Today I am grateful for friendship.  I’ve always been the type of person who was just fine rolling on my own whether it was work or play.  I enjoyed figuring it out and I enjoyed knowing I could do it on my own.  I’ve had two or three really close friendships my entire life (well since I was 5) and I still have those friendships to this day.  But over the last few years, since we moved into this house, I’ve learned the value of friendship.  I’ve formed relationships with our neighbors who are certainly our friends now, and they have been there at the drop of a hat.  Having a support system isn’t a hindrance, it’s a blessing.  Perhaps it was also serendipitous I met these people at this stage in my life, when things were starting to become more of a challenge to do on my own.  Regardless, I am grateful to have people to reach out to and have fun with and confide in. 

Today I am grateful for chances.  I took a chance to get out of my comfort zone related to finances.  I’m looking at expanding into a different industry in order to satisfy some personal needs at home.  There comes a time when you know what you’re doing no longer works and, while it may be a tough decision or even scary, it’s time to do something else.  There are leaps we take without a safety net and they often end up showing us our wings.  We know when things have served their purpose.  Sometimes we hope it goes a different way but we can either no longer wait or the holding on hurts more than the letting go.  Everything that’s meant to be turns out exactly as it should.  So when those chances don’t turn out, take it as protection and move on.  When they do, be grateful and know it was meant for you. 

Today I am grateful for love.  A journey to truly loving ourselves is honesty harder than I thought.  I confused love with putting our needs first all the time or some Cinderella story where we would be cared for in the end after doing all the work.  Love is so much more than that.  It’s taking into consideration the deepest parts of ourselves and honoring them, shining the light on them, giving them the chance to breathe.  I’ve been blessed to feel love in my life (even if I’ve questioned it at times) and I’ve been doubly blessed to give love.  I cherish the thought of love and I am grateful to be able to turn that conceptually toward myself.  It isn’t about indulgence or anything else—it’s simply about honoring the deepest parts of who we are.  That is enough!  It’s hard work because some of those things we were taught to hide, but lovingly embracing them makes all the difference.  It isn’t settling or accepting bad behaviors, it’s loving ourselves enough to take care of those facets as they need.  I’m working on loving me more.

Today I am grateful for sticking with my promises to myself.  Earlier this year we decided that this was going to be a year of experiences, meaning we were going to focus our time on doing things we wanted to do instead of waiting or spending money on more things.  So far we’ve done something new nearly every weekend.  We’ve taken the time to hang out and connect with people, to spend time with each other, to play games (new games specifically), and to just enjoy each other’s company.  It hasn’t been easy because we know that following the path of least resistance often means repeating patterns.  But staying cognizant and alert to the desire to go back to what I knew curbs the desire to say “no” to things.  In fact, I’m looking for more things to say “yes” to.  Life comes in when you create space for the yes.  I love the yes in life.

Today I am grateful for what trying new things means.  To piggy back off of above, trying new things also meant literally trying new things in terms of body care, mental care, and priorities.  It wasn’t only experiences, it was the entire picture of trying out new pieces of what I want my life to look like.  I tried a new self-care routine including a cleanse and I feel amazing.  While I know now I could have eaten better during that time, I am proud for committing to the program and seeing what it does for my body.  I followed through and I learned that even though there were some nights I’d almost forget to take my stuff, I’d be upstairs ready for bed, I’d remember and I’d go back downstairs and take what I needed to.  It’s a small thing but sticking with those convictions matters.  I’m grateful to learn what trying new things opens up.

Today I am grateful to celebrate.  Life changes and we change and time moves on and we never know what’s coming—we will talk about that more later this week—but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy our time while we have it and be grateful and joyous and celebrate what we have.  We are meant to spread joy and to feel joy and share joy.  So while time is fleeting, be grateful for what you have.  Forget the next step and the next outcome for just a minute and appreciate where you are.  There are only so many moments we get and having awareness of those moments makes them all the more special.  We often think there needs to be a moment to celebrate, or a “when this happens, then…” type of scenario.  But that isn’t true.  As cliché as it sounds, remember that life is the occasion.  The reason to celebrate is that we exist.  I am grateful to exist and I choose to honor that through what feels good, through feeling joy.  Find what brings you joy this week and celebrate it.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.