,
Human,
Animal,
Rock,
Ocean,
Or cloud,
We are all teachers and can learn valuable lessons from one another when we are open to listen.
Who or what have been your favorite teachers?
What message or messages did they provide you?
For instance,
I remember walking on the beach in eastern Washington many years ago when I lived in Seattle.
As I was strolling along the shore,
I happened to look down and spotted a heart-shaped stone.
I loved collecting them,
So of course I picked it up.
I saw a bit of what looked like red coloring on what I considered to be the top or face of it.
When I turned it over,
I noticed that there was a crack right down the middle of it,
Like a heart that had been broken.
Although I had come across other heart-shaped stones in the past,
I had never seen one just like that.
I was facilitating a personal and spiritual development program at a maximum security prison in Washington State at the time.
The participants were mainly male residents,
And sometimes a wife,
Girlfriend,
Or other volunteers would attend.
They were open to the processes I led,
Like having them pick an angel card and sharing what the quality on it meant to them.
For instance,
There were 62 cards in the deck,
And qualities included things like joy,
Forgiveness,
Awakening,
Healing,
Love,
And support.
I was deeply honored as they allowed themselves to be vulnerable in the circle and trusted me.
I brought the stone with me to my next program and introduced it as a talking stone,
A practice used in Native American spirituality,
Which is generally done with a stick called a talking stick.
I placed the stone in the middle of the circle,
As that's how I arranged my groups.
I shared instructions,
Which included picking the stone up when they wanted to share and focusing on the person holding it,
Giving them their full attention with no feedback,
Comments,
Or crosstalk.
I also explained that in my experience,
When a talking stick or stone was used in healing circles,
That the truth that was in someone's heart,
What it was that they truly felt or thought or believed,
Often occurred,
Much to the surprise of the person holding it.
They nodded in understanding and agreement,
And everyone in the circle took a turn,
Shared,
And honored the process.
We met approximately 12 times over the course of the year,
Always using the same format,
Choosing an angel card,
Sharing what the quality on the card meant to them,
Holding the talking stone when they shared,
And honoring their fellow participants when it was their turn.
Sometime after that,
I picked the heart-shaped stone up,
And to my utter amazement,
The crack that was on the back of it when I first found it was filled in and was no longer there.
I took it as a sign that there had been healing in the hearts of the participants as they held the stone and shared their truth.
My heart was full,
And I was incredibly humbled and grateful.
The stone appeared on that lovely day when I strolled along the shore.
I wasn't looking for it.
It was simply there.
I might not have noticed it or given the crack much thought,
But I recognized it as something special and welcomed it.
Who are your teachers?
How did or do they appear?
What have they taught you?
What may they be teaching you still?
Perhaps you'd find it helpful to journal on something in your experience that has meaning for you and see what it has to reveal.
Then,
Let them fill your heart with gratitude.
Wishing you a most wonderful day.
