I’ve been back in my gratitude practice now for two weeks. It’s been so therapeutic for me. It’s helping me keep my eyes open to the world around me and what’s shifting inside me. If you’ve not joined in, please know that you can do that at any time. You can post them on facebook and tag @milagrogirl so that I can see them or you can post them on twitter and tag them with #maygratitudes.

In the midst of your gratitude, I’d like to encourage you to be thankful for something that’s hard, something that pushed you or challenges you. It gets really beautiful when you can be thankful for even the tough stuff. It also seems to make things not quite as tough when you speak out loud the gratitude for your struggles.

In other news, I’m really loving being a part of the tribe at Roots of She. I’m in good company over there and the other day I spent some time, (quite a bit of it actually) on Amy’s blog. She talks about relationships and bam, this post, hit me hard. If you need a kick in the pants on how to shake up your love life, GO, watch. She’s got tons of good stuff over there.

In settling into our house here, I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been hating on it. Then yesterday I read this post by the lovely Tara Whitney, and within seconds I had big fat tears rolling down my face. For one thing I want to be in a place that even some of my family loves, but in the meantime I’d like to learn to make the most of it here, in this little space.

I’ve been pretty private about it but I was recently diagnosed with some pretty serious heart stuff. It shook my world, it’s shaking my world. I’ve come realize that it goes deep, way more deep than my heart. I’ve been carrying around some sadness and a bit of anger and this has been a huge wake-up call for me. I’m not only changing what I put in my body as far as food, but also what emotions I’m allowing to sit instead of flowing through me. I’m using Tara’s Digging Deep *workbook as past of my healing process. I spent quite a bit of time with it last summer, but I’m realizing it’s time to go deeper, literally. I love that there’s audio so I can listen while I’m walking or snuggled into bed.

In this healing process I’m also spending a ton of time in meditation. I’ve got my phone loaded up with podcast’s and mp3′s so that whenever I need to breathe deeper, there’s something right there. I’m loving Jenn’s Metta in Mantras Meditation. So much gentle kindness in there.

I’m attempting to fill my space with so much positive during this healing time. I’m burning gold nag champa, listening to the new Norah Jones on Spotify per my friend Lindsay. (She sent me the link just last night and I listened as I settled into bed. Her voice is so soothing and the lyrics…mmm. Go listen now.) I’m also purging my space of things that no longer serve me or make me feel wonderful.

In nourishment, I recently did a spring cleanse with Stephanie of Wellness By Design. It wasn’t the kind of cleanse that made me feel tortured and hungry. I ate, and ate well. I came away with lots of great recipes and things I’ve integrated into my daily routines. This was not violent purge, it was gentle and kind. I’ve also been getting a plethora of love from my friend Victoria. (I cannot wait until she has a blog so I can share her with you.) She has been a coach to me these past few weeks. Walking alongside me in my healing journey. Again, the importance of a tribe, it’s life giving.

My life is full of good things. I have so much to share and so much that I want to do. I’m determined, now more than ever, to become the most vibrant, whole Alicia that I can.

I’m also determined to rock out the work that I’m called to. Some of that starts here. I’m looking forward to speaking my truth even louder and encouraging you to do the same. There is so much life to be lived. Why live it half way?

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