Gratitude does not discriminate

"You should be grateful for everything in your life". Um, really? Yes, really.

How can you be grateful for a loved one dying or losing your job, for example?

The answer is simple: Because you will be forever miserable if you do not.

Sounds blunt, but it is true. And while it will take a long time until we understand each and every lesson life throws at us - and why life chose US to experience X, Y or Z-, you can start walking the path to wisdom and acceptance by thanking the universe for every single little thing you experience on a daily basis.

I lost my oldest brother Guillermo in 1989 in a bicycle accident. He was 34 years old. For years I questioned his death, I mourned, I cried, I tried to understand the why. Almost 32 years later, I am still trying to get an answer from the Universe. I know I am not going to get it. The Universe is telling me that when it comes to figure stuff out, I am on my own, and that is OK, because it is the way it is supposed to be.

I guess that is the biggest lesson from this event that re-shaped my life and the lives of everyone around me. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN, and no one else can "fix" you, or help you, or provide you with happiness, comfort, and security.

My brother's untimely death was the beginning of a series of unpleasant events in my life that I now see as necessary, vital experiences that shaped me into the human being I have become. A person that chooses to see the good in everything, the silver lining in every event, the positive outcome of a negative experience.

I am grateful for the strength and wisdom. I am grateful for knowing that no one dies of a broken heart. I am grateful for knowing that angels are real, and my brother is one of them.

I am grateful. Period.