Several years ago I wrote a blog called “Positive-Living-Now.” It had been going strong for nine years when it was mercilessly hacked. And even though I shelled out a significant amount of cash to a highly skilled and reputable team to try to restore it, it had been damaged beyond repair.
Many of you who are reading this Sunday Letter became my subscribers because you accepted my invitation through that blog. How grateful I am that you’re still with me after all these years! And how deeply I appreciate the words of encouragement you have sent me over the past couple weeks while I was navigating my way through some daunting health challenges. I feel like we’re old, dear friends.
Positive-Living-Now had hundreds of articles on it when it met its demise. Many of them dealt with the findings of researchers in the then-new science of positive psychology and talked about the power of discovering your strengths and putting them to use in your daily life. I just may take another stroll through those concepts and share my current reflections about them.
Other articles on the blog were about what you might call “mind-hacks”–little techniques and games you can play with yourself to pull yourself out of negative states of mind or to function with more efficiency and ease as you go through your day, or just to remind yourself how wonderful you are. Because you are a wondrous being, you know.
Of all the articles the site contained, one was read and shared well above and beyond the others. I don’t have it handy; it’s on another drive that I’ll have to dig through in order to find it. It was called something like “Four Magic Phrases that Change Everything.”
I’m going to locate it and update it, and then I’ll share it with you. It deserves another go-round, In the meantime, let me tell you the four phrases. You can play with them and see how they impact your life. You can say one or all of them, repeating them as you like, and they don’t have to go in any particular order. They don’t come with rules.
I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you.
My favorite this week has been “Thank you.” Gratitude is such a beautiful, healing thing. It keeps you humble. It expands your senses of joy and appreciation. It lets you dance on the edges of wonder and awe. Somebody once said “Thank You” is the only prayer we ever need to say.
I thank you for being my steadfast companion on this journey. Life brings sorrow and challenges to us all. It can be a scary, lonely, confusing place sometimes. But how beautiful is it that we have caring companions along the way! Thank you. Thank you, life, for the gift of caring companions. Thank you, my friend, for welcoming me into your life each week, and for all the motivation and inspiration that welcome provides.
Wishing you a week where you discover that even your deepest thanks isn’t enough.
Warmly,
Susan
Image by Kessa from Pixabay