As the days get shorter and colder, our walking time is lessened and I miss that time listening to my inner teacher.  The holiday season is a little different here in Spain, but we have so many connections around the world that we dwell in a mixed relationship environment and we can’t help wishing that travel was easier than it is.

 

What lessons would that inner teacher be focusing on at this time?  How can we apply those lessons to make the world a better place?  Big questions.  What do you think Phil would say?

 

Each of us will surely respond differently and I suspect that sometimes we are so overwhelmed with life’s events that we haven’t yet found the time and energy to think about or apply the answers.

 

I have thought about some ‘common denominators’ of our life together as Caminoheads and want to share my thoughts and get your input of these ideas.  I think of them as the foundations of my well-being.

 

The first that came to mind is Gratitude.  I trust that you too have sensations in your life that fan the glowing coals of gratitude.  I’d like to share with you a practice that helps me bring them to my awareness and realize how grateful I am for the people in my life.  The practice is to simply write down three things which sparked gratitude in me that day.  I could have used a journal, but I chose to create a new calendar on my PC called ‘Thankful For’ and add three things each evening.

 

The first day or two it was a little challenging, but soon it was hard to limit it to three things.  On the calendar display I could easily see if I missed a day and soon I started entering events all day as they happened instead of just in the evening.  Some days I had a dozen things on the list.

 

Writing these things down allowed me to focus on how good life is instead of what I was lacking.  I could not help smiling and feeling good as I reviewed a day’s list.  I found myself doing it on my mobile phone too.  It was addictive!

 

I invite you to try it and would appreciate your comments on how it works for you.  I might share a few things from my list later on in the comments, but don’t want to plant any seeds that might limit your experience.

 

Thank you for reading my thoughts today.  I am grateful to be a part of the Caminoheads family and to have walked a lap or two with Phil and a few others.

 

I plan to share more of what I think of as common denominators in future blog entries.

 

In grateful love,

 

Ronaldo