The Gift of Right Now

Hello and good morning. Cadre world. This is Dr. Jessica Green, and I am in South Carolina. But I am telling you it has been a chilly morning. I don't know about you and where you are, but for me, it has definitely been a chilly morning. Changing of the leaves, reminding ourselves of that sense of gratitude and also those things. And sometimes when we think about the changing of the leaves in the cool weather and then the time changing, because it's gotten me too. It also reminds us of that appreciation, you know, that appreciation not only for the things that we have, but then also the things that we may not have, but we're thankful for what we have in our ability to continue to have that personal growth and being true to ourselves.

So today, with this live, it is going to be about appreciating life's gifts. And when I say, you know, appreciating life's gifts, it's going to be those simple, often overlooked blessings that surround us every day. And we, whenever we consider life, you know, life has a way of rushing by and especially for us who are, you know, we go, go, go. We do, do, do. And we forget to be in that moment because we allow life to rush us by. And even if we think about work, we think about those responsibilities, and sometimes those distractions, we forget to notice the quiet things like our breathing, our relationships, and our ability to be resilient in those moments where we may be having morning coffee, having that morning walk.

Good morning, Nikki. But it's important that we take a moment and we pause and we breathe, acknowledging a couple of things that we are here in this moment, we are alive. And realizing those things are our gifts. So when we think about slowing down in order to see those things and to see that appreciation. Appreciating life's gifts begins with our awareness, right? It's when we slow down enough to see, you know, what's already good. And when we do that, we can see where that gratitude grows naturally.

So it's not about ignoring the pain or. Or pretending everything is perfect. It's about our ability to train our minds to find meaning even in those ordinary moments. So I want you to try this, all right? So I want you to write this down. If you're in the car, I want you to listen because we are driving. But if you have the opportunity to write this down, I want you to write down some things that I want you to try each morning as we focus on that sense of gratitude and being in that moment. So each morning, I want you to name one thing that didn't have to happen, but it did.

All right, so maybe it could be the sunrise through the window, a friend's text that you're reading, or even your child's laughter. Because in these moments, they're easy to miss, but they shape how we experience the day. And sometimes when we may not be having those great moments, we allow those 15 or 20 seconds to ruin our day. And that's something we don't want. We don't want that to happen. So when we think about shifting the lens so gratitude is more than saying thank you, it's pretty much that shift in our perspectives.

Whenever you start to look for life's gifts, you begin to recognize how much abundance is already surrounding you. And sometimes we lose that focus because we're not allowing ourselves to be present in that moment. So it doesn't mean you'll never struggle, but what it means is you choose to anchor yourself in appreciation even when things feel uncertain. So I want you to think about something that used to frustrate you, but now when you think about it, it makes you smile, it thinks you laugh, because in that moment, it was critical.

But then you go back and think about it, you know, and it's that moment where it makes you laugh, and you're just like, I cannot believe we had an argument about that simple thing. Or even we try to think back on what that argument was about, and we can't even remember what it was. And sometimes that makes us laugh, too. Because in that moment, what I want you to consider is being patient. You know, before we talked about making sure we respond and not react to things. I want you to think about your faith, your ability to be resilient.

And even in the challenges, sometimes they can become gifts when we see that shift in our ability to change our mindset. So when we think about the sense of being present in that moment, you know, the true gift of life is being present. It's your ability to be fully here in the moment right now. So you don't need to have a perfect day in order to feel grateful. You just need to notice it in the moment. Notice the sound of your heartbeat, your breathing, the way your body moves. And it's a reminder that you have another chance to love, another chance to learn, and also another chance to grow.

So I want you to try grounding skills for yourself. And this is what it will look like. We're going to inhale deeply, we're going to exhale slowly, and then we are going to whisper to. To ourselves, I am grateful for this moment, and that's true appreciation in action. So as you move through your week, as you move through the day, I want you to remember to pause often. Because the gifts of life, they live in those small moments that we sometimes miss. The second thing is shift your lens. Gratitude turns obstacles into opportunities.

They turn obstacles into opportunities. Yes, Michelle. And lastly, I want you to stay present. The best moments are the ones you're truly in. And we allow ourselves to walk through that moment. We allow ourselves to slow down, and we allow ourselves to appreciate the little things, because life's gifts aren't rare. They're right here in front of us. But we miss those moments because we're thinking about what we have to do today. So until I see you on that next live stream next Wednesday, I want you to remind yourself, you need to live.

We need to love, and we need to grow on purpose and be in that moment and allow ourselves to lean in. So until next time, continue to be courageous, continue to have compassion, continue to build connections, and I will see you soon.