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Where I Lay My Head
The essentials that surround us. Sick and Cold and Alone and Wondering That's how I woke up this morning. I hadn't turned on my space heater and my bedroom isn't heated otherwise. My blankets were not cutting it once that low of 21 degrees hit. And to make matters worse I was sick to my stomach.…
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Celebrating the Wins
Wins large and small. The Day after an Election and Other Days Too When we see the results of an election there are almost always wins and losses. These larger wins and losses are a great example for the itty bitty wins and losses that we experience on an average Wednesday. It can be so…
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Without Their Validation
I accept myself in this moment. Using Gratitude to Stop Caring What Others Think In the scenario from last week I talked about how expectations can get in the way of positive emotion. Another way to see that scenario is from the lens of validation, which really is just another way of saying acceptance. External…
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Without Expectation of Thanks
How dare they not thank me? When My Expectations Get in the Way Earlier this week my classmates were complaining about their low grades on the midterm exam, frustrated that the professor was not open to offering extra credit or any other accommodations. I asked about one particular question on the exam that I got…
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Mining for Possibilities
Replacing your reactions with possibilities. What is Possible? Our reactions, whether emotions, actions or just thoughts, are so mindless and automatic. That isn't always a bad thing. I mean, really, it might just save our asses when we are driving. But outside of those times when split-second reaction time is necessary we can change our…
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Your Closet Full of Clothes
Boots and sweaters and scarves As Fall Approaches The weather has turned cold. The leaves are changing and the mountains even got snow! I love fall clothes, so warm and cozy. Socks and boots and knitwear. Thinking of this reminded me of how grateful I am to have a closet full of clothing. Always enough…
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To Have Not or to Have
Celebrating what we have through gratitude. Today It can be so easy to look forward with worry or anticipation. To look back with regret or nostalgia. But today calls for your attention. Today is here. Today is real. And even when we are present in what is real today it can be so easy to…
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Feel Your Feelings
Don’t skip the heart of it all. These Feelings Are Real I beg of you to sit with them. These feelings that are alive in you right now. Whatever they are. However they feel. Just be here now with them. What are you noticing in your body? Where do you feel sensations? Where do you…
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World Gratitude Day is Friday
Ripples of Gratitude A Day to Spread Gratitude Throughout the World Friday is World Gratitude Day, a day to spread gratitude throughout the world. Do you feel alone in your gratitude practice? Do you believe in gratitude? Do you envision a world united by gratitude? Are there others that you know would benefit from practicing…
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Mindful and Grateful
As long as I talk about gratitude I will never stop talking about noticing. Don’t Miss Out on This Moment I have said it before and will say it again: We can’t be grateful for something we don’t notice. I know that seems obvious. It really does. But still we are scattered. Busy. Worrying. Planning.…
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The Unlikely Gratitude Expert
I must confess. I am grumpy. And grateful. Yes, We Can We can be grateful. Not just us. Everyone can. Even the most grumpy person we know. The most cynical. The most punk rock. The most intellectual. The most in pain. Depressed. Worried. Hopeless. Addicted. Everyone is grateful for something at one time or another.…
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There Are No Words
… {Gasp} Sometimes gratitude fills you. Completely. So full that your heart just seems to expand more and more and more. And your skin can't possibly hold it all in. Those moments of gratitude are so big that everything else slips away. And we are fully enveloped in the blessing in front of us. Years ago…
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The Teacher Appears
Ready or not. Hello, Teacher What teacher has shown up in your life recently? A fly that reminds you to keep the screens closed and to pick up dog poop. A child amazed at a simple blade of grass. That person who reminds you of the importance of clearly communicating your no. A rose bush…
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Repeat the Good
Learning to honor the good in our lives. Imagine Ruminating about the Good How often are your ruminating thoughts about the good that is happening in your life? If you’re like me almost never. I usually ruminate about my to do list, what other people are thinking, fears about the past or future, or the…
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Finding Gratitude is Creativity
To see all around you differently. A Reality That Wasn’t There Before Sometimes gratitude just spontaneously emerges. Other times I decide I am going to be grateful and choose to find gratitude that wasn’t there before. Either way I see the parallels with creativity. Isn’t creativity the same way? Sometimes we just spontaneously add that…
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Gratitude Makes Charitable Giving Feel Better
Science! It’s been awhile since I shared some gratitude research. Charitable Giving and Gratitude Throughout the years I've shared many benefits of practicing gratitude from personal experiences as well as those proven through research studies. I discovered a new study with an unexpected benefit of practicing gratitude that can be seen in brain scans. First…
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Fun Matters
😂 Beaming With Joy You know me. I am so damn serious all the time. Well almost all the time. Especially when I am in professional, work, learning and healing modes. But the lesson that has emerged for me recently is fun, smiles, happiness, great big joy for no reason at all. Or for every…
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Ceremony and Ritual
Why I am all about rituals. Intention and Actions in Sequence I’ve been mentioning rituals for awhile now. Even sharing some of the gratitude and healing rituals I enjoy practicing. But I have never really talked about why I am all about rituals and ceremony. I love the word ritual. There is just something about…
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Grief and Self Touch
Appreciating your body with touch. Intentional Self Touch During Times of Grief I have been thinking a lot about grief and loss. There are people in our gratitude community who are experiencing profound losses right now. And there are people in my other communities, people in the country and all over the world, who are…
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Waving Your Flag
Putting it all out there. Loud and Proud Gratitude If you had a flag of your states of being what would be on it? What are you all about? What do you live by? Would your flag declare gratitude or love or peace or spirituality or fun or growth or something else or all of…