The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

PRIVATE ENTRY
18:07 Feb 29 2012
Times Read: 539


• • • • PRIVATE JOURNAL ENTRY • • • •

19:35 Feb 28 2012
Times Read: 542








Gratitude Q&A







The image in the last post proclaims that gratitude is intentional, not something that just happens. I agree wholeheartedly!



Why even care about developing a grateful attitude?



Because the grateful person is a joyful person.



Do they suddenly stop seeing the negative things that happen to them?



No, but it's not where they live. And here's a mind-blower...within every bad thing that happens lies the possibility for growing, and so...for gratitude. Within many bad times in our lives, there are pockets of joy and gratitude. For example, at times of death, sickness, and sorrow, many people are supported by those who love them. There may be a gratitude that suffering is at an end. There may be gifts of laughter provided by the loved one while they are ill. No matter how small, those gifts enrich our lives if we let them.



So many things happen in one day on this earth, one day in this life. I try to stay conscious of them and not dash past them...because if I do that, I will have forgotten them by day's end.



OK, Jo...lotsa talk, but HOW EXACTLY do I do that without all the mumbo jumbo?



Easy Peasy. Inside your head, outloud, or in a whisper...respond to it with a thank you.



That's it?



That's it. This isn't rocket science. You already have all the tools you need. Do the stuff you're already doing, but be awake to the amazing, to the small cool stuff, to the beautiful, to the thought-provoking.



You don't necessarily have to stop and watch the violinist if you're running late for work, but you CAN listen as you walk past...treasuring a few golden notes in a rushed moment. You can feel gratitude that we live in a world where someone would give his time and talent to make a subway station filled with music.



Gratitude doesn't cost anything, but it buys you a new outlook. It allows you to soar above the trees for a moment beside the bird you glimpsed and recognized for the gift that it was to your eyes this day.



I'm not gonna walk around with a goofy smile on my face all day, am I? Sounds kinda hippy-dippy to me, Jo.



Yeah, maybe. But if I walk this earth beside you, I choose joy and gratitude. I choose not to miss the little gifts I am given along the way when it is so easy to simply appreciate them while I am on my way...just living and doing stuff and junk like the rest of the world. No magic formulas...



You are a gift to me. I hope that I sometimes am a gift to you. Your words and the shared moments of your lives make a difference in mine. Thank you.



Gratitude doesn't happen. We happen.

06:03 Feb 28 2012
Times Read: 559

05:47 Feb 28 2012
Times Read: 560

A motivated kid



Toffee ice cream



Collie eyes

Today's Gratitude
05:36 Feb 26 2012
Times Read: 581










It's dusk and time for my evening walk. Want to come along? Ancient oak trees are a feast for the eyes, the Spanish moss swaying in the lake breezes like the lace scarves of refined ladies. Efforts are underway to protect this 100-year-plus oak from toppling after facing the wrath of Hurricane Katrina.













The lake is coming alive as the sun drops lower in the sky. Pelicans roost, preen, and hunt for dinner. When they drop from the sky, it is so fast that they look more like arrows than birds.











We're north of New Orleans, separated by the 24 miles of Lake Pontchartrain. The Causeway twinkles against the darkening sky like a string of diamonds. You can JUST make out the city on the horizon.











Beautiful old homes face the lake and grace the walk with their stately southern elegance.











This fine old gentleman is as resplendent as any peacock and my pitiful iphone camera is not up to the task of capturing all of his finery.











The drama of wind, tree, water, sky, and human is a delight to the senses. There is the top note of the salty gulf tickling the nose and we are graced to be under such a canopy. We are dancing brushstrokes on a living canvas.

08:17 Feb 25 2012
Times Read: 597

The gift of pelicans feeding at dusk.



The gift of dining out.



The gift of a Scottish accent that made the character come to life.

20:43 Feb 24 2012
Times Read: 603

The gift of my book club ladies



The gift of love that came in the shape of a pizza



The gift of a sister's words of encouragement

06:25 Feb 23 2012
Times Read: 617

The waves cresting against the sea wall sending cool, misty spray over me on my walk.



Terry Pratchett books



The day off from work and time all to myself. What a luxury!

07:21 Feb 21 2012
Times Read: 630

The gift of a Patchouli bath bomb



The gift of a percussive gurgle under the drain beside the lake as the waves slopped into the sea wall during my evening walk



The gift of a little miracle girl and her mother's immeasurable love

01:03 Feb 21 2012
Times Read: 638

43. the gift of birdsong in the rain



44. the cooperation of friends who helped until it was done



45. the gift of quiet and a full heart

15:48 Feb 19 2012
Times Read: 646

The gift of raspy-tongued kitty kisses on my arm



The gift of a duck nestled into her befluffed nest beside the pond



The light and lingering smell of bleach on the freshly pressed uniform of a daughter who says thank you

20:49 Feb 18 2012
Times Read: 656

Cold apples just out of the fridge



Rain



Hazelnut coffee

03:19 Feb 17 2012
Times Read: 666

Morri. She brings me joy, especially her laugh.

Unexpected late lunch with my sister.

Fluffy purple slippers.

14:57 Feb 15 2012
Times Read: 676

A bottle of chianti shared

The gift of a rose plant

Compassion witnessed

05:48 Feb 14 2012
Times Read: 691

The gift of an hour and a half all to myself to walk along the lake

Reconnecting with an old friend

Knowing so many grateful people

06:52 Feb 12 2012
Times Read: 707

Old time radio podcast

A warm fire

Victory in Scrabble!

18:37 Feb 11 2012
Times Read: 719

The gift of being a friend when death visits

The gift of a ride to a New Orleans hospital despite parade traffic

The gift of other friends united in prayer and support

21:49 Feb 10 2012
Times Read: 726

The gift of a long walk along the lakefront yesterday evening



The gift of technology that allowed me to listen to podcasts while I walked



The gift of a meal cooked

18:31 Feb 08 2012
Times Read: 740

16. Finished my article by deadline!

17. My friend's surgery went well

18. the gift of rock that led to God and keeps giving

03:09 Feb 08 2012
Times Read: 776

13. My wonderful husband put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door when he left for work, allowing me to sleep in!

14. The best Tex-Mex I have ever tasted.

15. the gift of a hungry chinchilla who eats her one raisin bran flake with two hands and looks cuter than a bunny!

18:09 Feb 07 2012
Times Read: 788

Yesterday



10. A safe drive to Houston

11. A neighbor willing to watch our pets

12. Finding another room in Houston at midnight after the first hotel inexplicably cancelled our reservation

23:56 Feb 05 2012
Times Read: 807

7. Trip to the zoo with everyone!

8. Orangutans...zomg!

9. Kid sleeping at her sister's...house to ourselves!

02:51 Feb 05 2012
Times Read: 823

4. The gift of birra's journal (it resulted in me having a breakfast burrito feast this morning!)



5. The gift of a daughter leading a Relay for Life team



6. The gift of a husband's amazing cooking prowess.

18:57 Feb 03 2012
Times Read: 870

And here is my first entry in this new section:



1. A gift of a mother's service

2. A gift of a friend's trust

3. A gift found in message

18:44 Feb 03 2012
Times Read: 875

I'm changing this section into a dare, not just for me, but for you. Based on Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts, I am challenging myself to find 3 gifts each day that inspire gratitude in my life. At the end of a year, I should have about a thousand.



Why am I doing this? Because it changes our focus. Yes, I already feel gratitude, but what if I were INTENTIONAL about it? How could a day be completely negative if I found 3 gifts a day just for me?



Here are how some of the entries look in other journals:



1. 3 gifts found in writing

2. 3 gifts found when bending down

3. 3 times I heard laughter today

4. A gift in losing something, finding something, in making something

5. 3 gifts found in shadows

6. 3 gifts found in giving/serving

7. 3 gifts that were "Plan B's"

8. a gift of tin, a gift of glass, a gift of wood

9. 3 gifts seen as reflections

10. 3 ugly-beautiful gifts (See beauty in ugly)

11. 3 gifts from the past - that help me trust the future

12. a gift dull, a gift shimmering, a gift cleaned





I love that each day's entry can be very short, just a quick log.

I love that it's personal

I love that it is positive and aimed at my own heart, my own eyes, and my own thoughts





I come from a position of faith, so, for me, there is the element of looking for God's hand in my life. I don't know where YOU are in relation to God, but I believe that even if that's not a motive for you, this exercise will have positive merit for you, too.



SO...will you join me? I dare you (and I dare me) to find 3 gifts each day.



I dare you (and I dare me) to be intentional about gratitude in the gifts we find each day and to log them. Who knows...maybe reading about your gifts will be someone else's gift!



Come on...do it with me.





You know you want to.





All the cool kids are doing it!





I dare you!