I have been looking at life and all that surrounds us and being truly grateful for what is available to us. There are times in life when the wind virtually gets taken from your sails and you have to plot a different course and navigate your way around the obstacles that have been put in your path.

Over the past 7 weeks I have had occasion to look at life and those around me and what is available to me. Being grateful is something that I have always practiced and looked at and yet it is not until that different course is needed that it becomes even more important.

My husband has been diagnosed with Cancer. It has spread to different parts of his body and we are facing a course ahead of us that is uncertain and filled with some trepidation. However in being truly grateful for what we do have and who we have around us gives a strength that allows us to move forward. It is not easy and there have been days when doona diving and being soggy is all that there is to do. These have not been many days and mostly we are positive and getting about our daily business.

Just at present we are in a little bit of a hiatus. A great report from his surgeon and 5 days before he starts his chemotherapy. What we have decided is that for the next 5 days he does not have cancer and we are leading a relatively normal lifestyle. To some this may sound a little weird, and please remember we do have a weird sense of humour at times and we are aware that not everybody gets it.  What this has done is allowed some freedom for me to start working again on my business, conduct some wonderful coaching sessions and above all I know he is feeling better because he has done the ironing for me. Yipppeeee, now that is something to be grateful for.

So being grateful and keeping in touch with old friends, the title of this article.  In being grateful for all that you have around you in your life allows for an amazing freedom of life and other experiences to be present in your life. I have been coaching a wonderful woman for the past couple of months and she is a delight to coach. No matter what I ask her to do she does it. I am grateful for that. She teaches me so much in those coaching sessions also.  We were talking last night about being grateful and I have asked her to start jotting down all the things that she is grateful for about her husband. The little things that are present all the time and yet over time we forget them or no longer notice them. She became very excited about this homework and started to rattle of a few things that she had not acknowledged for some time.  I have asked her husband to do the same and he greeted the exercise with enthusiasm also. Try it for yourself and see what occurs. I am truly grateful for being given the privilege of coaching this wonderful woman.

Once this is started with your partner, spouse or those around you, extend it out to all areas of your life and see what it is that you have been missing. You may be surprised at the wonderful abundance you have around you and those people that annoy you, what have they actually given you that has made a difference in your life. Being grateful for your life and what you have allows for even more wonderful things to occur. When doing this exercise also remember to be grateful for the wonderful being that you are and all that you provide to the world around you. Maybe this should be the first list you make. Being grateful for you.

This then brings me to the old friend part of the title. At present we are being supported by a wonderful man who I first come to know many moons ago. He was my English teacher in Year 8 way back when. I don't think either of us really care to remember how long ago this was. 12 months ago I got in touch with him through a website and acknowledged him for the wonderful teacher he was and the difference he made in my life. I was truly grateful. He was one of those teachers that you hope your children will have and the kind that they make movies about. He had a group of naive 13 year olds, discussing, inquiring, and thinking about the world and life before it was popular to do so. I am grateful for him doing that because I am sure that has a huge influence on me taking the paths in life that I have. I knew that I could explore the world outside the small country town that I grew up in, and that I could ask questions and become involved in the community and explore the different meanings of life.  This wonderful man is now giving us support and posing those same questions again with health related issues and mainstream convention of health care. I am truly grateful.

Now this also has a flow on effect. Like the ripples on the surface of a pond. I am truly grateful to some wonderful people called Paul and Mary Blackburn who have created a personal developement course like no other, that has given me the confidence to contact my teacher, showed me how to let go of those things that have held me back. They are there as my backstop and have allowed me to grow over the past 2 years to a point where my life is great today. Yes I have a great life even with all that is going on in it. I have so much to be grateful for.

I am also truly grateful for one of my old bosses. He is not old in age and yet the wisdom is of an age that is older than his years. Another person that has been a tremendous support to me during this time. His wife and him have opened their hearts to us and been wonderful in those times when you just don't want to be alone and do not know what to do.

Who do you know that you have not been in touch with for awhile? What are you grateful for that they been in your life? Have a look around and then if there is somebody like that let them know. Drop them a line or give them a call. If you do not know where they are or how to contact them write down in a book all the things that you are grateful for. They will feel it in their lives. Your life will start to look different. Instead of complaining, which is the easy option so often, be grateful for the situation and smile.

Sharon Clark

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