I can hold it in my hand and know that I am home, that everything is OK, that I am safe.
Creating Your Grateful Place
No matter where you are or what circumstances surround you, gratitude remains a choice. But that choice may not present itself when you are immersed in whatever comes at you, especially if those circumstances are trying. A daily gratitude practice will usually serve to keep gratitude at the top of your mind. The reminder to choose gratitude will emerge throughout the day.
But sometimes it wont. Sometimes gratitude will be far from your mind. Even if you just wrote what you are grateful for you might get swept up in something that takes you far away from gratitude.
I had this feeling many times on my vacation. I wrote about a few of them but there were many more. Now that I am home a realization came to me. When I am traveling everything is novel. This creates a freedom and an exhilaration with even the simplest of tasks. Even making tea required mindfulness: not getting water from the faucet, turning on the stove that functioned differently than mine, tasting the tea that I had never had before. And there were so many more examples with converting prices and translating words in my head and making my way through an unfamiliar environment.
I saw all of this as exciting at the time. But I now realize that it was also making me much less grounded and stable both in place but also in my mind. This is how all change is.
I realized that one thing I was missing was a symbol of the grateful place I have created in my home. Something that could help me feel grounded. I think this is why I was so connected with nature out there. It helped me feel safe and peaceful. I was most peaceful when I was outside feeling the wind or sun on my skin, feeling the earth surrounding me, touching a plant or flower.
Do you have a grateful place in your home? Maybe an altar or a certain place that you go to in order to feel safe? Do you have a symbol of this grateful place that you carry around with you? If you don’t, create your grateful place this week. Find items that make you feel good and that remind you of gratitude, safety, peace and home. Make yourself a little nest that will protect you when you need to feel protected. I have a few places like this in my house, but I will create a tiny, mobile grateful place I can carry with me everywhere.
Let’s share photos of our grateful places. Post on the website or reply to this email and I will post it for you.
You should feel beautiful and you should feel safe. What you surround yourself with should bring you peace of mind and peace of spirit.
~Stacy London
What are you grateful to surround yourself with that helps you feel peaceful and safe?
LEARNING: I returned home yesterday and didn’t watch the sunset. I did watch Netflix. Is this what I choose here? Netflix over sunsets? What would happen if I spent more time watching sunsets and less time watching Netflix? Would my vacation lifestyle stay with me back home?
FORGOTTEN GRATITUDE: Last week I was also grateful for lightning beetles, sparrows dancing about, herself being well enough to travel, trusting Joanna’s book rec even though I had to trudge through the start, Isla choosing me as a friend.
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[su_note note_color=”#e7e7e7″ text_color=”#686767″ radius=”0″] My gratitude journey started in May 2011 and continues to this day. Thank you for being a part of it! A daily gratitude practice is simple. Write down three things you are grateful for each day. Download your free GratitudeGuide. My clients focus on gratitude and learn from their successes to make the positive changes they want in their lives. You can too. Call me to set up our first meeting 505.333.9336. [/su_note]