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Steps Before Practicing Gratitude
For those days when it doesn’t emerge spontaneously. Cultivating Gratitude Some days gratitude emerges beautifully and unexpectedly like a wildflower sprout whose seed carried by the wind took refuge in a tiny patch of dirt that lay at rest. It wasn't planned. It wasn't expected. It wasn't even desired. But there it is. Thriving. Other…
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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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Give Your Body This Gift
I almost didn’t share this picture because I was embarrassed about my body. Honor Your Body With Gratitude There our bodies are each and every moment of each and every day. They are carrying us through our lives. We push them when we are busy. We rest them when we can. And we complain when…
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Don’t Cover Up Shit with Glitter
I found actual dog shit in my bed! Allow The Shit To Be Shit A couple weeks ago I was talking about Getting Real About Gratitude where I mentioned that things aren't always pretty but that we can still find beauty by looking at the ugliness with a grateful heart. Well that was put to…
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Get Out of Your Perspective Rut
I have always hated that. Another Day Another Opportunity Yesterday I was at Target and making small talk with the cashier. We were celebrating that he was getting off work in 15 minutes. Then he started talking about how much he hates Mondays and how he has hated them his entire life. He really lost…
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Getting Real about Gratitude
It’s not all daisies and sunsets. The Reality of Gratitude Before I started my gratitude practice I used to roll my eyes at people’s gratitude. I mean, come on. Don’t they live in the real world like the rest of us? Where’s the dog shit and the car wrecks and the death? Why is…
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With or Without Comparison
Are you choosing to compare away your joy? I saw the Theodore Roosevelt quote below and it really resonated with me. I can definitely get caught in the trap of comparing myself to others. I see the new car of my neighbor and although I like my car I find myself wishing I had a…
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David Bowie on Entrenched Negative Thinking
Staying True to Ourselves, David Bowie Has Always Showed Us How Last night David Bowie passed away. He was one of those people who was so extremely creative that everything he did pushed our limits of understanding of art and of how the world works. There is an interesting dynamic in his costuming…
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The Power of What You Are Not Grateful For
Don’t Ignore That Big Void of Gratitude Did you reflect on 2015? If so, there were probably a few regrettable things that stood out. If you were reflecting with gratitude you may have just skipped right over those negative parts. Or maybe you still were able to find something you are grateful for.…
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The Fantasy of Everything Settling Down
It’s an Inside Job I find myself saying that I will get to this and that when things calm down. But it never does. There’s always something new that shows up to challenge me. Lately the challenge has been emotional as you know from reading last week’s issue. What I have been struggling with…
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Fact-Based Gratitude
Gratitude Need Not Blind You from Reality Fact: This morning as I used the bathroom I stepped in something wet. Fact: It was dog pee. Fact: I was not fucking happy about this. Fact: I was grateful for having a washing machine to be able to take care of the problem. Gratitude is…
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My Video Confession
You May Not Know This about Me … but You Should Know Let me share an example with you. Yesterday I was working at my mom’s store. When I was telling my mom about the day the first thing I said was that my first customer was grumpy and impossible…
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She said, “The things that are happening to me are a function of my view of them.”
Freedom in Uncertainty I am preparing for the Dealing with Negativity webinar this Thursday and came across the work of Ellen Langer, Ph.D. She is a Harvard professor who has been studying mindfulness for forty years. She is quick to point out that she is not talking about mindfulness mediation and in fact instead of using…
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Turning It Downside Up
Lessons in ‘Should’ I woke up this morning itching to get away. I love my house but sometimes I feel trapped within its walls. On days like this I even resent working from home, something that I thoroughly enjoy. Immediately I had a solution. I needed a change of scenery. Yes, I’m sure I could…
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This Story Has Taught Me for Nine Years
Thank It and Release It Nine years ago I learned something profound about acceptance, gratitude and letting go that has never ceased to teach me. A Curandera was doing a limpia, an energetic cleansing that helps facilitate release, on a woman who was determined to let go of something that was negatively affecting her life.…
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One Fact Took Me from Appalled and Judgmental to Humbled
When you see a person, see the good I once worked at a middle school and was part of a team of people from vastly different backgrounds. There were middle school administrators and teachers, University directors and staff, college students who led after school activities, medical providers and me as the health educator. This was…
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Do you remember your dreams?
Saying Thank You for my Dreams For the longest time I have been intrigued by my dreams. I like to remember them, talk about them, and explore the meaning behind the images. The problem is that I often do not remember them. Even though I know how I can remember them if I really want…
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Giving with a Grateful Heart
Teaching Ourselves to Give with Gratitude We are taught to always say thank you when we receive a gift, a generous gesture or anything else. But very few of us are taught to say thank you for the opportunity to give. This realization came to me when I read the online rant of someone I…
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Today We Practice Self-Love
Love Love and more Love We are on our fourth of six weeks of focusing on our inner selves to be the change we wish to see in the world. This week is all about self-love. So here we are at self-love though it seems this should have been the place to start. Can…
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Today We Practice Self-Compassion
You Are Your Own Best Friend We are on our third of six weeks of focusing on our inner selves to be the change we wish to see in the world. This week is all about self-compassion. Last week we talked about accepting and respecting ourselves no matter what. But we can take that one…