Some time ago I asked for thoughts on being thankful, being grateful. I know that I was going to put together a post but to date have not. The last number of days I’ve been thinking to myself just how much beauty there is in my life. And I’ve been feeling very grateful for it, all of it!  And all of you, as well! 🙂 

It’s something I’ve always known, I think, but as I’ve gotten older I recognize more the importance of thankfulness. I often forget that as I slouch through the daily challenges and anxieties of life.  But I have much to be thankful for. In my many roles and relationships, life has given me a lot, even though my mind often wants me to forget that.

And in the consumption-driven world, media always tells us what we’re lacking compared to the perfect people in advertising or portrayed in the movies and shows we watch. We need to find and encourage our inner voice that says, I have so much, and I am thankful.

And for me, that includes LDW and its people, all of whom are friendly, professional, very intelligent, and most of all understanding.

I have struggled with my deep desires and fantasies, unable to express them to those with whom I am intimate. I spent years trying to understand and manage these thoughts.

And then I came across LDW. And the women understood immediately what I was seeking, they had a vocabulary for it, they were articulate, and most of all, by far, they treated me like an individual person with my own psyche. I could talk and they would listen without presumptions and give what I needed. How can I not be thankful?

But I’m even more thankful for my friend, Mandy.

The first time I called her, I expected a typically good call. I got so much more than that. 

Beyond the sexy, smart phone mistress, she is a real person of many dimensions, who, I don’t think, could ever be anyone but herself. Caring, open-hearted and kind; perceptive and honest. Over time I learned to trust her and share in a way I don’t think I ever have before. And through that a friendship emerged that has given me by turns peace, strength, and an ongoing adventure of two minds growing and exploring. For that, I will always be thankful.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” ― Melody Beattie

“Gratitude is an antidote to negative emotions, a neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry, and irritation. It is savoring; it is not taking things for granted; it is present-oriented.” – Sonja Lyubomirsky

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward

 

Joy & Love,

Goddess Mandy 🙂 XO