Carolina Perez Sanz, PhD by Carolina Perez Sanz

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What are you grateful for?

A pink sunrise? Why not stepping on dog poop?

#139 – What are you grateful for?

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In the late 70's, picking up after one's dog was unheard of in Madrid, and the street my Abuela [Grandma] Carola lived in doubled as the neighborhood's dog park.


Every time we would go visit her, we had to pay close attention to where our feet landed because we didn't want to experience the "good luck" that stepping on dog poop was said to bring.


But, what if it were true?


As author and spiritual teacher Michael Singer puts it, every moment is unique in the whole universe. Out of the gazillion possible moments that could happen to you, only one does. In fact, the moments that happen that involve you, one could argue, happen for you–not just to you.


Like stepping on dog poop on the way to visit your Grandma.


You didn't cause the dog to poop in that precise location. Or that parking spot to open up on the left side of the road as your dad turned onto your Grandma's street. Or your foot to land where it did a few minutes after the dog had done its business.


So, why are we not grateful for everything that the universe puts in front of us, or puts us through? Isn't that what we call "conditional love" for life? Like, "this is good, so I'm grateful. But this is crappy, so I'm not grateful."


How would gratefulness for the crappy stuff that happens for you change your experience of life?


Love,

Carolina

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