This month Rick and I were fortunate to spend a week with wounded warriors during our Warrior Resiliency Retreat. To put it mildly, when you work with warriors in a healing setting, you have the opportunity to witness deep and courageous healing. Our warriors have the unique skills of being able to slay dragons and restore faith right before your eyes and they are the bravest and most committed people I know.

Throughout the week we were both in awe of their courage and were constantly in a place of gratitude. Grateful to witness their healing and to be along side of them walking on this life journey.

This got me thinking about gratitude and its immense power in opening the heart.

Simply sitting in gratitude and allowing yourself to perceive your life with a humble presence and just being thankful can be a doorway to great healing.

No need to make lists or go through all of the details in your mind. Sit in it the way you would sit in the sunlight or along side a river. Listen, Breathe, Feel, Quiet Your Mind and welcome in gratitude. Feel it and let it surround you.

Any healing feeling can be appreciated by letting it surround you and by humbling yourself in the moment.

Often when we have opportunities to be of service or go out of our normal routine to help someone, we can feel this beautiful feeling. We feel connected and literally feel full. We are grateful for our own ability to be kind and to care. This is how service fills our souls and these are gifts that our warriors give to us.

Take a moment and connect with gratitude.

Life may not always be the way we want it to be but there is always something, someone or some aspect of your life to be grateful for. The more we can stay in gratitude the more we can give love, receive love and stay connected to ourselves in a deep and powerful way.