{"id":269474,"date":"2010-02-03T05:41:08","date_gmt":"2010-02-03T10:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jungleoflife.com\/?p=3880"},"modified":"2010-02-03T05:41:08","modified_gmt":"2010-02-03T10:41:08","slug":"raoka-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/269474","title":{"rendered":"RAOKA: Gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<div class=\"tweetmeme_button\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/api.tweetmeme.com\/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jungleoflife.com%2F2010%2F02%2F03%2Fraoka-gratitude%2F\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/api.tweetmeme.com\/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jungleoflife.com%2F2010%2F02%2F03%2Fraoka-gratitude%2F&amp;source=lance02&amp;style=normal\" height=\"61\" width=\"50\" \/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jungleoflife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/RAOKA.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"RAOKA\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3071\" height=\"238\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jungleoflife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/RAOKA.jpg\" title=\"RAOKA\" width=\"500\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h6>&nbsp;<\/h6>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 48px;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">Gratitude<br \/>\n\t<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n<h6>&nbsp;<\/h6>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>&ldquo;There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.&rdquo; ~ Albert Einstein<br \/>\n\t\t<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em><strong>Preface:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; Random Acts of Kick Arse is a movement to bring more of {monthly theme} into our lives, and the lives of those around us.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>January Theme:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/em> <span style=\"color: rgb(255, 140, 0);\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Gratitude<\/span><\/span>.&nbsp; Find ways to incorporate\/see more gratitude in the world.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>The Results<\/strong><\/em>:&nbsp; Gratitude.&nbsp; Would I find myself being more grateful?&nbsp; Might I recognize those moments in my day where others were showing gratitude toward myself or others?&nbsp; Would I just feel an extra sense of awareness toward the gratitude going on all around and within me?<\/p>\n<p>I&#39;m coming to a realization with RAOKA.&nbsp; It&#39;s easy to focus on the monthly topic in chunks.&nbsp; Extending those chunks out over the whole month, that is another story altogether.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And so it goes.&nbsp; There were moments where I was more aware of both the gratitude around me, and in my own expression of gratitude toward others.&nbsp; And then there were all the other moments, where I was in my &quot;normal&quot; state.&nbsp; Perhaps this is all part of a greater learning moment for me, as I see that without planned awareness, I all too easily find myself at MY status quo.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This monthly review, though, would not be complete without recognizing a special someone who is a regular visitor here, and someone I also call a dear friend.&nbsp; Robin Easton, from <a href=\"http:\/\/nakedineden.com\/nakedinedenblog\/\" >Naked in Eden<\/a>, has a way of expressing gratitude like I have never experienced before.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>From a recent comment:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>Lance, I just want to thank you again for being part of my journey. I am blessed beyond measure. Know that your presence ALWAYS leaves me feeling more whole in so many many ways. I wish you all the goodness that you ARE. I encourage you to keep living Life full-on in every way you can. As I&#39;ve said before, you have a great destiny. You ARE a great destiny.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tMuch love to you dear sweet Lance and all my blessings to your family.<br \/>\n\t\t&nbsp;Love, Robin<br \/>\n\t\t<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This is one example, one of so many, where <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nakedineden.com\/Robin_Easton.htm\" >Robin&#39;s<\/a> sweet and caring words reach out and touch another soul deeply.&nbsp; Every time our paths cross, there is a depth of gratitude like I have never experienced before.&nbsp;&nbsp; And the thing is, she opens her heart and shares so freely.&nbsp; It&#39;s not like I have done anything different, and yet, I am blessed with words that lift me high.&nbsp; Words that carry me through the day (and week).&nbsp; Words that make me want to be a better person.&nbsp; The power of real and meaningful gratitude&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Read Robin&#39;s latest piece, <a href=\"http:\/\/nakedineden.com\/nakedinedenblog\/the-power-of-our-beliefs\/\" >The Power of Our Beliefs<\/a>.&nbsp; There is such deep and caring gratitude in there.&nbsp; Again, this is only one example of everything that is her being.&nbsp; And her comments are filled with an outpouring of emotion and caring.&nbsp; Why is it that?&nbsp; It&#39;s because regular visitors know that Robin cares.&nbsp; And listens.&nbsp; And responds with compassion and love.<\/p>\n<p>Robin, dear friend, you have found a way to take love, care, hope, and compassion to the depth of your soul.&nbsp; And in that, you touch so many others at this deep soul level.&nbsp; Your spirit is filled with the deepest and most profoundly caring gratitude that I have ever experienced.&nbsp; I know also that I speak for so many that know you, that have been touched by your loving care, of how much that means to them, and of how much that means to me.&nbsp; Robin, continue to be you, to shine beautifully into the hearts of others.&nbsp; And know that it is my hope that I can, even to some tiny degree, give some of that back to you.&nbsp; With deep and caring love and gratitude to you, Robin, for your presence in my life&#8230;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>I also have a guest post up today, with Peggy Nolan, from <a href=\"http:\/\/serendipitysmiles.com\/\" >Serendipity Smiles<\/a>.&nbsp; I met Peggy several months back, and was moved by her life story &#8211; one filled with hope and possibility.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the piece I share today, I touch upon a personal story from a time when I was deeply grateful for an elevator returning back to the ground floor.&nbsp; Please join me, in <a href=\"http:\/\/serendipitysmiles.com\/2010\/02\/02\/going-up\/\" >Going Up<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Peggy, thank you so much for inviting me over to share your beautiful space.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><strong>What is Random Acts of Kick Arse (RAOKA)?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/em> With the idea that there are so many ways we can do small things to change the world for good, Sami, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifelaughsandlemmings.com\/\" >Life, Laughs, and Lemmings<\/a> took an idea she had and created this movement.&nbsp; The movement:&nbsp; A new theme to focus on each month, bringing a little more good to the world.&nbsp; The movement started in October 2009, and has a core group of participants:<\/p>\n<p>Lori from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.janebenimble.com\/\" >Jane Be Nimble<\/a><br \/>\n\tDani from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.positivelypresent.com\/\" >Positively Present<\/a><br \/>\n\tGayze&nbsp; from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gazehound.com\/\" >Gazehound&#39;s Animal Communication<\/a><br \/>\n\tZeenat from <a href=\"http:\/\/zeenatsyal.wordpress.com\/\" >Positive Provocations<\/a><br \/>\n\tSami from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifelaughsandlemmings.com\/\" >Life, Laughs, and Lemmings<\/a><br \/>\n\tJannie from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.janniefunster.com\/\" >Jannie Funster<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Each month a topic will be chosen to focus on, and then at the start of the next month, the participants will write about their experiences from the previous month.<\/p>\n<p><font face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;\"><i><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Note: We&rsquo;ve had a couple of core RAOKA members exit the group due to other commitments (thanks so much guys for being founding members) and as such, have 2 regular and enthusiastic contributors to this movement taking their place; <span class=\"il\">Gayze<\/span> from <span>Gayzehound&rsquo;s<\/span> Animal Communications and Zeenat from Positive Provocations.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p>Interested in joining the movement?&nbsp; Contact <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifelaughsandlemmings.com\/\" >Sami<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><strong>February Theme:<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp; <strong><span style=\"color: rgb(255, 140, 0);\">Passion<\/span><\/strong> (as chosen by Dani)<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10px;\">Logo courtesy of Melissa from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.operationnice.com\/\" >Operation NICE<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10px;\">Comments are closed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!-- Begin SexyBookmarks Menu Code --><\/p>\n<div class=\"sexy-bookmarks sexy-bookmarks-expand sexy-bookmarks-center sexy-bookmarks-bg-enjoy\">\n<ul class=\"socials\">\n<li class=\"sexy-stumbleupon\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.stumbleupon.com\/submit?url=http:\/\/www.jungleoflife.com\/2010\/02\/03\/raoka-gratitude\/&amp;title=RAOKA%3A+Gratitude\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external\" title=\"Stumble upon something good? 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One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.&rdquo; ~ Albert Einstein Preface:&nbsp; Random Acts of Kick Arse is a movement to bring more of {monthly theme} into our lives, and the lives of those [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1672,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-269474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1672"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269474\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}