Welcome to November, a month when we usually concentrate on Gratitude.

This time, however, we're going to work with Gratitude in action: Generosity.

To be more precise, Generosity of Spirit.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, during our Southwestern trip there were so many demonstrations of Generosity of Spirit that I knew I had to expand on this topic. 

One of these gifts graced us on our final big outing when we were visiting the natural healing springs of Ojo Caliente, an hour from Santa Fe.

After dinner and having experienced the full moon rising while in the hot Iron bath, we were abundant with good energy from the day as we gratefully piled into our trusty van (The Black Stallion), only to have it refuse to go faster than 5 miles an hour. We couldn't get out of the parking lot.

It was about 9pm and the 12 of us were in the middle of nowhere with a non-compliant vehicle. Hmmm.

Through phone calls to knowledgeable husbands (thanks, Mike!), it was determined that our diesel van required a regular supplement called DEF without which it would refuse to run - who knew?

The folks at the front desk told us the closest automotive store was about 45 minutes away and had closed hours before. They also were fully booked - dang!

We were offered taxi services from Santa Fe to the tune of $250 per car, which we booked just to ensure that everyone got back to their beds for the night.

Sounds pretty dismal, right?

But here's where the Generosity shows up...

Everyone was invited into the beautiful, inviting lobby to sit by the roaring fire in comfy chairs while we waited for the taxis.

Our upbeat group took full advantage of the setting by taking photos, which the staff helped them with. By the time I went back into the lobby, it was one big happy family between the front desk and the group.

Then, after about 40 minutes, the front desk manager quietly beckoned Jan and me back to the van to reveal a young woman with a huge container of DEF!

Unbeknownst to us, he must have called a friend or relative who had access to the automotive store and who was gracious enough to drive down at that late hour to rescue us.

Because we weren't 100% sure the DEF would do the trick, fingers were crossed and breath was held, but after pouring it in, the Black Stallion roared back to life! 

Generosity of Spirit was on display when we tried to offer money to the manager and our deliverer, the young woman. They refused to take anything.

Of course, we overrode that and left hefty tips, so deeply touched by their selflessness and Generosity.

On the way back to Santa Fe, we all marveled at our experience, which could have been an utter disaster but turned out to be an exquisite reminder of the core of goodness within humanity.

And it wasn't lost on us that we could have broken down anywhere - on the side of the remote road into the White Place where we'd been earlier that day, for instance.

But no, we were waylaid at a gorgeous spa where we were allowed to receive gifts from generous strangers while being warmed by a fire. Thank you, Goddess! 

Can you imagine the 12 grateful hearts that were produced from this? 

And that's the point: Generosity begets Gratitude, which in turn produces more Generosity.

But there's a third player: Abundance!

It boils down to this:

This Wheel of Generosity is the prescription. So easy to do on the good days.

But how do we keep the cycle running when we're too stressed or tired or busy?

We'll explore this as the month goes on, but we can start by working our way from the end to the beginning with a simple Gratitude practice.

To kick-start the engine every time, just begin and finish the day being grateful for 5 - 10 things.

Take it a step further and write those things down.

Then, get outside and say thank you to the Sun and the Four Elements (Air, Water, Fire and Earth).

Basic stuff, but it works. 

And, if you really want to get into Gratitude deeply, you can join Gary Malkin and me for our Graceful Passages one-day workshop on November 12th. (See details below.) 

I hope you have a spectacular, Generous week!

Much love and Infinite blessings,
Hope

~

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