The power of gratitude

What you are about to read is one of the best examples of "counting your blessings" that I have ever seen. It was written by one of our regular readers, Pamela of Houston, Texas. Pamela is not a Reiki practitioner -- yet -- but she has long been in the habit of following one of the Reiki precepts, making a point of expressing her gratitude every single day. That practice helped her stay calm in the midst of a storm. This storm, the third most destructive hurricane ever to hit the United States:

Hurricane Ike, September 11, 2008 (photo by NOAA)

Those of us who regularly read Pamela's emailed expressions of gratitude understood when we didn't hear from her for a few days. Millions were without electricity, so we knew that even if she had escaped the storm's damage herself, she would be unlikely to start emailing again anytime soon. Still, we were eager for news from her.

Finally, on September 20, we heard from Pamela again:

[I'm grateful] that that we had a generator going right after the power went out at 7:00 on Ike arrival night. That we had a good dinner that night. That when the water got in the generator it alerted us to rising water. That we got across the street to higher ground in three trips to get clothes, animals and ourselves out when the water rose. That we got the power off and gas turned off even though the gas meter was under water. That our neighbors home, a bit higher than ours, where we went to after the water came up remained standing even after he lost his roof. That the sheet rock that fell in around all of us during the night didn't hit us. That we were given a 35 foot travel trailer to live in until November. That we had the funds to buy a 2nd generator. That the rental car i was using didn't flood, and my van, in downtown houston didnt flood either. That we had the funds to get my van out of the shop after blowing up my engine. That hubby is on a bbq team and has cooked almost all of the meat we had in the freezer before it went bad. That we have another generator and hot water, while most of the people on our street don't. That we are able to help some of the older folks, and younger folks too. That people are helping us. That my hubby and daughter didnt get hit when, fatigued from storm repairs , hubby pulled into a 2 way intersection and a truck missed them by inches at highway speeds. That i am able to come to work today to repair my hangar. That I have a job and hubby does too. I could and will go on and on :) but later :) got work to do now :)

Thank you, Pamela, for that very personal lesson on the power of gratitude.

From Pamela in Houston we turn to Pamela in New York: Reiki author and teacher Pamela Miles, who is expressing her gratitude with a gift to us all: a chance to get together and talk about the practice we share -- free.

Pamela Miles writes:

Every time you place your Reiki hands on yourself, you enhance your own health and well-being, and uplift the world around you, the world that we share. Thank you, each of you, for being Reiki’s presence in our world.

As an expression of gratitude for your practice, I am dropping the registration fee for next week’s Talking Reiki phone mentoring session. Do you have a question about Reiki you’d like to discuss? Be my guest, literally. Email me [pmiles@ReikiInMedicine.org] to register and receive this month’s phone number and code. Talk to you next week.

Thanks, Pamela! What a lovely gift to the Reiki community. 

Beth Lowell wrote: "I'm grateful for the last minute, unexpected bookings that come up that help carry me through when my petsitting business is slow. They help pay the bills and remind me that things usually work out in the end. I'm grateful for the free time I have when business is slow so I can get to all those things on my many "to-do" lists, including building quiet time into my day. I'm grateful for my health because I see so many around me whose health is poor or who have lost loved ones at unbelieveably young ages due to cancer (and I admit, partly because I don't have health insurance.)"

My first Reiki teacher, Margaret Ann Case, has posted a wonderful writeup on her blog, titled "Please appreciate everything and show gratitude". Thanks, Margaret Ann. I'm grateful for everything I learned in your Reiki master program.

Lilia Marquez, a nurse, Reiki teacher, hypnotist and all-around integrative practitioner, posted her gratitude list on her web site and tells us, "I'm thankful for the many blessings that I have thus far. Reiki is a Blessing."

We're grateful that Robyn wrote, "I'm Thankful for The Reiki Digest. It is a wonderful fun ezine and I'm grateful to receive it. Thanks."

And we're thankful that Nancy Schroeder wrote: "Thank you for sending this very thoughtful and thought-provoking edition. It's wonderful to be reminded to be grateful for the 'challenging' as well as the 'good' we think we are asking for."

To all of you who took the time to share your comments, to the guest writers who have contributed their articles, and to all our other readers: Thank YOU for giving your kind attention to this publication each week. And whatever storms you are weathering, may the power of gratitude see you through both troubled times and brighter days.

As the late John F. Kennedy said many years ago, "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."