A gloomy autumn Texas morning. Clouds on a gray sky canvas hanging low and heavy, looking almost determined to linger around for a good while.

Not in rush to unload their waters they are leaking them over carelessly to the winds in all directions. A cup of my un-coffee is still too hot for a full sip.

Thank you, God, it seems like the perfect stay-at-home do-nothing all-day-long. Or at least a few moments before the busy life takes over.

As I thank God for my new day, for everyone and everything in it, my mind also went to those from whom I recently received such heart-healing words:

I owe you a debt of gratitude… 

I could not thank you enough…

I am calling to say thank you…

I appreciate you more than you know…

My dear Reader, telling you this does not come easy as I am not used to doing it, yet I gratefully pinch myself and desire to acknowledge them once more as I ask:

Could this be how God is answering my prayer to repair me Kintsugi stronger? Methinks so.

Admitting how uplifting it feels to appreciate and be appreciated, my old old paradigm kicks in to ask if it may be too much of a good thing. Because, you know, “nothing good lasts”…

Does anyone ever get tired of such words of appreciation?? – I ask God.

Never!, says God, – especially when those words are given and earned without agenda, without expectation, without needing or seeking them for egoistic motives; when they are given and earned by being truly grateful yourself for the opportunity and capacity of helping your fellow human in the way only you can. Then and only then you are helped and healed. Strengthened and emboldened. Awarded and rewarded.

Thank you, God. I get it.

Gratitude is one of the most unused, underrated, and misunderstood principles for building happier life and world. It is the greatest attitude and character-building tool there is.

Gratitude as a great attitude takes you to high places, high altitudes where your perspective is richer, sharper, and in every way better.

And the stronger your gratitude the higher your altitude the stronger your gratitude… what an amazing infinite loop of the Creator’s love for His creation. Isn’t it?

With love and gratitude,

Biljana

P.S.

I thank you for reading my inspiration today. I thank you for being in my life, for who you are, and for how you serve your fellow humans in the way only you can.

Another thing I am grateful for is this yearning for learning as our Spirit is always for greater and fuller expression. I am after writing better and will be learning more from my dear friend Kim in her free class; if you share the same yearning, I’d love you to join me.

Image: T-shirt design by ArtfullyJournaled

Right around this time, the first year we came to The USA, our new American-Croatian friend took us to visit the downtown shopping mall.

Such an opportunity carried the excitement in the air regardless of our financial inability to buy anything. We can window shop with ease.

In one of the stores, I admire the selection of winter jackets. Next to me, my daughter enjoys colorful scarfs and gloves, while our friend chats with the store clerk.

A couple of minutes into it, while taking the jacket off of the hanger to try, I lost sight of my daughter.

Well-known panic starts claiming my breath. And potentially, as it felt, my life.

Frantically looking around, I ask my friend if my girl is with her. She was not.

I did not speak English at that time so my friend asks the store clerks and we all start checking the spaces between fluffy coats and fixtures.

The store was luckily not huge and we quickly realize my girl is not inside. I rush to the door.

All the horror possibilities run amok in my mind. All were blood-chilling, jaw and fist clenching.

Like many times during the Bosnian war, my body thankfully knew how to run and laser screen surroundings at the same time. 

No! I did not endure war, come halfway across the world, leave our home and families to now go through this!

Many other war memories rush in my mind…

My four-year-old in my arms, my husband keeping us closer to the wall and shielding us with his body as we run and grenades exploding in cannonade nearby.

Even though the shelter was not far from our building door, it seemed we will never reach it.

Every moment I could catch a breath I was telling my precious girl we would be ok. And I so strongly, unquestionably believed it even in the scariest of bombings.

I so need such unwavering faith at this moment and this God-sent memory lit the faith fire in my heart.

Storming out into the front of the store, I see her. A few steps on the walkway across the store entrance, hands, and nose glued on the fiberglass fence. My now a second-grader stands alone, looking down to the lower-level shops and the crowd.

I have no voice, my throat closed. Fear and relief colliding in my body almost knock me down. Pushing tears back, I wrap my arms around my daughter thanking God for such a beautiful outcome.

Breath catching, tears rolling, hugging my girl tightly, I accept a new scar on my heart.

This immense scare adds yet another deep layer of knowing the fear and recognizing the pain the parents (including mine) who lost their kid(s) had to live, parents not as lucky as I at that moment.

Both parents and kids of today face perhaps more and greater challenges and tragedies than ever before.

The violence and crimes perpetrated against children are something I have great difficulties wrapping my mind around.

Aren’t kids our highest joy? Aren’t they what we live for? As the new love and life creation, aren’t they the most precious we are capable of bringing to this world?

Every year in the US alone, there are hundreds of thousands of children of every age missing, violated, damaged, abducted, tortured, and abused without the slightest chances to understand what is happening to them, even less to protect themselves or do anything about it.

Some may possibly think –those people or parents don’t deserve kids in the first place. That they deserve anything that comes their way. That they are punished and should be. That those kids got themselves in trouble. That we can’t do anything about it….. Really?

A wise person said: In the information age, ignorance is a choice. We have no luxury of choosing ignorance, of not knowing, even less of not acting.

There comes a time in everyone’s life when we face our self and are forced to admit if we turned our head and closed our eyes to the crimes.

We have it in our DNA to know right from wrong. The mere ability to survive, live or ignore the wrong, does not make it right.

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and a multi-billion dollars criminal industry.

It is stripping freedom and dignity, even life, of millions of young human beings.

Horror stories of organ harvesting, torture, ritual sacrifice… are unfortunately not news anymore.

Can people go any lower?

The month of January is the human trafficking awareness month.

To such a purpose, I dedicated and Amazon published my Messages in Purple – A Journal for Those Who Dare. 
for which proceeds go to support efforts of freeing victims of human trafficking.

If you can, I love you to join me, and thank you for whichever way you choose to support this mission.

With love,
Dr. B.

P.S. On a different note, I told you last week about my friend and colleague Irina hosting a free 5 days challenge helping women discover what they truly have inside by looking at their world outside.

My other friend and colleague Melanie is hosting her free 5 day Bliss & Prosperity challenge helping people to get bold enough to claim a life of bliss and prosperity.   

Both challenges start on Monday 1/17 and if you are interested or even just curious to join us, register on the link(s) above and see how it can expand your life in many good ways. Yes, I am participating in both and would be happy to see you too  🙂

Yesterday was a winter solstice and nature started her new season. The story of the Sun starting a new rise got woven into stories of all different cultures in the world.

Each one tells about new light birthing a new hope, each one celebrates such sacred occasion for rest, reflection, and revel.

Once again, our stories and holidays are here. Regardless of which of those stories you consider yours or belong to, I wish you and yours inner peace, jubilant Holy Days, merriest Christmas, and an enormously happy and prosperous New Year.

With love,

Dr. B.

P.S. I hope in this “most wonderful time of the year” you will find some time to care for yourself (your soul) like you care for someone you truly love.

*Not sure who made this wreath or who took the picture yet I love it and wanted to share it as I found it posted on “This Texas Girl” Facebook profile.  

Not much of a writer today, yet I still wanted to get in touch.

I remember learning what my parents expected from me, the church, school, neighborhood, state … yet no one ever taught me how to define or to recognize my own expectations besides instilled expectation to obey… until people-pleasing personality developed in such process tried to literally break every last fiber of my life for inability to do everything for everyone else around me.

Then I learned that the only expectation that truly matters is the one I set for and from my God-given SoulSelf.

And no matter how imperfectly I fulfill that expectation, it’s the strive that counts… and the practice that makes it better.

Dr. B.