Intense

Today I am grateful for good soup on a cold day (thanks Zita!) and for sweat and endorphins.

I am also grateful for those who help the homeless and others in danger in these cold temperatures. I am grateful for emergency personnel available to help those stranded or struggling.

Today's word is intense. Here are several definitions of the word and examples:

1. existing or occurring in a high or extreme degree: intense heat.
2. acute, strong, or vehement, as sensations, feelings, or emotions: intense anger. 
3. of an extreme kind; very great, as in strength, keenness, severity, or the like: an intense gale. 
4. having a characteristic quality in a high degree: The intense sunlight was blinding. 
5. strenuous or earnest, as activity, exertion, diligence, or thought: an intense life.

The first thing I think of today is the intense cold. We are at about 50 below zero with the wind chill.I am grateful to have a heated house, an attached garage, and enough winter attire to keep me warm and protected when I need to go out.

The intense feelings I have today tend to be positive ones. Intense love, gratitude, peace, inspiration.They sure beat the intense self-hatred, self-pity, loneliness and hopelessness I used to feel as an active alcoholic. I am grateful today for recovery and for the role of gratitude practice in my recovery.

I do consider myself to be an intense person, and I love the word diligence in the above definition.The key is to balance the intensity between my priorities, to maintain some sense of direction, and to not overdo life. I am grateful that daily gratitude practice helps me find the right level of healthy intensity in my life.

Intense gratitude practice allows me to build a better perception of self and surrounding world.It is well worth the effort.

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