Fred Cavaiani
2023 is here. But each day of a New Year is composed of only present moments. Each moment of life is meant to be a moment of gratitude and a moment to see goodness and experience God. If my inner life is minimal in being grateful, I will limp emotionally and spiritually through life. Gratitude to God for each moment puts an inner source of freedom into my life. It helps me to stay positive and see goodness in each moment. On January 1, I heard some inspiring words from a good friend of mine, Msgr. John Zenz, who talked about the importance of being grateful in the present moment. It inspired me to again pay attention to the present moment with a sense of gratitude and to realize that life has no past moments or future moments. Life has only the present moment, which should always be embraced with gratefulness. Look at the present moment with a sense of gratitude. It will push you into a joyful and positive experience of God.
Positive spirituality and emotional health begin with a focused attention of gratefulness for my existence and for what I see and whom I see. This experience of gratitude reduces my ego so I can experience the beauty and wonder of each present moment. I can see goodness and experience goodness because I am only focused on this moment. This focus of gratitude for this moment helps me see and experience a positive goodness that was easy to minimize and ignore.
It becomes peaceful and uplifting to remain only in this moment. This attentiveness to the now of life brings wisdom. It brings calmness and it brings an inner peace.
I do not have to worry about how 2023 will be. Life is simple when I am grateful in this moment. This simple attitude of gratitude allows me to gently and slowly experience the goodness of the present moment. It becomes so amazing when I do not focus on how I want things to be. I can simply gratefully embrace this moment. This gentle embrace opens me to a positive experience of people. I can experience everything in a positive manner. Becoming preoccupied with how life should be blocks me from gratitude and looking for goodness. When I look at others with a sense of gratitude I can eliminate negativity from my life. I can also avoid embracing negative attitudes and words.
As I write this article I become filled with an awareness of the simple journey of gratefulness. Tension leaves me when I embrace gratefulness. During this past couple of weeks, some good friends have died and a very loving first cousin died. They were all very loving and caring. When I experience gratefulness for their existence, I appreciate their influence on my life and my faith in God and heaven increases. It is amazing how gratefulness has such a positive influence on me.
New Years resolutions do not last long when I focus on how I should be or how others should be. ?When I am grateful in each moment, I see such goodness around me.
There is only one resolution I need to implement to experience “heaven upon earth.” I just need to be grateful for what I see and experience in this moment. Right now, I am feeling a sense of gratefulness for being able to write these articles for the Legal News for the past 24 years. What a blessing to be able to do this.
Look at your spouse, your kids, relatives, and friends with a grateful attitude. This seems so simple to do but it demands a focused attention in this moment. But, when I do this, I start believing and experiencing something profound and peaceful. It is the treasure of the present moment where my gratefulness opens me and brings me into a new dimension of a positive spiritual and emotional life. This gratefulness helps me to embrace the present moment no matter what it might be. Life is often like watching a football game and we can keep waiting for the next moment or the next play. But if I simply focus on gratefulness in each moment I slow down and experience so much more because my inner peace is not based on who wins. It is simply based on experiencing goodness in this moment. When I do this, I never have to remain in hope for what might happen next. I simply stay in this moment and experience something more positive and something much deeper. 2023 is a chance to remain in each moment with gratefulness. It will put me into a positive, grateful and loving experience of life. And no matter what happens, all will be well.
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Fred Cavaiani is a licensed marriage counselor and psychologist with a private practice in Troy. He is the founder of Marriage Growth Center, a consultant for the Detroit Medical Center, and conducts numerous programs for groups throughout Southeast Michigan. His column in the Legal News runs every other Tuesday. He can be reached at 248-362-3340. His e-mail address is: Fredcavi@yahoo.com and his website is fredthecounselor.com.
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