Awakening Your Inner Hero: A column helping locals live a kinder and more courageous life

You and I were given priceless gifts when we arrived into this world. One is the gift of LIFE, the other is the gift of CHOICE. We never will be able to count all our blessings. But we should try.

I have been known, historically, to hyperbolize in my written and oral communications, and realize already that I am doing it again, right now.

Oops!

Today’s wisdom is actually only going to reveal the second-best gift ever, not the first. I apologize in advance for my hyperbole in the title and request your forgiveness. The truly best gift ever is beyond obvious, but way too often taken for granted: The gift of LIFE.

If you’re not too busy, take a breath and soak this in for a moment. LIFE. Yours, those close to you, those we couldn’t do without, who are far too many to ever count. Those who came before us to invent motorcycles, anesthesia, telescopes, music of every kind and those who gave up their lives for our freedom. Bless all of them.

And every other form of LIFE, too. From chickens, to frogs, to spiders, to salmon to turtles. And of course, trees and flowers and grasses and tomatoes, garlic and onions. All gifts, all arguably from heaven.

LIFE is inarguably the best gift ever, but if you would like to challenge my thesis, I am open. Being able to disagree respectfully is also a gift and not coincidentally, directly related to the gift I plan to discuss today: The gift of CHOICE.

Again, if you’re not too busy, soak this one in for a moment. CHOICE. Take a breath. We cannot imagine LIFE without choice. It wouldn’t remotely be LIFE as we know it. We would be robots following instructions. CHOICE was imbedded into our genes and souls from the beginning. You decide for yourself what I mean by the beginning. That’s another CHOICE.

Every day I awaken and say a prayer of gratitude. Nearly 20 years ago, Tony Robbins, the most influential inspirational speaker and teacher of our time, in an audio-tape entitled the “Hour of Power,” touched me forever. Robbins suggested we take an hour every day to express our gratitude for anything and everything — Mom, Dad, Grandma, Granddad, brothers, sisters, friends, uncles, aunts, teachers, doctors, nurses, delivery men and women, the air, the sun, the stars, our earth, our farmers, our fishermen, our scientists, mechanics…the Creator, whatever you believe that to be. Certainly, something way beyond what any of us could ever comprehend.

The “Hour of Power” wraps us up in reality. LIFE is infinitely inter-dependent. We could never, ever count all the blessings in our lifetime. We don’t even know what or who the majority of them are, nor will we ever know.

The very thought of this infinite inter-dependency puts me in a state of awe. I can’t soak it all in, but I can breathe and do my best. I tingle as I attempt to thank our beyond explicable reality.

Thank you, Tony Robbins. The “Hour of Power” can be transformed into a Lifetime of Power.

This CHOICE that allows us to choose daily gratitude has been the most powerful gift in my 77-year-old lifetime. It gets infused into everything. People anywhere. Our children. Grandchildren. Every life situation. Even illness and loss. Hummingbirds and especially my dear wife. But in truth, dear reader, I can’t do this deep connection to gratitude all the time. Not even close. But Robbins taught me to start with an hour. That was a full hour more than I had ever done in my first 57 years of life.

Another truth I need to share with you but don’t entirely understand is this: I don’t think I’m totally crazy, but my mind can fly far, far away from gratitude at any moment of the day or night. At times, seemingly too far away to ever return. This is done with no apparent CHOICE on my part.

And this is the secret, my friend!

This hell can “seem” very close by and, at times, impossible to shake off. But gratitude “is” always close by. Always. Ruminating on our negative thoughts isn’t nurturing, regardless of whether they are true or not.

My new practice is to go to gratitude throughout the day and night. When negativity erupts, I go there. When I sense the wonders of our world, I go there. At bedtime I go there.

Start with 10 minutes. Even five. But please choose gratitude today. When you do, many others benefit. Too many to count.

CHOICE is certainly our second-best gift ever.

May you choose to fill 2024 and beyond with gratitude for the infinite miracles and blessings that surround us every day!

Blessings.

– Burt Gershater is a counselor, leadership trainer, speaker and writer. He can be reached at info@burtgershater.com

This article appears in Source Weekly January 4, 2023.