Motivational Monday:  The Allegory of the Cave

AND --- here we go… 2022 is coming to a close, and when we wake on Sunday morning it will be a new year --- 2023! Holy cow, where is the time going? When I was a kid I would daydream about what the future would look like around this time. This is not quite what I pictured. I was sure there were going to be flying cars and robots doing the housework --- very George Jetson like! I was also sure I would never be this “old”. Surprise surprise! 🤣 But here we are about to enter 2023 with things much different than I daydreamed about in the past. But, nonetheless, here we are. It is a common tradition to "make a New Year's resolution". This could be something we want to change or something we want to see "different" at the close of the next year. Some of the more common "resolutions" are to exercise more, lose weight, get organized, save money, quit smoking, etc.! These are worthwhile goals, wouldn't you agree? However --- did you know? Of those who make a New Year’s resolution, after 1 week only 75% are still successfully sticking with it. Two weeks later, it's now down to 71% One month later --- 64% And, after 6 months it is only 46% Overall, until the year ends only a small majority (about 9% average) actually make and keep the resolutions they set at the start of the year. Why is it we use the new year to “decide it is time to make a change”? Symbolically it represents an “ending” and a new “beginning”. When that page turns, it represents a good time for us to also turn a page and become our new selves. With the beginning of a new year we can also incorporate all the “new” changes we want to make. But then New Year’s day arrives --- a nd after the headache wears off --- and we are finished doing yet another day of celebrating --- you know what --- it is just another day. Business as usual. You see nothing has really changed. The number of the year changed, but nothing else. We are still the same person, with the same habits and the same thought processes! Change requires perseverance, but even before that, it requires us to truly realize that a change must occur. We need motivation. Without that motivation, it is not going to happen. When it comes to getting healthy, sadly, it often takes major illness before we are willing to make the changes we need to make in order to regain our health. Once we begin to feel the ill affects of our choices, and what we have been doing to correct those affects has not worked...then...we have motivation to do better. Isn’t that sad? Shouldn’t our health and well being, physically and emotionally , be forefront in our minds at all times? Shouldn’t we always choose to honor the temple that was given to us to use for this ride called life. Wouldn’t the ride be smoother and more enjoyable if we physically “ felt better” ? I bet it would. So what have you chosen to resolve to do this year? What changes are you making to who you are, or what you are doing? Remember that there is a difference between "resolve" and "resolution". "Resolution" is a decision to do or not do something. "Resolve" is a firm determination to do something. For the record, long ago I’ve stopped making resolutions because I never achieved them. I choose instead to "resolve" to become a better person than I was last year. To do better where I feel I have failed. To love more and to do more good. No resolutions --- just a simple resolve! If you need help achieving the health goals you have set for yourself, reach out. If you need help achieving other types of goals also reach out. I may not be able to personally help you but possibly we have a connection that could. Let's make 2023 the year we change the world by starting with the person in the mirror! Wishing you a healthy, happy, prosperous and loving new year! “In the new year, never forget to thank your past years because they enabled you to reach today! Without the stairs of the past, you cannot arrive at the future.” --Mehmet Murat Ildan Sincerely, Fatkin Natural Healing

Another Christmas is upon us. Are you feeling excited, anxious, happy, or sad? Are you feeling a mixture of many emotions that go with this season? Christmas has a lot of happy memories for me. As a kid growing up, we always gathered at my grandmother’s on Christmas Eve for a family gathering. She would make treats that I loved and would only get to indulge in once a year. It is funny how I remember that so well. I remember the taste of the treats --- and how bad my stomach felt afterward from overindulging (LOL). There wasn't much money in our family, and there were a lot of kids. There would be gifts, but not an abundant amount, and often it consisted of something homemade. I remember one year after my grandmother had lost her dog, she gave me a framed photo of him along with a poem. I still have that, and I still tear up when I look at it. I loved that gift. One year, she completed an Afghan I had started knitting and never finished. M a ny years later I still have it. I remember one year I received a record player. Of course, I loved it, but I no longer have it. But I still have the gifts from the heart. Because there wasn't much money, my parents and grandparents looked inward to choose gifts that came from their hearts. As time moved on, I think we all fell into the "commercialization" of the holiday. We lost the true meaning, the true spirit. And no it is not Santa Claus!!! Let's talk about the legend of “Santa Claus” giving gifts to children. The legend started with a monk named St. Nicolas, sometime around 280 AD in what is now modern-day Turkey. “St. Nicholas” had inherited great wealth which he chose to “ give away ” by traveling the countryside to help the poor, sick, and needy. Through the years, the legend expanded into what is now the “modern-day” Santa Claus and the tradition of buying our loved ones gifts --- many of them which mean nothing two weeks later . I’m pretty sure this is not what the original “St. Nicholas” hoped his generosity would turn into. What should Christmas be really about? What should gift-giving be really about? I admit --- I love giving gifts. I love receiving gifts. BUT --- there is a caveat --- I love giving “meaningful” gifts, and I love receiving “meaningful” gifts. I’m sure if you think about it, you feel the same way. This year several patients have gifted Zach and me with some truly meaningful gifts. I appreciate them more than you can know. We feel very honored by the thought that went into them. I did buy a few gifts this year as well. (Just wait until Karla sees what her little cat sister bought her …🤣🤣 ) I did not go crazy, and each item I chose was done so for a reason. It was not random or something I felt I “had” to buy so that I “had” something to exchange. So what are you doing for Christmas? Are you choosing to honor what the season is truly about? St. Nicholas gifted from his heart and helped others, and, that became connected to “Christmas”. I believe Jesus would love that. I do not believe he would love the stress and the commercialization of his birthday. If we are truly celebrating the birth of Jesus, shouldn't we be honoring that differently? Shouldn’t we be honoring that by gifting our hearts and not our pocketbooks? Shouldn’t we be teaching our children something different? Shouldn’t we be teaching them that Jesus represents love --- not money or material items? Shouldn’t we be teaching them that moments matter not " things "?? What gifts have you purchased this year? Did they come from your heart? Are you stressed because you “don’t know what to buy someone”? Are you stressed because you “don’t have money to buy a gift”? Then maybe, just maybe --- your heart is not talking! How about we give this season and the birth of Jesus some justice and spend it in love this year? Treasure your moments with family --- there are many families that would love just one more moment with a loved one. Choose to make a memory that lasts and not one that is easily forgotten. It has been close to 40 years since my grandmother gifted me that small frame of her beloved dog. It means more to me today than it did then. Now that my friends --- is a gift!!!!! Merry Christmas! I wish you a day filled with memories that last a lifetime and fill your heart with love every time you think about them. I wish you moments you will never forget. I wish you love! Thank you once again for the heartfelt gifts of love that you guys bestowed upon us. You all rock!!!! “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” – Mother Teresa Sincerely, Fatkin Natural Healing

There have been a lot of sudden and shocking deaths as of late, which has caused me to think "what if today were my last day here on earth?". I would miss my loved ones...I try to make sure they know I love them every day, and hopefully, my daily actions reflect that. I would miss my sweet puppy and kitty… I'll spoil them a little extra today! I would miss my friends…I hope they know how much they mean to me. I would miss, you, my special patients … I hope I filled your life with the tools you need to continue on with your health journey. I will miss my morning cup of coffee… boy, today it tasted exceptionally amazing. (To be perfectly honest, I am kind of hoping they still have it where I am going and that it is served with chocolate...🤣) I think I have it covered… But do I? I believe, for the most part, I have the important things covered... but I wonder ?? If today were my last day, am I happy with the way I chose to spend my last moments here on earth? Would my mother know I respect the challenges she endured to try and make our lives better than her life? Would my friend who overcame challenges in his life know how much I admire and respect the courage it took to do that? Would my daughter know that I love her more than life itself and that I am so proud of the person she has become? Would the mentors that have appeared throughout my life know just how much they affected me, and how profoundly they have changed me? Those are still some pretty important things --- have I completed them to the fullest? As a spirit living a human experience, did I experience everything I wanted to? Did I live life to the fullest, and with the greatest love? Did I achieve my goals? When I ask myself these questions, I know I have not. There are a few "bucket list" items that I am missing. I have never seen the magnificence of the grand canyon or witnessed the beauty of the aurora borealis. Darn, I never did get to go and see the "I Love Lucy" museum --- have a dog rescue --- or drive a Ferrari!!!!! There are surely those "bucket list" items that I did not manage to do, but, in the grander scheme, it is more important that the people in my life know what they mean to me and how much I love and respect them. I hope I achieved my goals, and that I have used my experiences, good and bad, to impact the world. My hope is that the impact stands much longer than I do. As I sit and reflect --- there are places I could do better. I believe we enter this life as a spirit having a human experience in order to grow spiritually and to enjoy the moments as humans. As humans, we get to experience the senses. We get to feel, see, hear, touch, and smell. We get to feel the ups and downs of emotions. We get to express love and create experiences that further humanity. Without any doubt, life and moments are not promised. Tomorrow is not promised. Heck...this afternoon is not promised! We are given so many days, so many hours and so many minutes to achieve what we came here to achieve. I believe what we do here matters, and that those who we affect, and how we affect them, matters. I t matters way more profoundly than we realize. I believe that there are no real “successes” and no real “failures”. As humans, we often label events in our lives as successes or failures, whereas, they are simply experiences. I believe that if we succeed we should do it brilliantly, and if we fail, we should do that brilliantly as well. Take the lesson from both experiences and use it for the greater good. Live each moment as the resplendent spirit you are and leave your mark brilliantly on each one of those moments. By doing so, we grow spiritually and impact humanity in the greatest of ways. If you are gifted with today, tomorrow, and the next day --- go out and live each moment brilliantly. When you succeed, do so intensely, and when you fail, do so just as intensely. Achieve the greatest, fail the greatest, and love the greatest. Enhance your spirit so that when it is your last day as a human, you return to the glory of your maker as the most magnificent spirit you could possibly be! This week --- lead the most brilliant life!!! Make sure that if today is your last day, you are loving the moment because it is truly later than you think! “Often a very old man has no other proof of his long life than his age. Remember to enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think." --Seneca Sincerely, Fatkin Natural Healing

"It's the most wonderful time of the year There'll be much mistltoeing And hearts will be glowing When loved ones are near It's the most wonderful time of the year" We have all heard the song. So much goes into the holidays. Our houses are decorated, lights are blazing everywhere, people are out buying gifts, making meals, and doing good in the world. It is the happiest of times. There is so much more joy, smiles, and love. For the most part anyway... I am choosing not to use this message to give life to the negative side of the season. We all know about it, but we should never focus on it. It is important for us to understand, though, that for some people this is not the "hap-happiest season of all" . For many, it is a season of deep sadness, loss, and loneliness. Let's focus on understanding and compassion during this season. For so many people this is one of the most difficult times of the year. There can be many reasons for this, only one of them being grief and loss. When it comes to grief and loss, there are a lot of stigmas surrounding the process. Move on, you must continue to live and make some new memories, the first set of holidays will be the hardest --- it's easier after that. There are a plethora of other cliché remarks I have heard over the years. I am sure you have heard a few and can probably add them to the list. I can guarantee you that someone in a state of grief understands they must move on and continue to live. They are doing it in whatever way works for them. But when it comes to the holidays, it is often much harder to be strong. When you couple that with colder weather and less sunlight , it can often lead to depression and anxiety. It also becomes difficult for those watching them grieve to stay out of a state of judgment. We are not aware that people struggling through a loss are always trying to live up to our expectations of them. They are trying to make us happy by doing “ all the things they normally did ”. They are masters at keeping the pain to themselves. Every...single...day. You could find yourself angry, or disappointed because they have chosen not to attend your holiday gathering. You may take it personally even though they are just trying to keep the exhaustion at bay, trying to survive. They need time to be alone to come down from the constant cycle. They need to unwind, rest and recharge so they can continue appearing as if they are fine and continue healing. The constant fuss over the holidays can be exhausting for them. It is compounding what they are already feeling about the season and making it more difficult to endure. Take time to understand this and decide what will you choose. Will you choose love and understanding, or, anger, frustration, and judgment? Here are some facts for you to consider. That same holiday gathering that you cannot wait to have? That one with the good food, family, and fun. The one that includes your family, your spouse, and all your loved ones will be a constant reminder to the grieving person of the love missing from their life. For the person working thru loss, every single moment of that holiday gathering is torture. It is a very painful reminder of what is lost to them. It is like a knife in the heart. While they are happy for you and the love in your life --- the love missing from their life becomes magnified. It is louder, more pronounced, and totally in their face. They are reminded that they will return home alone and face the next day alone. They are reminded that they once lived joy --- and now it is gone from their life, or very, very different from the joy they once experienced. Memories most certainly provide comfort. But, memories often cause deep unrelenting pain. Your person is trying. They are doing everything they can to move on, move past and continue to live life. The moments creating these memories and moments that you treasure, and are excited for --- are not always as easy or even enjoyable for the person grieving. Please remember, depending on the nature of the loss grief can take years to process and will often rear its ugly head at the most unexpected moments. So if you know someone in grief, be gentle this year. If they do not want to attend your holiday gathering, give them some grace. Maybe being alone is what they need to survive the “ most wonderful time of the year ”. Maybe solitude is better than the energy that is required to share in everyone else’s joy. Maybe they are choosing to honor what they need at this moment! YOU have a choice to take this opportunity to practice LOVE --- not judgment! Grief hits us all at one time or another . Some losses are deeper, harder to heal from, and take longer to process. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The harder it is to get past a loss, the deeper the love and connection likely was. That is a gift. It is possible that grief, being the cost of great love , is also a gift. Maybe, just maybe, our choice to be graceful and understanding towards another is a gift as well. So this year, this holiday season, this " most wonderful time of the year " --- instead of buying obligatory gifts, or exchanging money, give the gift of true unconditional love and understanding. Honor the needs of others over yourself. How about we do what Christmas should really be about and LOVE unconditionally! Then, and only then --- it might just turn out to be “the most wonderful time of the year”! “And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” --How the Grinch stole Christmas Sincerely, Fatkin Natural Healing

A priest, a minister, and a rabbi want to see who’s best at his job. So they each go into the woods, find a bear, and attempt to convert it. Later they get together. The priest begins: “When I found the bear, I read to him from the Catechism and sprinkled him with holy water. Next week is his First Communion.” “I found a bear by the stream,” says the minister, “and preached God’s holy word. The bear was so mesmerized that he let me baptize him.” They both look down at the rabbi, who is lying on a gurney in a body cast. “Looking back,” he says, “maybe I shouldn’t have started with the circumcision.” (This joke was voted the funniest gag in a 2010 Reader’s Digest joke contest.) Are you laughing yet? What a great way to start out a morning --- laughter! Did you know that there have been many scientific studies done on the power of laughter and its ability to heal? Not that most of us need " science " to prove it, but we know from experience that a good belly laugh changes the mood in the room tremendously. This week a couple of odd things happened to me. Things that could have evoked several responses. Let's take one of them. Monday morning at 5:30 AM --- in the rain --- I take the dog outside. On the way back in, my flip-flop ( yep I know it's winter 🤣) caused me to slip and fall on the wet wood. I landed on my knees and hands and tore my jeans. I had to go back inside and completely change for work and clean up the bruises on my knee. What a way to start a Monday morning! I could have been angry, frazzled, or frustrated --- I was laughing. It was truly funny! A few more weird little things happened that day ( it was accident-prone Monday for me ), but I laughed away each of them. Laughter truly was the best medicine that day. By laughing at this, I kept my energy on a high note. If I would have been angry or frustrated, I would have dropped my energy lower, and possibly affected people around me. Our mood can directly affect others, their mood, and the overall energy of the area we share. I'm sure if you sit and think about this, you will see times in your life when your energy might have impacted others; or the energy of another person impacted you --- either positively or negatively. Think about this on a wider scale. If our energy can affect others within our immediate environment, it might also impact our larger environment. Now is a time when many people are living in fear. Fear, anger, and loneliness are prevailing emotions in our current culture. It's difficult to rise above that and keep ourselves in a state of love and acceptance. But it can be done --- and laughter is a great tool to help us get there. If you have children or grandchildren, you've likely seen the movie "Monsters Inc.". The monsters were sneaking into small children's closets at night and attempting to invoke the "largest scream" out of them. The power of the "fear" or the scream fueled energy for the monsters to live. Later in the movie, they realize that laughter emits an even greater power for them, so they begin to make the children laugh, not scream. Interesting analogy! What if that's true in our world? What if we chose laughter, over fear and anger --- could we ultimately choose to change our larger environment? I don't know the answer to that --- but what do we have to lose? So this week --- laugh, laugh, laugh! Smile at your neighbor. Wave to a friend. Smile under your mask while you grocery stop! Do a good deed! Spread goodness, light, and love --- and refuse to partake in the darkness!!!! If you're having trouble laughing this early in the morning --- here you go --- I dare you!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 “With the fearful strain that is on me night and day. If I did not laugh, I would die.” --Abraham Lincoln Sincerely, Fatkin Natural Healing

It is Thanksgiving week . Seems like we did this only a moment ago. Time certainly goes fast! Focusing on gratitude this month has been amazing! Do you feel that? Are you looking at things in your life differently? Are you approaching life with a kinder and gentler perspective? Being grateful for all things, good, bad, and indifferent , has the potential to change everything! Gratitude tends to make us more gracious, more caring, and more spontaneous in our actions to help others. The kindest and most generous people in the world often have a story of pain and heartache in their past. They have chosen not to harden their hearts, but to love and make a difference in the world. They choose to do even the smallest acts with the greatest love . Deep down, most people, have the desire to help others. Most of us, however, do not have large platforms where we are able to reach many people at one time. Does the kindness then become insignificant if we reach only one person --- instead of 100? I am sure most of you have either seen or heard of the movie " Pay it Forward ". If you remember, small acts of kindness rippled far and wide, ultimately returning to the young boy in an amazing act of love and generosity. Did you realize that the “ pay it forward ” movement did not start with that movie? Its origin dates back to 317 BC (Dyskolos, Menander 317BC), and several other places in history. Benjamin Franklin himself was quoted as saying “ I do not pretend to give such a deed; I only lend it to you. When you Benjamin Webb meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro' many hands before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money.” Ben was a smart guy --- don't you agree? Many years back, after watching the movie " Pay it Forward ", my husband and I decided to try an experiment. Each morning I stopped at Wawa in the morning to get a cup of coffee on my way into my office. I started work at 5:30 in the morning at the time, so my visit to the store was usually between 5:00 - 5:15 am. If you have ever been in a WAWA at that time of the morning, you know that it is mobbed with people getting their coffees before heading to work. During the first month of the experiment, I went in every day, got my coffee, and left. Nothing eventful happened that month. The next month I walked in there every day, at times holding the door for someone, always smiling and saying good morning to everyone I would see. The majority ( not everyone obviously it was very early, after all, 😴 ) would smile back, say good morning, and occasionally engage in some chit-chat. There were several occasions when the person ahead of me in line paid for my coffee. I, in turn, paid for the one behind me. Who knows how long that went on --- there is a report of a Starbucks store in Florida that reported an 11-hour "pay it forward" run. One day, a gentleman brought me a box of candy – and told me how much he enjoyed chatting with me. What was different? I was the same person, I just chose to be friendly, approachable, and kind --- and that, very simply, made a difference. What I can hope is that some of the people I met felt more friendly, approachable, and kind in their daily lives. I may never know --- but I do hope. Does it really matter if nothing good came of my experiment? I certainly lost nothing by choosing kindness. Was there anything gained? Besides a box of candy 😉 --- I may never know, and I am totally ok with that. Why don't you try this for yourself? Let me know what your results are! This world is often dark, gloomy, sad, and filled with anger. We spend so much time focusing on what is wrong with our world. We are closed down, hiding in our homes, covering our faces. We have stopped hugging, we have stopped caring, we have stopped loving. We should spend more energy and time hugging, caring and loving, and less energy on the negative things that impact our life. We need to spread kindness, gratitude and caring. We need to consciously choose kindness and choose to "pay it forward" every single moment. This week, continue to choose gratitude. Every time you feel grateful for something --- give something back! Remember, we do not need large platforms and the ability to reach many people. We need to reach one. We have all the power at our disposal to change this world. Let go of those you cannot help, those that strip your energy, and focus on those that live in gratitude and appreciation for this great gift of life. Lift them up --- and watch them "pay it forward" and lift another! Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your family, your downtime, your after-dinner nap, or whatever this represents for you. Be grateful for all things! “It takes but one person, one moment, one conviction, to start a ripple of change.” --Donna Brazile Sincerely, Fatkin Natural Healing

WOW, you have outdone yourselves with the amount of gratitude you have spread around this week! I absolutely loved reading all the comments. My phone blew up with texts --- so many of you sharing your gratitude with me personally. Amazing! Thank you for recognizing and sharing all the wonderful things that are blessing your life. I am looking forward to another week of gratitude and blessings! This week a woman said to me "I want to be grateful, but I hurt so bad." Can you feel that statement? I surely can. For most of us, it is a struggle to remain grateful when the world is crashing down around us. This past year, so many of us have lost people we love and care about deeply. Some to death --- others to anger. Some of us have lost our health, our livelihoods, and it may seem as if our future. It is all grief. It is all loss. So where --- in that grief and loss do we manage to find some gratitude? I wonder how many of you have heard the saying “we are all spiritual beings having a human experience”? Let’s dissect this point a bit. First, do you believe it? Do you believe that there is more to all this than, getting up showering, heading to work, making money, paying taxes, struggling through life, and ultimately dying? Eternal rest in a box somewhere. What is your personal belief system? Personally, I believe there is more to all this. I believe every action we take, every word we speak, and every choice we decide upon is profound and far-reaching. I believe every moment matters, and every choice within the moment matters. But --- all that being said --- no matter what I believe --- what I know --- there are times I become all too human . There are events that have felt as though they ripped out my soul. There are losses that have hurt so deeply I am not sure ( no matter what I know ) that I will ever truly recover. There are disappointments that make me question everyone and everything. There are moments when I am not sure anything will ever be good again, or I will simply be happy again. And… that, right there, is the human experience talking! This is where gratitude plays its biggest and most important role. You see gratitude grounds the human --- and allows us to step back into the spirit. When a moment like this arrives, I realize that yes, it is correct, nothing will ever be the same. But I am still standing --- still growing --- still moving forward. Because of these spiritual moments, I realize I value all the moments even more. I value the love more. I value the chance to use my newfound knowledge of that human moment to reach out and help others. That I value the opportunity that I am given, daily at times, to choose to take the spiritual road in lieu of the human road. That I can take my experience, my knowledge, and my newfound and deepening empathy and use it for the power of good, healing, and love. This is the God within us all --- the part that should radiate and shine always. The part that will always live and react in love. Remember, we are all spiritual beings traveling this path together. Every single one of us. That includes those you love, those that try your patience, and even that pernicious person in your life. There is a purpose, a meaning, a lesson, and a choice! How you choose to approach this --- that’s your call! Grief hit many of us hard yet again this week. My heart breaks for each of you in the early stages. I wish I had words that would magically take away your pain, but I do not. There are no words. There is only time and choices. I have attempted to use my grief to help others. I still feel it. I still sink, sometimes more often than I like, but I attempt to use that to propel me into service to others. Remember that when you love someone who has experienced profound loss, they will love harder and appreciate more. It is a gift that comes with grief. If you choose to open your heart, you too, will receive the gift. In honor of those that have left this journey before us, let’s all remain in gratitude this week. Let’s be grateful for the love we had. Let's be grateful for the moments that made us better. Let’s be grateful for the moments when we were not our best --- and vow to do better during this leg of the journey. Let’s take our failures, and in gratitude for them, let’s vow to do better. Let’s vow to love better, deeper, and harder, and not be afraid of what will possibly come. Let’s be grateful for every single moment that is granted to us in this human experience, and choose to feel it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly! You are a great, mighty and powerful spiritual being with dignity, direction, and purpose. ---Dannion Brinkley Sincerely, Fatkin Natural Healing

Here we are --- the first week of November! This year just zipped right around, don’t you think? This time last year my world was very different. It has been a very pivotal year as far as learning how to keep myself in a state of gratitude for all things. What about you? How are you different now than you were one year ago? During November we tend to think more about gratitude and giving back. If you do not follow us on Facebook, look us up --- Fatkin Natural Healing LLC . Beginning today, we are going to be posting something we are grateful for each day, and asking you to let us know what you are grateful for. On Friday, for the next four weeks, we will choose someone to receive our weekly “give back gift” ! I hope you will join in the fun, and help us spread a little love, a little gratitude, and a little grace. (PS: You do not need to be a patient to join us.) Gratitude is defined as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” This translates to showing appreciation for anything and everything. True gratitude reaches further. When we are grateful, our hearts are more open to giving back and returning those kindnesses we have received. Most of us say thank you multiple times per day. I think thank you tends to be spoken very easily in day-to-day living. However, very often it is an obligatory response and used without much thought or feeling behind it. There is nothing wrong with this --- being polite is appropriate --- even necessary. Our world could surely use some more of it. True gratitude, however, runs deeper. It is a profound thankfulness for everything in our lives. It is a true understanding that everything that happens, happens for a reason, and truly is for our greater good. That’s where we often lose our connection with being grateful. When events happen that rock our world and shift our perception of reality, we will often find it difficult to find grace in the moment. How do we remain in gratitude when this occurs? This is challenging! It takes work, diligence, and perseverance. It takes a true and deep understanding of the importance of gratitude, and it takes a profound peace in the fact that our higher power has our back, and is positioning us for greater things. Gratitude and giving are two things that go hand in hand. If we choose to remain in gratitude during difficult times, it typically makes us stronger, and puts us in a position to reach out and help others. You see, we can only truly understand another person's challenges if we ourselves have lived them. We can try and relate --- or even empathize – but true understanding only comes if we have lived through a situation. Therein lies one reason for being grateful for our struggles --- the newfound sense of empathy and compassion we will now have toward another. During moments of reflection this week, I read this phrase: “The first step of gratitude is to see the gift. If you are in the middle of difficulties and problems, how can you feel gratitude? You've got to fight to find the gift even in the difficulty. When you shift your perspective from the perspective of the mind, because life will never make sense to your mind, --- mind is very logical and life is not. In order for life to make sense you've got to be out of your mind and you've got to be into your soul. When you begin to see life from the perspective of your soul then even in the midst of the worst of it you can see the gift. ” ---Neale Donald Walsch Is it that simple? Many times, being able to find a gift in the midst of life's challenges is daunting. Remember that it is ok if you are unable, in the moment , to see any good coming from your challenge. Sit with your feelings and feel what is happening. Time and space will allow you to find grace and gratitude. Our actions in this life ripple far and wide. Our responses, and our choice to remain grateful in all things will profoundly and forever change others. Choose to be that change. This month join us in being grateful. I’ll start: I am grateful you are in my life. I am grateful to know you. I am grateful for this phase you walked into! Thank you for being you! (And yes --- it IS all about you)! "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John F. Kennedy Sincerely, Fatkin Natural Healing

This week started off with a bang ! First thing Monday morning my coffee maker did not work to brew my beloved cup of morning coffee. Now, if you know me well, this is a catastrophe of monumental proportions! LOL S urprisingly, with clear thinking, I kept my wits about me and drove myself to the nearest convenience store and bought some coffee. Day saved! This is where the story gets interesting. I proceeded to the checkout to pay for my cups of coffee ( yes…I said CUPS ) not really paying attention to anything other than returning home with my morning fuel. Now if you remember, Monday it rained pretty steadily --- and I still have not had coffee! When I got to the checkout, the girl at the counter said “ you look pretty today ”. ( BTW: not a chance…LOL ) I immediately looked up at her, smiled, and said “ you look pretty too .” She gave me a huge smile. I could tell by her face that is exactly what she needed to hear at that moment. You see I understand human nature and people see themselves in others. They see what they need or are lacking. If a person always chooses to see most people as trustworthy, then they themselves are typically trustworthy. In this case, the girl was probably not feeling good about herself that day, so she was seeing in others what she felt she was lacking. She was seeing what she needed to feel --- what she needed to hear. Because I was able to discern that rather quickly ( considering I hadn’t yet had a cup of coffee ) , I was able to respond properly, hopefully, lifting her up and filling that need. God, or your higher power, always works in mysterious ways. Did he need me to do that job for him? I suspect so . I suspect he chose me because he knew that he had gifted me with the ability to read that for what it was. He gifted me with the ability to see that it was not about me, but rather about what this girl needed. He knew that --- I did not. What we can’t see, what we can’t know --- our higher power does! I will never know the result of that brief interaction. I am positive there was a higher plan in effect and we both paid forward the kindness. How amazing to have been granted that opportunity! Every day we are all given opportunities and chances to stay high vibration and act in love. Every day --- every moment . Many times we rise to the occasion --- many times we do not. What if every single moment and every single challenge is just an opportunity for us to grow as spiritual beings? What if those seemingly insignificant events are the most profound and the most powerful? What if those single acts of love are what is needed to change the trajectory this world is headed towards? What if understanding is the key? What if stepping out of our individual challenges and seeing the joy in the moment is what it is all about? What if??? Could it be that simple? I don’t know --- but I’d like to think so! This week look at your challenges as gifts from God. God’s belief is that you have what it takes to rise up, do his work, and do it with great love! Keep yourself grounded and in the highest vibration possible. We do not all have great big audiences and we cannot all affect hundreds of people --- but we can all affect one person. This week challenge yourself to affect one person positively every day! Use your gifts!!!! We got this --- this world is headed to a better place --- a place of true unconditional love! I believe! Oh…and by the way. I have to admit that God will not be able to use my coffee pot as a motivator again --- I stashed away a brand new spare pot --- just in case!!!!! 😃 “As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways that I could respond to my situation: either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.” --Muhammad Ali Sincerely, Fatkin Natural Healing