Habitual Gratitude

Today I am grateful for improved ability to recognize and acknowledge my various feelings. I am also grateful for early morning quiet. When we set out on our run Saturday morning, I also set out to "test drive" my new outfit, the one I plan to wear for our upcoming marathon. I never leave details like that to chance. I want to make sure the fit is good, that there won't be any chafing issues, and just that the general feel is good. This outfit included a new shorts and shirt ensemble, new socks and shoes. The run and the outfit felt great! And I will let you in on a little secret. I am not a petite runner and I am not a "girlie-girl" who feels comfortable in tank tops. Finding shirts to wear has sometimes landed me in the men's section because the women's sizes run small, or the cut wouldn't feel right. Since my bilateral mastectomies, I have been more self-conscious about my attire, and the cut of the women's running shirts has been even har...

Today I am grateful for my husband Darcy, our marriage, and our shared history since we met nearly 17 years ago. I am also proud of Darcy today. He has been involved in our church's shared ministry team since 2005. Shared ministry is an effort by churches that are smaller and less financially strong to remain viable through the efforts of volunteers. Darcy has helped with the children's and youth programs and is currently in training to become a deacon. I am proud of his efforts and commitments over these years. He wanted to get involved and be of service and he has done both well. I am especially proud of him today because he gave his first sermon yesterday to our congregation and it went well. He stretched himself beyond his comfort zone. He doesn't plan to be a preaching deacon, but he was willing to give it a shot like others in his cohort did. He worked hard on this sermon, took it through many revisions, and practiced it many times. I am grateful I could be of a...

Today I am grateful for the beautiful weather, a good training run yesterday, and ice cream. The last week for many people I know seems to have been one of highs and lows. It ranged from the first grandchild arriving in my sister and her husband's family (Congratulations Dalton and Megan and welcome Rowan!), to a friend's father passing away, to a couple serious surgeries for one of my aunts, to a distant cousin's suicide, to an earthquake, to a breast cancer patient's difficult surgery recovery. My son Sam also suffered a wrist sprain that will keep him out of football for a few days. (We are so grateful that the x-ry showed no fracture.) There's good news and bad news each week, but some weeks seem to tilt one way or the other, and this week tilted to the bad news. For the most part, I was not directly impacted by these situations, but people I care about were.  And then I listen to some news and add to the list: ebola continuing to spread, college softball pl...

Today I am grateful for the varied ways I have to connect and communicate with family and friends. I am also grateful for the nice stretch of weather we have been having. "In the same boat" is a phrase used to commiserate and relate with others. It brings a sense of unity, of pulling together to get wherever this particular boat is headed, or get it headed in the right direction. I am in the same boat with other alcoholics working on recovery, with other cancer patients hoping to rack up more years of survivorship, with co-workers dealing with the same challenges and rewards. I learn from others in my boat, and I feel more secure. There is a strength in numbers, especially if the numbered ones are all rowing or paddling together to get somewhere. I barely made it into the boat of recovery before drowning myself in alcohol. Now recovery is a sturdy lifeboat, not a flimsy raft. To be in the same boat with others in recovery has allowed me to travel through the world and s...

Today I am grateful for my husband Darcy and our marriage. I am also grateful for new hope that comes with new days. Gratitude is a worthy source of hope. When I can see some good, even at difficult times, that gives me the energy to move through the challenge and return to a better place. Gratitude practice also helps me keep perspective and think of others. That keeps me out of my own head, which can become a clutter and get me stuck in a rut if I am not careful. This is the quote in my gratitude journal today: "If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give."  (George McDonald) When I actively practice gratitude, it often includes the appreciation I have for the many people in my life who make a difference in big and small ways. Some days I am the one who needs their support. On other days, I am the one who can offer the strength and hope to help them. We help ea...

Today I am grateful for our dog Oliver and what he reminds me to do each morning when he stretches before our walk. I am grateful for the reminder to look for life's little joys today. I am also grateful for my sister Aileen's blog and the inspiration it provides. Thanks Aileen! Her blog, which she shares with a fellow writer, is called "Poetic License: Poetry and Commentary on Current Events" and it can be found  here . Her most recent post is titled "Things I Rarely Say."   It reads: Things I Rarely Say 1) This coffee is too strong. 2) This dessert is too rich. 3) Wish I hadn't taken that nap. 4) That vacation was too long. 5) This brownie is too chocolate-y. 6) There's too much sunshine. (Thanks to Kelly for this one.) 7) I'm entirely too thin. 8) My car is too fast. 9) Wish I hadn't stopped at that bakery. 10) I laughed too much. This brings me a smile for a number of reasons. There are things I say too much that can cause...

Today I am grateful for air to breathe, sunshine to take in, and my five working senses to enjoy all that surrounds me. Sometimes it really is just about keeping it simple. Simplicity is a word I need to get more familiar with. I need to practice using it. Here is some practice right now. I woke up early and several things started spinning in my brain. That happens to many of us in the middle of the night doesn't it? Sometimes I get up to write myself a couple notes so I can hopefully fall back to sleep. Other times I just get up and start doing what needs to be done and I find some comfort in that. At other times I can actually fall back to sleep. Sometimes it is a mixture of all of these. This morning is one of those mornings. So I am keeping it simple, keeping my post short. I make time to say some prayers and write in my gratitude journal each morning. Those are my key actions when it comes to starting my day right and giving things a gratitude focus. On most days, a blog p...