It’s November and our theme for the month is, of course, Thankfulness & Gratitude.  As we celebrate Thanksgiving this month, think about the things you’re thankful for.

’Tis the month that articles, programs, movies, writers present the same themes: Happiness, Gratitude, Thanksgiving. The subject is done to death every November. Social media is full of  day by day lists of the things we are grateful for. So please forgive me if I don’t tell you I’m grateful for the obvious things in my life. I am thankful that while standing knee deep in life, I am in a place that when God, the universe, kismet come together, I am present and able to recognize there’s teaching going on, and I am to be the student. In order to express my gratitude, I need to share what I’m learning. So if you would, please keep your arms in the car and stay seated until the ride comes to a complete stop…

When my blog partner, Barb, and I began middleSage, I had no idea the exciting, exasperating, and educational experience it would be. I figured I’d: write pieces from a personal perspective about the things I knew; share life lessons and experiences that may help somebody else; connect with people from a wide and varied background; learn a few things.

I had no idea that the “learn a few things” would escalate into learning LOTS about MANY things. And stranger yet, the more I researched for articles, the more I realized that the information had a similar theme running throughout and that information was speaking DIRECTLY to me and my life.

Before you point your index finger at your temple and circle it forward, let me assure you, I’m not nuts. Really. I don’t wear an aluminum foil hat that is capable of receiving messages from aliens. And I don’t hear the “Twilight Zone” theme playing in the background of my life. What I have come to realize – and be eternally grateful for – is that many times in life, God or the universe – your choice, provides exactly what we need when we need it. Or maybe we’re just more open to the messages at the time they’re delivered. Who knows.

When my blog partner, Barb, and I began researching in order to launch this past July’s theme“The Behavior Exchange Challenge,” we wandered into many sources for insight, information and clarity on the behaviors we were to be discussing – and working on changing in ourselves. Had we not developed this theme, I would never have come across the articles, blogs, sources or experts that I did.

My friend Sherri had given me several books by Eckhart Tolle which I finally jumped into with both feet since his theories echoed what we were working on in “The Behavior Exchange Challenge.” Tolle’s thoughts led me to research more on living in and for the moment (something which I’ve struggled with for years and am learning to do), which lead me to Brene Brown, a PhD professor teaching in Houston studying shame, how to embrace what we are instead of what we think we’re supposed to be, and learning to embrace the imperfection that we all have.

July, August and September came and went. October came and went, but what I was noticing is that is seemed like every time I turned around, turned on the TV or researched a topic, a new source or speaker would filter through life’s clutter. A speaker who would expand on topics I had just been reading about and that speakers topic would flow into the next talk or interview I heard. Weird, huh?

Barb would mention something about empathy and compassion and I would have JUST read a segment on that topic in Brene Brown’s book “I Thought It Was Just Me.”  I would get into a discussion about spirituality and religion and voila….I would hear an interview, or two!, on exactly that subject.

Each time these coincidences happened, it gave me a better understanding of the concepts I’d read about just hours or days before. It was happening so frequently, I thought I must be imagining it. And then I did what I have a tendency to do….I over-analyzed it until my brain shut off the analyzing.

A week or so ago I woke up in the middle of the night with the startling realization that life is as it should be. I was making all these connections because that’s what I NEEDED to understand in my life. I needed to realize that our connections and knowledge and beliefs are the glue that not only connects us to each other, but connects us in needing to understand the importance of the moments in which we live. To be present. To be aware. To have a thirst for knowledge.

I am thankful for a lot of the same things I see on social media gratitude lists. I also know the importance of being grateful for the less obvious things in our lives – the things that make us understand who we are.

I am exceeding grateful that in this crazy, hectic life, I was able to recognize the importance of the messages and teachers being pushed my way. I am grateful for the incredible knowledge these sources have imparted and the impact it has made on my life. In this season of giving thanks, I truly thank God for the synchronicity being woven into my life. It’s just what I needed to hear.

PS – the ride has come to a complete stop. ; )

What messages have you received throughout YOUR life that you needed to hear?

Read more of our Thankfulness & Gratitude posts:

Gratitude:  It’s Not About Being Happy, It’s What Makes You Happy