Gratitude Journal 11.23 I
Happy day after Thanksgiving!
I know the Holidays can be both joyful and challenging. Leading up to the holidays, my gratitude practice has helped me focus and center on what’s really important and what I’m giving thanks for this year.
Thanks for being here. I’m grateful for you!
11/1: getting to pack my own snacks and lunches. I feel like I’m my own middle school mom and I love it.
11/2: opening the office in the morning and melting in the quiet of an empty building.
11/3: working with clinicians who take special care of me when I break.
11/4: meeting with an old friend for coffee and a walk through North Park.
11/5: when cousins are more like siblings than strangers.
11/6: Daiso: the cutest little convenience store that does not break the bank. If you are in need of Holiday gift ideas…
11/7: knowing that I have a gratitude list long enough to scroll down to add something to.
11/8: being recognized for running a meeting confidently on my own.
11/9: a slow day where the slowness is felt as deep as my bones.
11/10: an even slower day where the slowness is felt as deep as my soul.
11/11: Joann’s…the new Michaels.
11/12: polaroid pictures of my best friends that now decorate a wall in my apartment - it makes me feel closer to them even thousands of miles away.
11/13: a forgotten fortune cookie wrapper in my coach that tells me the winds of change will sweep me off my feet in the next month.
11/14: the kindness of my best friends who sent me a beautifully thoughtful care package and inspired the following writing:
I had lost sight. I had lost sight of what was good in pursuit of what was better. In losing sight, I also lost my ability to write. Writing is as if a teabag, soaking in the boiling hot water of vulnerability, gratitude, and observation. I forgot to observe the leaves. I forgot to observe the rain. I forgot to observe the ants. I lost my creative sight: the curiosity, the wonder, the amazement. It all came back to me upon finding a mysterious package at my front door in the pitch black of night. I recognized the handwriting immediately and knew I was in for a treat. I open the package to find a few of my favorite things, all wrapped nicely and accompanied by the sweetest of notes. I’m struck because this is not something I’d ever think to do. In a moment of need, I asked for help. And in a moment of need, with the help of the trusted United States Postal Service, you delivered.
Goodness came knocking. And I answered.