As the year winds down, it's time for my annual Gratitude List! Below I have listed three of the things I am especially grateful for this year. I encourage you to read over my thoughts as inspiration for making your own Gratitude List! I firmly believe that gratitude is one of the most powerful forces in the universe, and most ancient traditions and religions will back me up on that.
What are you grateful for this year?
If you have trouble making a list, you may need to spend time regularly thinking about this topic to cultivate a more grateful and positive state of mind. You will find it will benefit every area of your life!
What are you grateful for this year?
If you have trouble making a list, you may need to spend time regularly thinking about this topic to cultivate a more grateful and positive state of mind. You will find it will benefit every area of your life!
1.) Abundance
I was going to title this section "Wealth," but I didn't want it to sound like it was financially-focused (though I know wealth can mean so much more than just money). Truthfully, I know that we are blessed financially, and I try to remember this when I think about all the things I "want" that I don't have. We have so much more than the majority of the world does, and I want to make sure that I always remember that and am grateful for it.
I am even thankful for the tools that our bank account provides that make it so easy to manage our money wisely and design a budgeting system that works for us! And of course, I am thankful that I learned about Bank On Yourself all those years ago, and that I have had the opportunity to utilize this concept to be able to afford the things that we need (and want) without going into debt.
But when I speak of abundance, I mean so much more than just the financial side. I mean our beautiful home - which, even with all its flaws and things that need fixing, is such a wonderful place to call home. I mean the abundance of love that I receive every day from my husband and our sweet, beautiful, funny and affectionate dog, Molly Brown. I mean the incredible bounty of food that we enjoy from our own garden and our overflowing larder and pantry.
I am so thankful for our beautiful garden, the relatively growing-friendly climate that we live in, and of course, for the wonderful farmers that put so much time, effort, and care into raising our meat in a humane, responsible, and sustainable manner. I am thankful for the friendships we have formed with them, and for the ability to purchase so much of our food so close to where it was raised.
And I am thankful for the love of my wonderful family, who all seem so close even when they are so many miles away.
All of these things combine to make me feel like I have such an incredibly abundant life that sometimes I can hardly believe how lucky and blessed I am!! Mmm...warm, fuzzy feelings! :-)
2.) Health
Ever since I turned 40, it seems like every year I become more aware of the fleeting and temporary nature of life. In my 20's, 40 seemed so far away. But now, 60 really doesn't, and I wonder where all that time has gone, and how the remaining time can seem to be growing so short so quickly?
As I watch my relatives aging, and the face in the mirror looks less and less like that 20-something girl, I am constantly reminded of what a blessing and a gift our lives are, and how important good health is for prolonging our lives - and our enjoyment of them.
I have been blessed with relatively good health so far, though as some of you may know, I have experienced chronic back pain for the past 15 years or so. (In fact, my back has been acting up this weekend, after moving our 20 new hay bales into position in the garden for next year's growing season.)
But as I was lying in bed last night, trying to find a comfortable position that didn't bother my back, it struck me how grateful I am for the ability to do as much as I do. There was a time when I felt like it was such a disability, and I almost despaired of ever having a "normal" life. Every little twinge left me in dread of the pain that was to come, and I felt that I was truly unable to do the things I wanted to do in life - even simple things such as gardening...
I realized last night that I really don't have that dread anymore!
This is largely due to a couple of excellent chiropractors that I have worked with over the years (one in particular has been very helpful). Thanks to the help of these talented and incredibly smart individuals, I no longer fear the activities of life. Last year, I discovered that I could run without pain - for the first time in 15 years! Road trips no longer cripple me. Working hard in the garden, or being on my feet in the kitchen for hours canning tomatoes may leave me sore and aching, but I recover quickly, and even the worst episodes are mostly just annoying, rather than detracting from my life.
I am so grateful for those individuals who have been willing to "think outside the box" of traditional medicine and learn how to work with the body and treat pain in so many different effective ways.
I look forward to many more years of relatively pain-free function and good health as I move into the second half of my life!
3.) The Word of God
Just to clarify, I don't mean Jesus or the Bible here (though of course I am eternally grateful for those as well). Instead, I mean the actual, living word of God, which I have been hearing so clearly lately.
The end of the year always seems to make me more introspective than usual, and lately I have been thinking deeply about a number of things - specifically habits, behaviors, and thought patterns of my own that I don't particularly like.
This self-exploration has been aided - sometimes startlingly - by sudden and very clear insights that I can't believe I never realized before! Some of them have to do with gratitude. Others with belief systems I absorbed from other people as a child without realizing it. But the answers given to me have been so clear and definitive that I see them very clearly as responses from God to my questioning.
(I know that some people would define these answers as simply coming from within a deeper part of myself, or things that I already knew but never consciously took the time to think about. But to those people I would simply ask, who's to say that's NOT God?)
I do feel that God is always there for us at all times - always listening - and yes, always answering. Even if you don't immediately see or hear the answer, or you don't get the answer you want, it is there. It is up to us to learn to listen, and I am grateful for my recent listening, as well as for the answers that are being provided!
As I wrap up this list, I hope that you will take some time to think about your own life. What unique things are YOU grateful for? They can be little things (and sometimes the best things are - like the sun on your face, or the smell of autumn leaves) - or big things, like some of mine listed above. Start where you are, and begin to look for the things that bless your life each day, in large or small ways. And give them some love and thanks! (Check out this post for some more tips on making your own Gratitude List.)
Thank you.
Rose.
I was going to title this section "Wealth," but I didn't want it to sound like it was financially-focused (though I know wealth can mean so much more than just money). Truthfully, I know that we are blessed financially, and I try to remember this when I think about all the things I "want" that I don't have. We have so much more than the majority of the world does, and I want to make sure that I always remember that and am grateful for it.
I am even thankful for the tools that our bank account provides that make it so easy to manage our money wisely and design a budgeting system that works for us! And of course, I am thankful that I learned about Bank On Yourself all those years ago, and that I have had the opportunity to utilize this concept to be able to afford the things that we need (and want) without going into debt.
But when I speak of abundance, I mean so much more than just the financial side. I mean our beautiful home - which, even with all its flaws and things that need fixing, is such a wonderful place to call home. I mean the abundance of love that I receive every day from my husband and our sweet, beautiful, funny and affectionate dog, Molly Brown. I mean the incredible bounty of food that we enjoy from our own garden and our overflowing larder and pantry.
I am so thankful for our beautiful garden, the relatively growing-friendly climate that we live in, and of course, for the wonderful farmers that put so much time, effort, and care into raising our meat in a humane, responsible, and sustainable manner. I am thankful for the friendships we have formed with them, and for the ability to purchase so much of our food so close to where it was raised.
And I am thankful for the love of my wonderful family, who all seem so close even when they are so many miles away.
All of these things combine to make me feel like I have such an incredibly abundant life that sometimes I can hardly believe how lucky and blessed I am!! Mmm...warm, fuzzy feelings! :-)
2.) Health
Ever since I turned 40, it seems like every year I become more aware of the fleeting and temporary nature of life. In my 20's, 40 seemed so far away. But now, 60 really doesn't, and I wonder where all that time has gone, and how the remaining time can seem to be growing so short so quickly?
As I watch my relatives aging, and the face in the mirror looks less and less like that 20-something girl, I am constantly reminded of what a blessing and a gift our lives are, and how important good health is for prolonging our lives - and our enjoyment of them.
I have been blessed with relatively good health so far, though as some of you may know, I have experienced chronic back pain for the past 15 years or so. (In fact, my back has been acting up this weekend, after moving our 20 new hay bales into position in the garden for next year's growing season.)
But as I was lying in bed last night, trying to find a comfortable position that didn't bother my back, it struck me how grateful I am for the ability to do as much as I do. There was a time when I felt like it was such a disability, and I almost despaired of ever having a "normal" life. Every little twinge left me in dread of the pain that was to come, and I felt that I was truly unable to do the things I wanted to do in life - even simple things such as gardening...
I realized last night that I really don't have that dread anymore!
This is largely due to a couple of excellent chiropractors that I have worked with over the years (one in particular has been very helpful). Thanks to the help of these talented and incredibly smart individuals, I no longer fear the activities of life. Last year, I discovered that I could run without pain - for the first time in 15 years! Road trips no longer cripple me. Working hard in the garden, or being on my feet in the kitchen for hours canning tomatoes may leave me sore and aching, but I recover quickly, and even the worst episodes are mostly just annoying, rather than detracting from my life.
I am so grateful for those individuals who have been willing to "think outside the box" of traditional medicine and learn how to work with the body and treat pain in so many different effective ways.
I look forward to many more years of relatively pain-free function and good health as I move into the second half of my life!
3.) The Word of God
Just to clarify, I don't mean Jesus or the Bible here (though of course I am eternally grateful for those as well). Instead, I mean the actual, living word of God, which I have been hearing so clearly lately.
The end of the year always seems to make me more introspective than usual, and lately I have been thinking deeply about a number of things - specifically habits, behaviors, and thought patterns of my own that I don't particularly like.
This self-exploration has been aided - sometimes startlingly - by sudden and very clear insights that I can't believe I never realized before! Some of them have to do with gratitude. Others with belief systems I absorbed from other people as a child without realizing it. But the answers given to me have been so clear and definitive that I see them very clearly as responses from God to my questioning.
(I know that some people would define these answers as simply coming from within a deeper part of myself, or things that I already knew but never consciously took the time to think about. But to those people I would simply ask, who's to say that's NOT God?)
I do feel that God is always there for us at all times - always listening - and yes, always answering. Even if you don't immediately see or hear the answer, or you don't get the answer you want, it is there. It is up to us to learn to listen, and I am grateful for my recent listening, as well as for the answers that are being provided!
As I wrap up this list, I hope that you will take some time to think about your own life. What unique things are YOU grateful for? They can be little things (and sometimes the best things are - like the sun on your face, or the smell of autumn leaves) - or big things, like some of mine listed above. Start where you are, and begin to look for the things that bless your life each day, in large or small ways. And give them some love and thanks! (Check out this post for some more tips on making your own Gratitude List.)
Thank you.
Rose.
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