The Best Gift on My Birthday

I love to use my birthday as a time to start fresh. I've been raw for 50 days. Even when I partake of cooked food (intentionally or not), I have still considered myself raw, so I have not lost sight of the fact that I am committed to being raw from now on.
Raw food has brought me such joy and such abundance! Aside from relieving me of various ailments I didn't think I had (doesn't everyone get occasional headaches, have constant congestion, and sleep poorly?), it has given me a new perspective on life. With that comes more passion, power, and connection with the Source. No religious belief or self-help program has given me what raw food has and I am so grateful for the delicious crunch of a gala apple, or the juice firmness of a cantaloupe.
My birthday was last night (Sept 19th) and I, with the help of my AMAZING husband Josh (pictured in Raw Spirit pics with me and Bunny), and both of my housemates, I was able to show my 20 closest friends and family that raw food is delicious, nutritious, flavorful, filling, and satisfying. We had sushi, Thai slaw, Sweet Potato noodles with Thai Curry, mint cheesecake, and cucumber melon drink. Some folks even said, "Wow, this is actually good!"
I was so blessed. Truly, truly blessed.
I also went to the spa yesterday (free for birthday girls!) and had a conversation with myself about why I don't feel powerful ALL the time. My response to that was that I am always choosing to struggle through my life. I choose hard circumstances and challenging situations so that I can show people that even when life is hard, you can triumph (because I always prevail). But yesterday, with some Divine guidance, I began choosing to skip the struggle and simply live triumphantly. The Universe is not creating "tests" and "obstacles" to make me prove myself. I'm doing all that because I feel that I need to struggle first!
The Universe is lovingly, abundantly, and easily giving me exactly what I want and I just need to step into receiving it without guilt or embarrassment. I don't need to feel bad for seeing that I truly LOVE my life and the universe and the Ultimate Spirit. Life never has to be hard or filled with struggle. Sure, accidents happen and things may "go wrong," but there are enough amazing things in the world going on at one time, that I don't have to focus on that. I always see the gift in tragedy and now I know I don't have to wait as long to acknowledge it.
I, of course, am not welcoming tragedy, nor am I condemning it. I'm calling it tragedy. I'm choosing to feel challenged. But I can also choose to see the amazingness of it. I can choose to see how a physical injury has led me to LOVE my body so much for its strength, endurance, flexibility, and willingness to heal.
I can choose to see that emotional trauma is a way for me to build and strengthen my relationship to Source and Spirit.
So I choose to live life easily, abundantly, with love and passion! And it's a great life to live!