Gratefulness

From Follow Your Dreams

The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon,
but that we wait so long to begin it.
~ Anonymous

Breakthrough Email of the Week Award goes to Helena

for her beautiful words on awakening to gratitude.

~

Gratitude Journal

If I could ask you to do one thing for yourself, would you do it?

Go out. Get a blank book. A colourful book. A pretty book.

Or even just a lined paper book.

Cover it in stickers, your favourite pictures, or just your name.

Leave it blank.

Open it. And each night, or each day,

write ten things you are grateful for that day.

If it's been a shithouse day, it may even just be a good hot mug of tea

or the fact that the day is over.

Journal your gratefulness.

Just ten things ~ then you can say you have two handfuls of blessings.

Somedays your list will be longer, much longer than you could imagine possible.

There is so much to be grateful for in our lives, and writing it out every day will make you so much more aware of it.

~

You know what I am so so grateful for today?

1. Lile. Her heartfelt advice and words calmed my heart this morning.

2. Krispy Kreme donuts afternoon tea care of groovy co-worker.

3. Deb's sharing. Her teachings to me about self preservation, boundaries and energy vampires were well needed.

4. Beautiful email from Helena made my day. Sharing the breakthrough she'd had on gratitude, and seeing the beauty she has in her life. It was delightful to read. Her sharing taught me lessons within itself. After reading it, I got up, walked to Lile's desk and spontaneously gave her a hug. I just had to share the moment with someone.

5. Surprise phone call from Chris at 4.45, telling me to meet him at the record store just down the street. So I go. And I find a handsome dude hanging out at the heavy metal section, and decide I must keep him. So I do :)

6. Bought two beautiful instrumental CDs for painting and journalling time ~ Oceans of Tranquillity and Simple Pleasures. They are cheap, and they are delightful. Just what I dreamed of.

7. Beautiful surprise dinner with Chris at a Thai resturant, Zen Yai. My favourite meal of Phad Thai, in my favourite resturant with my favourite boy. I loved sharing it with him. We have decided to make one weeknight a week our "date night" and tonight was our first. It was just so damn nice to sit in the quiet resturant, watching the world finish work and drive home, while we sat in the cool, drinking green tea. Having quiet moments and long conversations. It was like catching up with a much loved friend, and falling in love again.

8. A blessing in itself: when we finally got home, the dog hadn't gnawed his leg off in hunger. Once home, he managed to get out through the fence, and just sat there outside our gate waiting for us to notice him. When Chris did notice him, he came when he was called and went straight back in the yard. I am so thankful that he didn't run onto the road or run away. Yay Charlie! We love you!

9. A package waiting for me on my balcony from the divine Lisa Marie. How sweet it is to be loved by you. I dressed in my favourite purple dress, lit some Bhagavad Gita incense, lit a strawberry candle, and took a few moments to express gratitude for the package and the love it was sent with. And then I opened. Art cards. The most amazing blue necklace ~ how can someone a world away who hasn't met me know my taste EXACTLY? Princess hairclips. A SARK card. Scented soap from Soap Opera. Mixed music CDs. And the most beautiful thing of all. A cassette tape. Not ANY old cassette tape. A cassette tape letter, spoken by Lisa Marie, to me. I cannot express to you how divine it was to hear her voice. It was like having a conversation with her. I was transfixed. She has the most beautiful, soft, girly but goddess~like voice. Giggly. Kind. Warm. It sounded so familiar. Lisa Marie is such a kindred spirit, and it was such an affirmation to hear her. Her telling stories of her day, of her reading poetry on a radio station. Interspersed with bursts of Celtic music and snippets of old movies her boyfriend was watching. Oooh. I just loved it. I love HER!
You should have seen me listening to it. It was the best entertainment I have had in yonks. I lay on my stomach in bed, face cupped in hands, staring out the window, just listening to her voice. It's the first time I have had someone send me a cassette letter, and it brought me so much joy.
Thank you dearest Lisa Marie for the immensely beautiful package, the necklace, the joy of hearing your voice. I am still in wonder. I can't wait to listen to it allllll. And then rewind and hear it all over again.

Me and my new neckplace. Like we'd never been apart.

10. You know what else I'm really grateful for? Sharing this journey with you. I receive such heartfelt responses from people. It is a delight and a joy. I love hearing from you all. You all are such incredible, divine beings, each doing work to make this world a better place. I believe in each one of you. I believe in me. Yes, we can grow. We can discover. We can give ourselves the love we seek. It's all there at our fingertips. We each have it. The capacity for joy is inside each of us. Always.

Joy is an option.

Love,
Leonie