A Season of Gratitude: Week 1 + Gratitude Favorites
You can read a bit about my commitment to staying grounded in gratitude this holiday season and download your free (#printable #dopeoplestillhaveprinters #IDK) gratitude list here. Feel free to share your own gratitude lists with me (#gratitudeOTFT @elizabethev) and the rest of our crew.
A SEASON OF GRATITUDE: WEEK 1
- Wednesday, November 1: I am grateful for the chance to paint for a few hours once the babes are asleep.
- Thursday, November 2: I’m grateful for an interview I heard with David Ridgen from CBC Canada because there was a tiny aside where he said he prefers to call pets “friends.” This made me smile (even though I’m prejudiced against cats).
- Friday, November 3: I am grateful for my husband. This is true every day, but this is our 5th wedding anniversary, and so his thoughtfulness, generosity, ingenuity and enthusiasm for life are especially on my mind today.
- Saturday, November 4: I am grateful for Grace’s compassionate spirit. At nearly 4 (whyyyyyyy), she is becoming more and more aware of the world around us and it is both amazing and heartbreaking. The other day she asked me why there were people in our neighborhood who hold up “signs made of cardboard by the streets.” We’ve been talking a lot lately about how fortunate we are, and also how we can be of service to others (her school does a tremendous job with this too, involving their preschoolers in monthly projects). This is turning into a novel, but today Grace and I went for a walk on the beach. There was an older woman sitting on the bench near the parking lot, a cane resting at her side. Normally I’m the first to yell stranger danger, but I watched with such a full heart as Grace climbed up on the bench next to her and told her all about her morning. It was an unexpected gift.
- Sunday, November 5: I’m grateful for an extra hour of sleep. JK. Daylight Savings is a legit joke when little people run your household. I am, however, grateful for a relaxing weekend on the Cape with our family.
- Monday, November 6: I am grateful for the Motown Party playlist on Spotify.
- Tuesday, November 7: I am grateful for the right to vote, and I am grateful that so many good people were elected today.
This first week has proven to be a really helpful exercise for me. I find myself paying better attention to both the big things and the little things.
And a few gratitude favorites for the week:
- The Amazing Effects of Gratitude // TED-Ed Selects
- The Power of Appreciation // 10 minute meditation with Jay Chodagam on the Simple Habit app (I’ve listened to this one a few times this week and really like the part on radical appreciation– talk about a shift in perspective…)
- 2-Minute Gratitude Ritual That Will Change Your Life // Elizabeth Rider on HuffPost
Oh… and I’m also grateful for those rose gold TOMS I found for 50% off at TJ Maxx. I mean…
Also On Tap for Today:
- Checking out the Connect Boston event with Verizon in the Seaport
- Speaking of David Ridgen, the entire third season of his Someone Knows Something podcast was released today– I highly recommend it!
- Fully embracing cranberry season
What’s on your gratitude list this week?
