This week I am back in Cayman, with a full week of client meetings, a client workshop, meetings with friends, contacts, and, most of all, my boys.
What occurs to me at this moment is the powerful combination of :
Gratitude + Presence
I do love Emotional Equations, yet for now, I can’t come up with a “= ?” for the other side of that equation.
This week, then, I have a strong feeling of gratitude at lots of levels, and I observe in myself that when I have that “attitude of gratitude” it brings me a higher level of presence to each moment. This then becomes a “virtuous circle” as the more present I am the more grateful I am for each opportunity to be present.
I’m writing this the day after a full day I’ll outline here to illustrate:
- The day started with a long coffee meeting with a couple who own a business and used to be clients of mine in Cayman years ago. It was wonderful to see them and where they are and to simply be present for them. Gratitude and Presence.
- I then ran a four-hour afternoon workshop for a client team of 22. This client again is one I’ve worked with for years, but this was our first work for over two years. Again I felt gratitude for the privilege of them trusting me to be there to support them on their constant and ever-evolving journey from great to world-class, to put an even greater dent in the universe.
- After that, I met a dear friend for a drink after work. I took the time to express to them my absolute gratitude for their friendship and presence in my life at a tough time a while ago.
- Finally, I met two of my sons for a relaxed dinner. I treasure each moment with them as they live in Cayman and I live in London.
In this fast paced world that is increasingly lived off line and virtually, there is so much pwoer in being simply present for others.
My learning to share today is that the more we can truly be grateful for every opportunity to be present, then gratitude amplifies presence and presence elevates gratitude.
I close with this. When I arrived in Cayman a few days ago, the first thing I did was start out the week with an action to show my gratitude for the opportunity to be here and meet so many people. I put my feet in the sand.
As I stood there, present to that moment and grateful, I started to notice so much more than the feeling of warm water lapping over my toes. I felt the breeze on my face, I heard the sound of the waves coming on to the beach, I heard birds in the trees.
Gratitude + Presence
https://youtu.be/sN3yAjQCons