
When I think of the word gratitude, I think of two words: “Oh, My.” I spend a lot of precious, delicious time dreaming, writing, meditating, which are activated from the core of my inner world, a world as real to me as things I can touch, smell and see in the outer world. Using the practice of gratitude has been the catalyst to embrace both worlds, which have been gateways to the power of healing and transformation I have experienced my entire life. When my current dilemma, an unfinished manuscript which seems to have a mind and will of its own refuses to allow me to type “The End, Finis, Omega,” I do the next best thing. I symbolically throw my hands up in surrender like Erica Barry, the fictional character played by Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give, and figure the next best thing is to write. Something. Anything. Eventually, I will get back to my manuscript. This, I know for sure. Not sure, when…but for certain, just the same.
What has worked for me in the past when I am stuck at anything, be it a manuscript, relationship drama or a number on the scale that is causing me anxiety and frustration is to accept my disappointments and, at the same time find all the things in my life I am grateful for. Which made me curious as to when did this feeling of gratitude first enter my consciousness. So, this morning, while attempting as I do every morning for the past 45 mornings to finish my manuscript, knitting the words in my mind into completed thoughts instead of fragmented musings, I let go and decided I would write about gratitude.
I believe, for me, I was shown how to express gratitude through the written word at a very young and impressionable age. It was 1947. I was three years old and sitting on the floor of my great-grandfather’s study listening to the clickety-click of his Hebrew-keyed typewriter. I asked him in my very, small voice “Old, Grandpa, what are you doing?” He handed me a pad of paper and a pencil and said, “I’m writing grown-up letters to God. You write letters to God and thank Him for keeping you safe from harm.” Of course, I didn’t know how to write at such a young age so I drew pictures of things that made me happy. That scene was re-enacted over and over until his death. “Be grateful you are safe” my great-grandfather would repeat.
Years later, I learned my great-grandfather, was a published poet, whose book, Garlands of Thought was a colloquy based on the belief that human beings are intrinsically good, even in a world where madness exists. Thanks to my great-grandfather, I have been writing practically my whole life.
In Jr. High and High school, my friends would beg me to do their book reports. And, when my own two children were given the same assignment, I happily chimed in to help them with their project, sometimes with appreciation and other times, it was “MOM.” You know the way only your child can make “Mom” sound more like “Waaaaah!” It was during those single parenting years, that I wrote a higher-consciousness program for the children of Malibu called Creative Expressions. Both the local P.T.A. and the school district hired me to teach enrichment courses to students and before long, we had a successful after-school program which had a wait list a year long. It was my written lesson plans, my written marketing material, my written “mission statement” that created the buzz. This could not have happened had I not been a writer or had a great-grandfather who gave me a pad of paper and a pencil to write letters to God.
Almost fifty years later, while teaching creative writing to my students, my first book, endorsed by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, titled “This is Not Goodbye…It’s Halo,” was birthed. From there I wrote magazine articles, educational courses and in my spare time poetry. So, here I am, once again, stuck, unable to complete my second book, Hello, Beautiful, a book containing life lessons I believe in with my whole heart and soul, listening to my great-grandfather’s voice saying “Just keep on writing and be grateful you are safe.”
Stay tuned…
About the Author
Victoria Feldman is a published author, certified life coach, crisis therapist, blogger and has developed spiritual workshops.
Victoria offers an array of transformative workshops to corporations, small businesses, real estate associations and entrepreneurs seeking to form better and higher communication that is in alignment with their cultures and missions. Rooted in Universal Laws, Victoria’s workshops assist the participant in raising their vibrations to match their desires. From Vision Boards to Positive Psychology to Optimism, Mindfulness and Clarity, she uses proven tools and techniques that enrich, inspire and uplift her clients committed to transformation.
Victoria has sold 100’s of millions of dollars of real estate, and authored her own real estate course “The Heart of Real Estate” which she teaches at Boards of Realtors, colleges, to groups and individuals. Victoria was invited to be a panelist honored for her entrepreneurial achievements at UCLA’s “Women of the Year” conference. An advocate for children and Montessorian, Victoria‘s “Creative Expressions” was Malibu, California’s first Higher Consciousness Program for Children. Victoria’s program had a three year’s wait list. Victoria’s first book, “This is Not Goodbye…It’s Halo” was endorsed by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and won the prestigious IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for first new book in the Psychology/Self Help division. Victoria’s new book, “Hello, Beautiful-How the Power of Self Love Heals & Transforms You” takes the reader on an inner journey of remembering our connection to our Source of creation. Victoria attended one of the world’s most respected, rigorous coaching institutes in the world, CTI. She is also a member of ICF, International Coach Federation.
“By choosing to be our most authentic & loving self, we leave a trail of magic everywhere we go.” Emmanuel