30daysofgratitude.org

It’s so simple, yet so powerful.  Just challenge yourself to submit one daily gratitude through the month of November.  You’ll receive helpful reminder emails and be inspired by other folks’ gratitudes along the way.  If it sounds like too much, you can choose “gratitude light” (weekly) or do it with a group.  You can even partner with a friend who might not be so internet-driven.  Just do it.

Countless studies prove that the act of acknowledging our blessings and taking a moment to express gratitude can change lives.   Even if it doesn’t change our circumstance, it changes our outlook, and that makes all the difference.  I’ve picked up gratitude journals, began writing 1000 gifts through Holy Experience’s beautiful Gratitude Community, and tried other methods.  They’ve been helpful but I must admit I fall out of habit pretty quickly.  I need to mix it up a bit sometimes. 

Annie’s plan is brilliant.  It takes 30 days to develop a solid habit and this project fits that window perfectly.  And for me, the email reminders and internet format make it easy and convenient.  I’m excited to begin.  Again. 

What about you?  C’mon, do it with me! 

Join in–spread the word–tell some friends–post it on your blog.

Let’s turn this world around, one blessing at a time.

If that’s not enough, just listen to Annie’s enthusiasm (be sure to watch Part 1 and Part 2):

Looking forward to a month of feeling grateful with you.  Get started here.

Rise without trying

at 5:00 am

capture the sunrise

beat the heat

pretend we belong

escape to the spa

dip in the pool

laze in the river

catch a movie

dinner for two

slumber again

in that big soft bed

then off to the farm.

Big hugs

extra tight this time

catch up

greet the dogs

and sink bare feet into

the softest grass in the world.

Breathe in

break bread

sit on the porch

enjoy the view.

Ruffle feathers

make amends

try again.

Girl time

guy time

swing on the tire time

sit on the porch

enjoy the view.

Savor the flavors

reconnect

celebrate early

watch not-so-small kids play

on that soft green grass. 

5:00 am again

more hugs

dewey eyes

unspoken words.

Fly home

regroup

and remember

our lovely respite.

And make note

every day

to

enjoy the view.

sunset from our lanai. seriously.

Oh, what a wonderful respite. 

We had a lovely vacation on the Big Island of Hawai’i last week.  My husband’s parents found a house on the shore of Kealakekua Bay on the Kona coast, far from any resorts, tourists or crowds.  Our house sat right on top of a huge lava flow overlooking a marine life sanctuary.  We explored all kinds of lava with my geologist father-in-law, snorkeled right near our home, and toured the island’s rain forests, beaches, and volcanoes.  I’ve got so much to share, but for now, a few shots of our week:

Our little brown house on the lava

Lava Kitty, who came with the house

conquering the a'a

snorkeling with sea turtles

walking in a volcano crater--see it steaming?

studying geology with Papa J

Some additions to my list of gifts:

1. The miracle of ongoing, eternal creation
2. The mystery of ocean life
3. Family time without internet distractions
4. Booking this vacation before the economy crashed
5. Active, engaged grandparents on both sides
6. Ocean waves lulling us to sleep
7. Serendipity discoveries in unexpected places
8. The hope of flowers sprouting out of dry lava
9. People who still trust:  the guys who let us take their kayaks when we didn’t have cash with us
10. Pina coladas on the lanai

May the beauty of special places sustain us through “ordinary” times. 

Yes?  No?  Me too. 

I admit, I put my 1000 gift list project aside these past several weeks. The little black book got buried in that basket of homeless living room stuff.  We were just so busy with Christmas,  back to school, that nasty shingles attack, and all those things that get in the way of gratitude, that I, well. . . forgot?

Actually, I didn’t really forget.  I semi-consciously let it go, and I will own that behavior, since I’m trying to teach my children to do the same.   I should have kept it going, especially during the crazy times, but I also promised myself I would not “should upon” this project.   Gratitude is voluntary.  It’s also a choice, not just a feeling, but it must come from within.

Why do I raise this today?  Because I’m a little bit cranky.  I haven’t been feeling especially grateful lately.   Rather, I haven’t decided to be especially grateful lately.  So, I need to make a fully conscious decision to cultivate gratitude. 

Time to dig out the little black book of 1000 gifts (I’m only on #121). 

While I’m so weary of winter and notice I haven’t seen the earth since Christmas, I note these gifts:

• the beauty of fresh snow
• bright sun and blue sky in the coldest temps
• the cosiness of fleece blankets and down comforters
• the way children radiate warmth when we snuggle
• an upcoming winter vacation planned well in advance

While our family drags with winter colds and recovery, I note:

• our overall good health
• the joy of touch after missing it for awhile
• the easy fixes of modern life

While I’m distressed about the 10.6% unemployment in my state, local businesses closing daily, and too many layoffs hitting close to home, I note these gifts:

• support of G’s professional job with benefits
• my part time work to fill the gaps
• my husband’s rock-solid composure under stressful working conditions
• a community of support
• blessed assurance that we’ll be okay no matter what

Even when I don’t feel grateful, the conscious act of recording my gifts gets me just a little bit closer to the real thing. 

What about you?  How do you cultivate gratitude when you’re feeling crabby?

photo credit: Paul Worthington

Oh, what a difference a split second makes! 

Yesterday, I was cruising through my Christmas errands:  picking up this, dropping off that, baking up this, shipping off that, stopping by here, shopping by there, and transporting people from place to place.  A light snow fell, promising a white morning blanket and lifting my Christmas spirits.  I was “on”:  energetic, cheerful, and embracing the season with joy.  I squeezed in one last thing before heading home, swinging my car into a great parking space (score!).  As I pranced across the parking lot,

splat. 

I found myself flat on my back, keys flung across the lot, wind knocked out of me, and not quite sure how to get myself up again.  I slowly eased up, practicing my old Lamaze breathing through the pain, and climbed (sort of) onto my feet.  No one was around except a rough-looking man on a smoking break who walked over to check on me.  He showed kindness by finding my keys, helping me up and making sure I was able to walk.  He said, “hey, I know back injuries, so take it easy, okay?”  I shuffled through my last errand and headed home, grateful for the very short drive.

I’ve lived in Michigan 17 years, and I’ve never fallen that hard on the ice.  I saw stars and my lower back throbbed.  I could still move gingerly, so I didn’t think I was seriously injured, but I was scared it was going to get worse.  I positioned myself flat on the floor, my sweet dog snuggling up to me, and just waited for my hubby to come home.

So much for productivity. 

Today, thanks to lots of ibuprofen (the wonder drug), I’m doing okay, but I’m creaking around like an old lady.  Every move, such as putting on one’s socks, takes considerable thought and deliberation.  So I must find a new rhythm for the next couple of days.  Some things must go.

This little experience has made me wonder a few things:

1. Was this meant to happen?  To get me out of “doing“, and into “being“?  Today I recline, enjoying my beautiful tree, and sort out what really needs to get done.  Last night, the kids gathered around my nest and we just talked for a good while.  A blessing.
2. Was the man who helped me in the parking lot some sort of angel?  Perhaps not, but it’s fun to believe he was.
3. Does this get me out of sending “a couple dozen cookies” to every holiday event?  How liberating!  What conspiracy decided every mother needed to bake forty dozen cookies to distribute around town in December?  Who eats all of those cookies, anyway?  Is this really a good thing?  This might merit a separate post.

As my meds kick in this morning, I’m thinking my little “splat” experience might have been a blessing in disguise.  I’m grateful my injury seems to be stiff, aching, muscles, not severe damage.   So I sit (recline) in my living room, looking for the gifts to add to my list.

What about you?  What might help you “be” rather than “do” this season?

photo credit: Great Beyond

In The Faith Club, an earlier recommendation, Priscilla tries to explain her “tribal” connection to Judaism and its turbulent history.  Her father, she says, used to tell this story to address the challenges people face in life:

“Imagine this,” he used to say to us.  “Take your problems, all of them, from the tiniest, annoying concerns to the most horrific, difficult challenges, and put all those problems into a brown paper bag.”  He’d pause.  “Then imagine if everyone else in the world took all of their problems and put them into their own paper bags.  Think of how many bags there would be, all piled up into one gigantic mountain of brown paper!”  The image was vivid to me.

“If you were told that you could pick any bag of problems and take it home with you, do you think you’d want someone else’s problems?”  my father would ask.  “I don’t think so.  You’d be scampering like crazy to find your own bag in that mountain of brown paper.” 

Toward the end of his life, after his business had failed, his fortune was lost, and the pain of his terminal disease was so bad he’d begun taking morphine, I asked my father, “So, if you had it to do all over again, would you still want your own brown paper bag?” 

My father didn’t hesitate.  “Absolutely,”  he said.  “Yes.” 

Through her father’s illustration, Priscilla gained the courage to believe that she might be strong enough to face her own paper bag full of challenges. 

This simple story triggered a tumbled mix of emotions for me.  As I obsess over the news about the economy, our industry, and how it affects us, I realize that I’d take my measly paper bag over anyone else’s.   I would scamper like crazy to claim back my problems, because with them come so many blessings.  We’ve been given so much more than we have earned. 

Another addition to my list of gifts:  my own bag of problems. 

What about you?  Would you take back your paper bag?

Quote from The Faith Club:  A Muslim, a Christian, A Jew–Three Women Search for Understanding, by Idliby, Oliver, and Warner, pp. 89-90.

 photo credit: NoahA

My friend Diane sent me this Thanksgiving message that I pass on to you today.  I send it to raise awareness of our own blessings, not to impose guilt or remorse.  I’m firm believer in “to whom much is given, much is expected.”  So please, enjoy the day–relax, refresh, renew your soul–so you can bless another, in what ever way you can.  And if you need to receive this season, please enjoy the bounty.  

If you woke up this morning

with more health than illness,

you are more blessed than the

million who won’t survive the week.

 

If you have never experienced

the danger of battle,

the loneliness of imprisonment,

the agony of torture or

the pangs of starvation,

you are ahead of 20 million people

around the world.

 

If you attend a church meeting

without fear of harassment,

arrest, torture, or death,

you are more blessed than almost

three billion people in the world.

 

If you have food in your refrigerator,

clothes on your back, a roof over

your head and a place to sleep,

you are richer than 75% of this world.

 

If you have money in the bank,

in your wallet, and spare change

in a dish someplace, you are among

the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

 

If you hold up your head with a smile

on your face and are truly thankful,

you are blessed because the majority can,

but most do not.

 

If you can hold someone’s hand, hug them

or even touch them on the shoulder,

you are blessed because you can

offer a healing touch.

 

If you have read this message,

you are more blessed than over

two billion people in the world

that cannot read anything at all.

I sure could!

This article from Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller always gives me a lift.  I’m printing my favorite snippets; please read the complete article here.

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Special Thanks This Thanksgiving
By Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller

Millions of parents will pause this Thanksgiving to do what the day was originally created for — give thanks for the many blessings that exist in their lives. . .But what if your appreciation this Thanksgiving took on a new look? What if the blessings you count this year included situations that aren’t usually regarded as helpful, useful or valuable? Consider the following:

Why not be thankful that your child is two years behind grade level in his reading ability? This struggling reader is giving you the opportunity to read to him regularly at night. This evening ritual will help build connectedness between you and your child while at the same time modeling your love for the printed word. Great literature can be shared as you simultaneously bond with your child. This opportunity is an incredible blessing. Appreciate it. . .

Why not be thankful that your teenager received a speeding ticket? Getting a ticket is not a bad thing. Not if your teen learns from it and slows her driving for the next year. If she takes personal responsibility, pays the ticket, and is more cautious about her driving, the ticket may well save her life or the life of someone else in the future. Bless the ticket and give thanks for its blessings.

Why not be thankful that your 8-year-old shoplifted in the grocery store? This is the perfect time to teach your child about shoplifting. Better now than when he helps himself to someone else’s car when he is 18. Teach him how to make amends. Teach him what to say as he returns the candy bars to the storeowner. Help him learn to articulate what he learned and what he intends to do differently next time. Bless this perfect time to teach lessons about taking things that don’t belong to you. Be grateful for the opportunity.

Why not be thankful that your youngsters track mud and sand into the garage and house? The next time you stand in the garage furiously sweeping sand and wishing that your children were better behaved; quietly remind yourself that one day you’ll wish you had sand to sweep out of the garage. Love the mud. Love the sand. Be grateful for the signs of the presence of children in your life. . .

Why not be thankful that your adolescent asked you about sex? This is a great sign. It means your child trusts you enough to talk to you about sex. It means she is not getting all her sex knowledge from the street. It means you have moved beyond “the talk” to having an ongoing, honest conversation about the important subject of sex. Congratulate yourself. It is a blessing that you are willing to fulfill that role for your child and that she is responding to it positively. Give thanks. . .

Why not give thanks that your child is spilling milk, talking with his mouth full, wiping cranberry sauce on his new pants, refusing to eat his vegetables, and interrupting his grandmother at the dinner table this day? It means you have more work to do as a parent. It means your job is not yet done. This is a blessing. You are still needed to help your child learn to pour milk more carefully, improve his table manners, learn to eat nutritiously, and show respect for elders. Give thanks for these opportunities. . .

This Thanksgiving remember that parenting is a ministry. It is a sacred role that you are being called to perform. Give thanks that you have been called. Give thanks that you are willing to step forward and accept that call. Appreciate that you are being shown the way. Celebrate yourself and your contribution to healing the planet by helping your children evolve into the people they were meant to be. You are a blessing to the world. Give thanks that you are up to the task.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller are the authors of The 10 Commitments: Parenting with Purpose. For more information about how they can help you or your group meet your parenting needs, visit www.chickmoorman.com or www.thomashaller.com.

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Ah. . .so many new things to add to my list of 1000 gifts!

What about you?  What non-traditional things are you giving thanks for this year?

photo credit: Wiedmaier