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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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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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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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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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With Everything You’ve Got
Don’t wait to sing your swan song. The Most Beautiful Song One day when I was a teenager in my parents' house I heard the most beautiful music. It was so intense and complex and captivating that it drew me out of my self-absorbed and friend-obsessed ways. I immediately tried to locate where this music…
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Nothing Was Abandoned
Do I still believe that the secret to happiness is low expectations? Expectations vs. Presence I used to believe that the key to happiness was low expectations. Maybe I still do. Our quote this week by Björk really has me pondering the relationship between being present, having expectations and gratitude. She is basically saying that…
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Giving Weight
I see you. I value you. I hope you’ll stay. Welcoming In Last week was all about releasing. Letting go of that which no longer serves us. This week let's honor all of the things that we wish to welcome into our lives. The objects, the beliefs, the thoughts, the values, the people, our bodies,…
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Plot Twist Flow and Feel
I note to myself (and you) to help me flow with these ups and downs. Mijita, Sit down, mijita. Take a breath. It's been a long week. A week of celebration. Feeling the intoxicating bliss of love. Getting into the school program you have been dreaming about for so many years. A week of loss.…
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Forgotten Gratitude
I appreciated you at the time. But now that your petals have fallen even more so. Gratitude Forgotten and Remembered Those of you who have been here remember that I used to have a segment in these writings where I shared "forgotten gratitude". These were things that I was grateful for at the time and…
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Job Crafting Through Gratitude
Finding meaning in our work. Start Crafting Your Meaningful Work Today To have a great life, to be at our best, to be resilient, we must find meaning in our life. Imagine having a strong sense of purpose as you contribute to something greater than yourself. Imagine having a job that is fulfilling in this…
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Don’t Be a Gratitude Pusher
Gratitude is something you feel. Not something you tell others to feel. Feel It or Don't. It's up to You Alone. Today I saw this quote from Paul Ryan: This is one of those moments where we just need to step back and count our blessings. We need to think less about taking sides and…
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Love Your Neighbor
What if there was something to love in everyone? Love First Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day of celebrating romantic love but I have always associated it with my mom and dad and their thoughtful valentines. There are so many types of love in this world. Why don’t we celebrate them all? Today…
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The Flow of All Things
The shape of everything is flow. ~Richard Rohr Choose to See the Flow What possibilities open up for you when you choose to see the flow in all of life? In nature. In seasons. In relationships. In thoughts. In emotions. In love. I went to a talk last night and everything kept coming back to…
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Finding the Fun
Sometimes the easiest way to see it differently is to find something funny about it. It’s Not Funny. Or Is It? Some people are experts at finding the humor in situations that just aren’t funny. These people annoy me. Hahaha. But if I’m honest when I am feeling grounded and calm and at my best…
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Could Be Better Could Be Worse
Up and down. Down and up. Could be better. Could be worse. A Blessing from a Stranger at Walmart I very rarely go to Walmart. When I do it's usually very late at night when the other stores are closed. So just before midnight on Sunday night there I was walking the aisles of Walmart.…
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Open to a New Way of Seeing
We are resilient. We are grateful. Take a Breath. Sink into This. What a year. It hasn't been the greatest. But here we all are. Resilient and often grateful. Through the darkness we trekked. Through the pain we grew. Through the loneliness we found each other. We are here. With a new way of seeing.…
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Don’t Be Blinded by Gratitude
Not everything is beautiful. In what ways does seeing the darkness of the world bring you hope? Seeing the Darkness and Finding Hope As I mourn yet another mass shooting I am reflecting on being grateful but not ONLY being grateful. I would hate for a gratitude practice to be blinders to seeing the tragedies…