I had too many places to be today to go bare-faced, so that'll have to be tomorrow when I go out. Today was the perfect day to Practice Gratitude, though.
Being thankful and grateful are a HUGE part of my life. Maybe it's like the old saying that those who have had very little, or been through a lot, have the most to be grateful for in good times? That's certainly the case for me. I grew up poor, in the center of a lot of disfunction, being told things that no little kid should be told. I've been through a lot of bad things as a teenager, and had to deal with and work though the most difficult things in my adult life. But still, I'm fully aware that so many other people have it worse than I ever did. For that, I have every reason to be thankful. As my beautiful friend born in Tanzania says, "At least you have a roof." How's that for perspective?! She said it once when we first went for coffee together, and after sharing we both had been through more than anyone would imagine - even though our stories are VERY different - we are both grateful for the very little things in life.
There is a book, which also was made into a movie, both with a "part 2" book/movie called The Ultimate Gift/The Ultimate Life. It's excellent and worth watching the movie with everyone you know. In it, the main character has lessons to learn (the hard way) to inherit millions of dollars. One of the things he's told to do is to make a list every day of 10 things to be thankful/grateful for. What would YOUR list look like?
I'll show you what a day might look like on my list:
1. My faith - without it, I have no hope, life is meaningless, what's the point, why am I here?
2. My family - some days it's my household, husband & adult kids, others it's my siblings and Mom,
other days it's my extended family that makes me smile by just remembering good times we've
had together.
3. My friends - I have lots of acquaintances, quite a few friends, but I also am blessed with a smaller
circle of dear, close friends who know the real me. They understand my motives, my good intentions when I mess up, and that I never mean to say or do something hurtful to them. They get me.
4. My home - I'm so thankful for my home. I've lived in much smaller places, a trailer, a farmhouse, a condo, an apartment, a small house 50 years old, large multifamily homes over 100 years old, I've even lost my house during the whole Bank of America scam in 2008, and had to live with relatives kind enough to take us in. I could live in a camping one bed room cabin, a motor home, or a travel trailer - if I didn't feel so strongly about providing a home for my kids until they're ready to fly on their own, and to take care of my mother now that she can't really support herself. That said, I could do okay in much worse homes than where I am, but I'm so thankful that it has some space, it's on a quiet street, the neighbors are generally good people from what I can tell, and it's in good shape.
5. My health - I could stand to lose a lot of weight (not that I haven't been aggressively trying for the past 2 years), I could do extreme things to my diet and exercise routine but...I'm thankful for what I have. I'm not struggling with any life threatening diseases that I'm aware of. I have full use of my limbs. I'm not in pain 24/7 like others I know...I'm thankful for where it's at right now.
6. I'm thankful for my marriage. Like any other couple, that wasn't always the case every single day of the last 25 years, and understandably my husband would say the same, but now...we've got it figured out. I'm thankful for who he is, not who I want him to become. I'm thankful for his work ethic to take care of his family, and how he takes care of me. It makes me want to take better care of him too.
7. I'm thankful for who I am. I could've been born in a poverty-stricken, third world country. I could've been born with severe disabilities or a major disease. I am grateful for what I didn't end up with in my life.
8. I'm thankful for my country. I could've been born into some war torn, violent, fighting zone where decades if not centuries of battles have been fought in the streets and homes of everyday citizens. I was born into a country with more freedom than anywhere else. For that, I'm thankful.
9. I'm grateful for what I've learned over the years. I've learned skills like parenting, being married, financial responsibility, how to work hard, how to work smart, how to learn and teach myself new things, logic and reasoning skills, how to cook like a pro, people skills, business principles, the history of my faith, minimalism, even down to how to read, write, and do math. I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn all of it. Where would I be without it.
10. Nature - I'm so thankful for this beautiful world we live in: electric blue Caribbean waters, purple and orange sunsets, pink and yellow sunrises, deep green grassy fields, hundreds upon hundreds of different trees and flowers, so many different kinds of fruits and vegetables, mountains, deserts, ice storms, newly fallen snow, it's all so beautiful, and we have all of it right here in our own country, often all in one state! I'm thankful for a pretty sunset, a beautiful storm making it's way across a cloudless sky, the feel of sand under my feet, a cool breeze on a hot day, the stillness of water in a lake, the sound of the ocean waves hitting the shore - how can people take all that for granted?
Please share a short list of 5-10 things you're grateful for, even if it's just one or two word answers without explanation. I'd love to hear from you.
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