Monday, December 1, 2014

10 Days of Gratitude: Day 8 - Be Grateful by C.C. Carter

Sometimes we forget.   Forget to see gratefulness in the details of the everyday and everything. 

We forget that breathing today means we get to recreate the life we want again. Second by second, moment by moment we get to start again and as a result we should be grateful for that.

We get stuck. Stuck on the situation we are in now, the financial debts we have acquired again, the loved ones we have lost once more.  We get stuck in the loss, the pain, the suffering and we forget that in this second of awareness we once had a gain before the loss, a joy before the pain, we had living before the suffering. We forget that we should have been grateful when we had them and we punish ourselves because we recognize we should have been more present in those moments, with those people, in those experiences.  For as the gospel song states, it is never too late to…

Be grateful.
Be grateful.

God has not promised me sunshine,
That's not the way it's going to be;
But a little rain mixed with God's sunshine,
A little pain makes me appreciate the good times. 
Be grateful, be grateful.
For it will be alright... (Kurt Carr)


We forget to learn from the lessons of the past so we can be truly grateful of moments of clarity, of moving through, of persevering on, in spite of.   We forget to be grateful that guess what? I’m still here.  We forget to not get stuck in the “why” something is happening or the reason I’m going through this or went through that”.  We forget to be present in the moment and ask the real question, “What have I learned or am learning as a result of the experience.”  For when you can truly answer those questions, you can move on to being present in the now.

Flowing from my heart
Are the issues of my heart
It’s gratefulness
(Hezekiah Walker)

No one is asking you to forget, no one is asking you to not be angry or hurt still. But what you should remind yourself is “From these experiences, I’ve learned ____________ and in this moment, this second…. inhale… I am grateful for… exhale… this moment of gratefulness”



C.C. CaCarla (C.C.) Carter, Ph.D. is a lifetime educator, having spent over 27 years as a teacher and administrator in junior high and high school settings. She is currently the curriculum and compliance specialist at Joshua Johnston Fine Arts and Design Charter School in Chicago.  She is the lead coordinator for the development of the Lorde-Rustin Social Justice Educational Program, to be opened in the Spring of 2015, which will serve 75 high school and older adult LGBTQ and allied students wishing to receive a diploma.  She is a Master Teacher Trainer in the areas of Brain-Based Learning, Multiple Intelligences and teaching to Diverse Learners.   In addition to her educational career, C.C. is an award-winning poet, has been published in over 15 anthologies and is a staple on the Women's Music Festival circuit including as a principle artist for Olivia Travel, a Lesbian travelling company. Her work as an activist for women and youth has earned her two places in the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. She recently earned her Doctorate of Divinity and a Ph.D. in Christian Education.rter
Executive Director, POW-WOW Inc773.592.3492
POWWOWInc@gmail.com





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