April 8 2013 - Thanksgiving all year long
Sadly it’s been 3 months since I started this site and I’ve yet to tell you I appreciate any thing or any one. But I do, honest. I just forget to ponder on it and write.
So far, having focused on being in the moment, I find I really do appreciate more because I take the time to recognize all the good things, vs. focusing on a list of things I’ve yet to do. So I laugh more and feel genuine joy from watching my kids have fun or learn something new (like walking and talking!). I appreciate my husband’s vast knowledge about and interest in, well, just about anything (although he does talk mostly of pop culture, politics and sports). I stop and chat with more neighbourhood folks and feel lucky for my little corner of a city that some think is unfriendly and uncaring. Where I can, I take opportunities to hang with friends I would likely have put on the “some day soon” list. And above all, I recognize that I have a great life and really don’t need much (it’s the wanting I’m still working on...).
So while I was thinking it was going to come in a big lightning bolt moment, I find my appreciation seeping in like the springtime thaw. Slowly - but not without notice - I find myself smiling at the luck I have had to be where I am and to have built a wonderful family along the way.
I’ve also discovered some unexpected benefits of thankfulness. My shoulders hurt less, I have less headaches and I sleep more soundly (maybe that’s cuz the little one is finally sleeping through the night?). Coincidences, maybe, but I wake up in a better mood and end way less days being grumpy.
I also want to go on record and appreciate my friend Maria for her handmade gift of a perpetual calendar which I am using to record my daily gratitudes in. Grazie! And apparently this is not such a bad idea.
If you'd like to practice more gratitude, here are some ideas to try (including a calendar very similar to the one Maria made me).
So far, having focused on being in the moment, I find I really do appreciate more because I take the time to recognize all the good things, vs. focusing on a list of things I’ve yet to do. So I laugh more and feel genuine joy from watching my kids have fun or learn something new (like walking and talking!). I appreciate my husband’s vast knowledge about and interest in, well, just about anything (although he does talk mostly of pop culture, politics and sports). I stop and chat with more neighbourhood folks and feel lucky for my little corner of a city that some think is unfriendly and uncaring. Where I can, I take opportunities to hang with friends I would likely have put on the “some day soon” list. And above all, I recognize that I have a great life and really don’t need much (it’s the wanting I’m still working on...).
So while I was thinking it was going to come in a big lightning bolt moment, I find my appreciation seeping in like the springtime thaw. Slowly - but not without notice - I find myself smiling at the luck I have had to be where I am and to have built a wonderful family along the way.
I’ve also discovered some unexpected benefits of thankfulness. My shoulders hurt less, I have less headaches and I sleep more soundly (maybe that’s cuz the little one is finally sleeping through the night?). Coincidences, maybe, but I wake up in a better mood and end way less days being grumpy.
I also want to go on record and appreciate my friend Maria for her handmade gift of a perpetual calendar which I am using to record my daily gratitudes in. Grazie! And apparently this is not such a bad idea.
If you'd like to practice more gratitude, here are some ideas to try (including a calendar very similar to the one Maria made me).