A Word About Gratitude...

It seems these days I can't escape gratitude. I've been thinking about it a lot and now it's a appearing everywhere in my life. Not so much the concept of me having more but the not-so-subtle reminders that I should be acknowledging it more. My favorite life coach, Cheryl Richardson, talks about developing your "maverick muscle"- the practice of doing something courageous or against the norm a bit more often- but I think I could be cultivating my "gratitude muscle" a little more actively.

About three years ago, a holistic provider/colleague of mine suggested I keep a gratitude journal. Nothing too complicated; just jot down at night three things that you were thankful that day, big or small. I did. It felt great. And the practice lasted about two weeks and then my entries dropped off to once a month... then once every couple of months... you see where I'm going with this.

But, now, this concept of gratitude is all around me. I see it frequently in the the daily thought sheets that are on my Louise Hay calendar. I see it in magazines. I even drove past a sign on the PA turnpike last week (I kid you not). So maybe it's time for the practice to begin again. I've got a lot to be grateful for, not the least of which is my awesome husband and super-fantastic daughter. I could go on and on, but, trust me, there's a lot of grateful in my life.

After all, isn't gratitude ("the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful", as defined by dictionary.com, my most favorite internet tool outside of Google) something we could all focus a little bit more on? And I figure, if I'm focusing on that, then I can't focus on all the other not so gratitude-inducing things. Re-framing of sorts. I'll let you know how it goes...

You Know It's Bad...

So, you know it's been a long time since the last entry when you go to log onto Blogger and can't remember your user name and password. Mea culpa. No excuses but 2011 was not a great year for me. Maybe someday I'll share the details but, for now, the year is over. Hel-lo 2012!! I'm looking forward to a better year and am going to make an attempt at more blogging.

I've been somewhat shamed into this commitment by my friend who, despite being a crazy-busy person, is able to maintain her blog regularly with interesting and engaging entries- everydaymom.weebly.com. You know who you are and I tip my hat to you! One thing you've taught me is brevity. Doesn't have to be a mini-novel.

So, although I don't believe in new year's resolutions (really, why set yourself up like that?), here's to my attempt at better communication for 2012... for all 4 of my readers...