Tag: gratitude

40 days of gratitude

The theme of this blog has been evolving ever since I began typing that first blog several years ago. I was searching for meaningful ways to bring more happiness into my daily life. I was in the midst of college and in a dark place in my personal relationships. I was not living authentically or really living at all. I was just grinding it out, day in and day out; existing simply to finish my then goal of graduating college. I was on the back end of personal tragedy and heartbreak, in the middle of a difficult and potentially dangerous situation, and getting ready to step off a cliff into the unknown. There were so many forces at work and I had to focus on the positive. I’m nowhere near where I was, but I’m not yet to where I want to be. I am evolving, and so is this blog.

So I recently asked myself the following:

What is it with 40 days/ 6 weeks? Lent is 40 days; maternity leave is about 6 weeks after the baby is born for those that get it. Why are these numbers or timeframes so engrained in our past and present lives? I don’t have these answers, but I’ve been inspired.

I was reading a book that I was meaning to read for a long time. It was on my Amazon wishlist for a few years, and I finally received it for my birthday, I think. I didn’t read it right away for some reason, but I’m glad that I did. Reading books has gotten harder since having a little one at home. She takes up 99% of my spare waking time that I’m not at work. The other 1% is cleaning. Anyway, the premise of the book Life is a Verb, is that 37 days (which is very close to 40) can transform your life. There are a series of stories and activities to do at the end of each one for 37 days. Each of these activities are designed by the author (whom I seem to feel is a kindred spirit from her stories and experiences) to help you live the life you want. Living the life I want, spending more time with my family, working smarter-not-harder, and being in the employ of myself are my main goals, but living a more grateful and joyful life have been my “small” goals for many years.

Those of you who’ve been following this blog for any length of time know that I’ve been studying and seeking greater happiness for a long time. I’ve had moments of elation that I cannot compare to anything else in this life, but I’ve also experienced some of the most devastating despair and loss that I’ve ever had in my 35 years on this earth. Of course, I’ve felt everything in between and surely will over and over again as I grow older. I hope that the feelings of happiness will be greater than those of unhappiness, of course, as we all do. So by focusing on what I want, instead of what I don’t want, I plan to cultivate just that.

So in the spirit of change, transformation, and happiness, I’m going to focus on gratitude. There have been countless studies and interviews indicating that the more a person is grateful, the happier they are throughout the course of their lives, and also exhibit more satisfaction with their lives in general. I’d like to practice more gratitude, because while I’m extremely grateful for all of the things in my life, I feel like if I can bring intention and magnify the things in which I am grateful, more of these things will grace my daily life.

I have decided that I want to challenge myself to not only be grateful, especially amidst stress and fatigue, but I also want to challenge my personal dedication to writing. I love writing but find that I make excuses not to do it, mostly evolving from not having enough time. Because of this, I want to focus on just a few minutes of writing each day to express my gratitude. Gradually, or at least periodically, I’m sure my entries will be long, but I’m guessing that most of them will be short. Probably very short. But the goal is to do it. Starting tomorrow, I’ve set an alarm to ensure that I simply don’t forget to write. It is my intention to bring attention to this particular goal for just a few minutes every day.

So stay tuned! And wish me luck. I’ll likely need it.

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Finding Happiness Through Light and Illumination: Embracing Positive Change

The funny things about happiness…

Happiness can be elusive, but it’s something we can find in everyday moments, whether it’s through positive thinking, embracing Buddhist principles, or choosing light over darkness. Here’s how I’ve been practicing positivity in my daily life, despite the challenges.

Overall, I feel that happiness is a funny thing. Happiness is contagious, like laughter. On the other had so is sadness, misery (loves company, right?), anger and frustration. As one of my pillars of awareness/ quotes from The Happiness Project states  “It is easy to be heavy, hard to be light”.

I think this statement has deeper meaning than “weight”, however, and it fits perfectly within the concepts of Buddhist principles. We say that Amida Buddha is the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life. So in the statement, “light” can mean illumination. It is easy to fall into darkness, difficult to be illuminated. That’s a really profound and, for lack of a better term, heavy thought.

Some examples from my own life that bring this idea into focus for me, at least have been recent events. One personal, one professional.

How Choosing to Let Go Can Bring Light to Your Life

I have recently had a falling out with a very dear friend. Her and I have a huge difference of opinion, to say the least and I felt as if it were time to sever the friendship because the way that she and I interact sometimes has been the cause for  a lot of sadness and hurt feelings on both sides. So, as I was gracefully trying to “break up” with her, at least for now, she came back ten times more hurtful and only made things worse. It’s easy to fall into darkness. And rather than let the situation knock the light out of my life, I chose not to engage with her. This doesn’t mean that I’m not still deeply hurt and affected by the loss of a longtime friend, but it also shed light on a few things that I was blind to see. The situation truly shed light on how she and I were friends and how we acted toward one another. I’m not absolved in any way, I am just as much to blame for the way everything went down as she is, but I’m choosing the path on the high ground right now. It would have been easy to shoot back insults, call her out on every little thing, nit pick, be malicious… but I choose the hard road of illumination. This project and the things I’ve recently read and learned have really reframed my thinking about how to engage with others, what’s constructive and what isn’t. I’d feel a thousand times worse had I let her have it with both barrels. Not to mention the situation would have only gotten bigger and bigger, rather than just smoldering.

Embracing Joy in Difficult Situations: Lessons from My Job

I currently work in a warehouse. I pull and ship orders to our clients along with a few other people. We are a very small crew because corporate hasn’t a clue what we do there. Gotta love mergers and big business. Anyway, during the holidays, it’s extremely tough. We have days off of work, however our clients still can place orders through the internet and sometimes with our call center. That means when we come back to work, it’s SLAMMED. This year has been no different. Every holiday is this way, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving… you name it. But in December, we’re saddled with the added struggle of the sales people trying to meet quotas, boost their year-end bonuses and clients trying to use up their remaining credit before the month/ year is out, as well as closing out our month and year accounting. Then, after Christmas and New Years only a week later, we are hit by the fallout from the holiday and the push to order because everyone’s credit limits are reset. A very long, difficult story short, we pulled over 1300 products and sold over $100K in one day, with a crew of 4 people. It was almost a 12 hour day. We were getting orders of over 100 products, per client. But throughout the day, most of the time we were all smiling and laughing, even though it was so stressful and busy. If we didn’t laugh and joke, it would have made the day a million times more miserable. We were all tired and hungry and sore and overwhelmed, but we each chose (even the old crabby guy) to be lighthearted and joyful. The bigger the orders, the more we laughed about it. We’d make silly comments about the type of products or the weight of the boxes, but all in all, we each took it in stride. We couldn’t change the situation, we just simply changed how we looked at and reacted to it. This is why I love my job.

Have you ever faced a difficult situation where you chose to stay positive? Share your story below!

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