What am I grateful for looking back at 2007?

I usually note down what I feel grateful for most weeks. And having more time over the holidays I started to contemplate everything that had happened during the last year. And then suddenly a few days ago when looking back at 2007 I realized that I felt grateful for everything. Yes, EVERYTHING. I felt startled for a moment. Do I really mean it? Look again – and I did. Yes was the answer, I am grateful for everything. For everything that I recognized as a blessing straight away, and for everything that was a challenge, a difficulty and that I recognized to be an important part of my growth, a blessing sometime later. Now if I would want to grade my gratefulness then the outcome would look something like that:

Most grateful for list

• The awareness that all difficulties are opportunities for growth
• Realizing that being in-joy with myself brings joy to whatever situation I am in
• The awareness that being in-joy with myself means to embrace all aspects of myself and not being against anything I feel or think – no judgement
• The love and support of my husband
• Good health and Yoga
• All the inspiring teachers I have worked with including my coach
• Having the courage to follow my intuition and walk my path
• Opportunities to encourage and help others to walk their path too
• Connecting with others in workshops and coaching sessions
• Learning from the world around me
• Old movies, good friends and living close to nature.

I invite you to do the same. Take a look, make a list and share it with others on this blog, just enter your list as a comment. I would love to hear what YOU are grateful for.

The Wisdom of Pooh

During the holidays I spend time reading one of my favorite books and I like to share some of Pooh's wisdom with you .

The 'Tao of Pooh' is an inspiring little book by Benjamin Hoff in which he interprets the ancient Chinese principles of Taoism through the ways of Pooh, the bear and hero of Winnie the Pooh. It is one of the most fun and yet insightful books I have come across.

With the song below Pooh captures in his own, unique way how gaining clarity of Who we are is an important part of the overall vision for our life (‘know thyself’, to quote from an ancient Greek wisdom). Hoff explains it this way: ‘Being authentic starts with recognizing "Who we are, what we have got to work with and what works best for us.

’What do you think Pooh? How would you explain it?’
‘With a song’ says Pooh
‘Go ahead’
How can you get very far
If you don’t know Who you are?
How can you do what you ought,
If you don’t know what You’ve Got?
And if you don’t know Which To Do
Of all the things in front of you,
Then what you’ll have when you are through
Is just a mess without a clue
Of all the best that can come true
If you know What and Which and Who.

‘Thank you Pooh’.

So you may want to spend a bit of quiet time over the holidays and ponder on some of those questions Who you are - What you stand for and what your values are.