Gratitude Friday
Bring on the gratitude, I say.
I wanted to take a moment to say how I got started with gratitude Friday, since a few of you have asked. Last winter, during a particularly rough patch with Ella, I read an article in the wonderful Yoga Journal about keeping a gratitude journal as a way to open your heart to gladness, even a way to battle depression. I think my simultaneous reactions were “Wouldn’t that be nice!” and “No way this will work, no way it can be that simple.” Well, I decided to give it a try, even though I’ve never successfully kept a journal. You would think I would learn, eventually, that the simple things are always the ones that work. Long story short, I still keep that journal, I love it, and it provides a wonderful antidote to stressful or gloomy times. I discovered Gratitude Friday posts on Shelley’s blog a few months back, and thought it would be a perfect extension of the journal. So here we go! (One of my favorite things about listing gratitudes is that, even when it’s hard to start, soon they come pouring out. It really is an amazing exercise.)
This week, I’m grateful for all of you who’ve joined us for the Ten Steps.
Grateful for the community we live in, our neighbors and friends (old, new, and ones we haven’t met yet!)
Grateful that we get to go visit family next week for Thanksgiving – my favorite holiday!
Grateful for Bill McKibben’s Hundred Dollar Holiday, which I just finished reading. It has a totally fascinating history of Christmas – not what you’d expect at all .
Grateful for the chance to make our special cranberry-pecan sourdough, pumpkin tarts, and cranberry-caramel tart next week. Yummy!
Grateful, always, for the chance to work with my hands and my heart.
Grateful that we (and our animals) are all healthy.
Grateful for the chance to dance in the living room with my girl.
Grateful for the chance to count my blessings.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Gratitude is potent stuff indeed. Today I’m grateful for:
your friendship;
the end of a nightmare situation for another dear friend;
263 Northampton residents who have signed the Bean Farm petition so far;
having the opportunity to take action on something I care so deeply about;
heirloom apples;
my parents, who will be here next week;
my Tom who is endlessly sweet;
my Lily who stuns me with love.
on Friday I was thankful for:
-waking up with the sun beaming through the window
-my dear friend, Matt, who cares so much
-having a peaceful house with great people to come back to after a long day of classes
-the way butter makes everything so scrumptious!
-piecing together a creative dinner at home, tasting the Earth
-the pleasure of knitting a pair of socks
-the wonderful bakery that i am so lucky to spend time at the next morning
Lovely Cristie, thank you! And amazing job organizing at the bakery -woo hoo!
I love that -stunning with love. Perfect.
I have just been reading over your past posts about the ten steps and it sounds like your family has made many of the same choices that our family has made – one vehicle, rarely buying anything new, cloth recycled rags, etc…..
Thank you for taking the time to post this it has given me even more to think about.
Warm wishes.
Tonya,
Thank you – I do think we have a lot in common! My best to you and your family. I loved your recent post about making the wooden spoons – so beautiful!