Habitual Gratitude

Today I am grateful for writing and how it helps me process the mix of thoughts and emotions going on in my own life, the lives of those closest to me, and in our local and global communities. Here is my post from five years ago today, titled  "A Friendly Hello" I was out doing errands yesterday and stopped at the post office. As I was about to go in the door, a woman I didn't know came out, held the door for me with a smile. I said "thank you" and she replied with a "have a nice day."  I appreciated that brief interaction and it was something I likely would have done too if I had been the one coming out with someone else going in. In today's society, we are busy, frazzled, connected to our technology. It would seem we would be well-connected to one another; considering that we can communicate instantly in a variety of ways. It would seem, but it doesn't feel like the reality. The reality, to me, feels like we are getting more disconnecte...

Living gratefully today, I paid attention to the squirrel who greeted me in our yard a few minutes ago, reminding me of the interconnectedness of all living things. I offer peace and prayers for the injustice, pain, anger, violence, and unrest that have unfolded across the Twin Cities in recent days. I continue to give thanks to all who have helped our son Sam have a very meaningful and successful  educational and athletic experience through Hastings Schools. Today is officially Sam’s last day of high school. He should be going to school, garbed in the senior’s traditional USA gear, enjoying one last day of senior privileges, hanging with his buddies, savoring the youthful elation of the most significant milestone so far in his young life. Instead, it will look and feel quite different, marred by pandemic safeguards and restrictions. We understand why it has to be this way, and support the school’s efforts, but we also need to feel the loss and unfairness that is here too. ...

Today I am grateful for Sam giving a speech to Darcy and I last evening that he had earlier in the day given for his teacher and classmates in one of his last high school classes. I remain deeply grateful for recovery, a daily gift it would be dangerous for me to take for granted. I am also grateful for goofiness. When family and friends think of me, I don't think goofy is a word that probably tops their list. It doesn't top my own, or even crack the top 10. Maybe I should work on that. Here is a feeble attempt: And here’s the story.  My dear friend Jill gave me this sleep mask years ago, as I navigated the stress and anxiety of a cancer diagnosis, surgeries, and treatment. Just breathe Lisa, just breathe. I don’t wear it for sleep, but I do keep it in a place I see daily, if I am paying attention. Yesterday, as we chatted on Marco Polo with another friend, I decided to don the mask and act a little silly. I even checked to see if it could double as a face mask. It...

Living gratefully today, I appreciate what I continue to learn about healthy boundaries, both those I set with myself and with others. Day 7 of A Network for Grateful Living's "Little Things" practice was "Practice Gratitude." It posed this question: "Can you feel grateful for something that you might not have noticed as gratitude-worthy before?" The various ways I practice gratitude and live gratefully have shown me appreciation for the most mundane, the seemingly insignificant, the obvious, the hidden, in raw emotions--both the painful and the joyful ones. Yet, the idea of gratefulness can always lead to new discoveries, more depth, new insights. As warm and humid air returns to Minnesota, so do mosquitoes. Are mosquitoes gratitude-worthy? If fish, bats, and frogs could speak of gratitude, they would give thanks for mosquitoes as food. I wouldn't have guessed that many mosquitoes feed on nectar, not blood. They help pollinate and cr...

Today I am grateful for safe travels, time with our grandson Aaron and his parents Arthur and Alyssa, and a little school tour with Darcy and Sam as Sam winds down his high school days. I am also grateful for my "baby" brother Lee and all of my siblings. Lee hits the milestone of 50 years old today. Happy Birthday and have a special day! Day 5 of the "Little Things"practice through www.gratefulness.org was REST. Consider these words: "What if we woke up in the morning and were so grateful for the  sweet territory of silence and sleep?"  (Lynne Twist) I am often already ahead of myself before I get out of bed. Pause. Give thanks for the rest and sleep I just enjoyed. It's a thought, a feeling, to savor. And the words "sweet territory" really struck me. The stillness within becomes sweeter territory when I accept myself as I am, and life as it is in this moment.  Sweet territory as I ran past fragrant lilacs and other blooms...

Today I am grateful for the sights and sounds that calm me and keep me present. Right now that includes gentle clouds and flowing water. The "Little Things" practice, Day 2, was Connect With This Moment. Here are some of my observations as I did that: *the play of clouds and sun, clouds covering the sun, the sun emerging again *waking up next to my husband and being assured by his breathing *three white-tailed deer scampering away across a field after I startled them       coming around a corner on my run *pausing to feel my feet on the floor and wiggle my toes..."here I am, grounded" *feeling the warm comfort of my hand on my heart during meditation *relishing in a spoonful of ice cream at a perfect softness/melted level The little things. Pause to notice some today. Consider writing them down. Drawing them. Talking about them to someone else. Or just fully experience the moment. That's all. I will be taking a blog break over the weekend. See you...

Today I am grateful for my ongoing recovery from alcoholism and the conversations I have with others in recovery. They bring reminders and clarity that I so often need. The Little Things, a practice from www.gratefulness.org, is now underway for the next seven days. The focus for Day 1 was "Breathe." This truly is where it all starts, and where it all ends. If my awareness can start with a breath, and return to a breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly, I am at least pausing for a brief moment and paying kind attention to the life-giving oxygen flow and our amazing respiratory systems. In these times of the COVID-19 pandemic, a largely respiratory illness, we are reminded of the importance of healthy lungs and the ability to breathe. Something we do thousands of times a day without even thinking about it, until we are given a reason to think about it, or an illness that takes the ease of breathing from us. I think of my sister Mary Jo, who had lung cancer and then ...