Your Monday Minute - Say It Out Loud

Over the past several days, two men that I went to high school with have taken leave of their Earthly bodies. Both were far too young to die, both leave behind wives and young children. These are the moments that I was talking about last time, in Look for the Gift. 

The gifts that come from loss are plentiful, though often hard to see through the haze of pain and grief. Situations like these, however, connect near and perfect strangers together. Compassion pours from our hearts for those left behind. Compassion and connection... those are gifts. 

This months' Monday Minutes have been all about gratitude and Thanksgiving is just days away. This week, just a few miles down the road, there will be funerals one day and holiday celebrations the next. This is life. The sad, the joy, the ebb and flow of life. And with it the reminder that it's about more than just knowing what matters, it's about saying it out loud. 

Say it out loud. What is gratitude if kept inside and private? I'm here each week, reminding you how much you matter. Loving you with the intention of you knowing your beautiful worth.  Love and gratitude spread like wild fires and only when we love ourselves enough to share that love and our thoughts and feelings with others. 

So, today, I ask you to be courageous and say it out loud. Tell the people you love how you feel. Show appreciation and say it out loud to the stranger who holds the door for you. Call someone up and tell them you're grateful for them. Give a genuine wave of courtesy and a smile to the driver who lets you go first. Look around you and thank the screen in front of you, the shelter you reside in and the people and animals that share your space. Say it out loud. Spread not only the words of gratitude, but the energy of it. 

You matter. Let others know that they do, too. 

I love you!