A Great Life is yours to have - will you claim it?

Today as I sit in deep gratitude for all there is and all there ever has been in my life, I am reminded of a very different time and experience in my life.  Years ago, I was going through a challenging time, faced with a scary health condition and feeling like there was hardly anything good about my life.  In my eyes, the world was a hostile place and life was about nothing but struggle, full of obstacles and injustice where only the chosen few can thrive, always and only at the expense of others like me.

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On my way home one day, with my arms full of the weekly grocery shopping, I stopped outside a fancy glasses shop.  As it was summer, the lovely shop windows were full of the latest designs of sunglasses.  They all looked great and I was irresistibly being drawn inside to at least try a few.  I thought for a moment how nice it would be to hide my sadness and disappointment in life behind large framed dark sunglasses.

A particular pair was calling for my attention, to be tried.  The moment I put them on, I knew they were meant for me.  They were comfortable and fitting exactly as if made to measure - but the lens colour was unusual yet only noticeable when worn - they were pink/violet.  It somehow didn't feel right because, aren't "proper!" sunglasses meant to have brown or black lenses, I found myself having a critical conversation in my head.  But I couldn't ignore how well they fitted and suited my face.  So I ended up buying them anyway after the initial resistance subsided.

As I came out of the shop into the bright sun, the new glasses were duly taken out of the case and placed on the face with excitement.  I paused to take a good look at the sky, trees, grass and everything in between.  I found my whole being pausing and taking a slow deep breath, stricken by the sense of something different, something unfamiliar making itself apparent.  Something inside me prompted me to arrive at a new and completely unexpected level of understanding.

Even though I was looking at the same landscape, same people and the same circumstances surrounding me, it all looked rosy, warm, more bright and joyous when infused with the mellow tones of loving pink and purple hues in the lenses.

It struck me clearly how I can decide on the colour of the lenses I choose to wear and see my world through every day.  Even though seemingly such a minor thing, this became a trigger and was supported by numerous other "coincidences" occurring in my life at the time as I allowed myself to entertain the idea that maybe, just maybe, life is better than I was habitually concluding it to be.

Nowadays every morning as I awake, I choose to pause for a moment, grateful for witnessing another wonderful day full of opportunities, new beginnings and the source of all life breathing me and everything and everyone around me.  Could there be a greater gift?  It is unconditionally placed in the heart of every one of us but it is up to us whether we choose to open it and make the most of it.
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Open your gift, day after day, with gratitude and genuine excitement and see your life bloom and expand beyond anything previously imagined.

To your greatness!