Tag: right intention

Day 24- Gratitude Project

I’m grateful that life keeps reminding me of my limitations. For example, what I think I can accomplish in a day, is generally vastly more than what I can do in a day. The universe is constantly reminding me that I’m only human and cannot do everything. I’m thankful for this. Life continually throws distractions, roadblocks, and wild goose chases in my path so that I slow down and remember that everything is unfolding just as it’s meant to. 

While I’m racing to an invisible finish line, against faceless opponents, the universe is regulating my pace through direction and misdirection, teaching me lessons along the way. I’m learning to follow my authentic self, and learning to SLOW DOWN. All I want is to get to the end of the race so I can bask in the glory of completion, and so I can move on to the next thing. 

There is no NEXT THING. This is it. This is THE THING. I’m grateful that the universe continually is making sure I understand this. Of course it all goes off the rails pretty regularly. The universe focuses on keeping me on track, but still humble. My gratitude for this knows no bounds. 

An example of this is last year I was contacted by a former supervisor that I did some contract work for. He wanted me to come on board permanently. There were lots of hoops to jump through with my company and with his. However, I felt like something wasn’t right, timing or something. Suddenly, I declined the position. 

I hated my job, but my gut was telling me not to do it. Plans my family was working on fell through, and I was pretty disheartened. I gave up this lucrative job for nothing. I was angry. I ended up staying at my job several more months. We ended up selling our house and buying a new one on the other side of town from my work, and even further from that job I let go. Instead, a job that was MUCH more exciting, far less demanding, and less than 5 miles from our new home basically landed in my lap. I just had to show up for the interview. I took that job and I even make more money than the one I didn’t take. I’m grateful for the universe showing me it wasn’t right. 

I’ve experienced other situations where the universe seemed to conspire against me, only to reveal that my best interest was always at heart. During those times it’s frustrating that I’m not getting my way. I get angry when things don’t work out as I painstakingly planned. I’m grateful that life proves that the universe has bigger plans than I do. I just have to be patient and allow them to unfold. I’m thankful for the lessons of patience. 

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Day 23- Gratitude Project

I’m grateful today for time. The time I get to spend with my daughter, who is growing up faster than I can imagine, the time I spend with my husband, especially on weekends, the time I have to relax and enjoy my life, time in general. 

We are living in the safest age in human existence, yet it’s incredibly unpredictable and sometimes frightening. It’s all just time. Time heals wounds, allows political and geographic landscapes to change, and teaches us innumerable lessons in life. 

We have such limited time in this life. Wasting it worrying, fighting, and dividing seems ill conceived. Our time on this planet as a species could also be fleeting, just a mere blip on the radar of eternity. I’m grateful for the moments I have here, however few they may be. 

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Day 22- Gratitude Project 

Today I’m grateful for vegan cookbooks. I’m thankful that other people have painstakingly discovered recipes that they care to share with the world, so that we may feed ourselves and our families. 

Because of these recipes being readily available, I have been able to learn countless ways to create meals for my family. I’m thankful to these pioneers for teaching me how to make dinners, lunches, and more on a regular basis. Tonight we had veggie burgers, made from scratch, in about 10 minutes. 

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Day 21- Gratitude Project

Today, I’m grateful for my health. I have barely been ill in a number of years, and for that, I’m extremely thankful. If I were to get sick, it would be difficult for my family to lose money from missed work, and should I get very sick, it would be devastating. However, I eat well, moderately exercise, and don’t have many vices… (Aside from coffee and the occasional alcohol, there aren’t any). I normally avoid colds and the flu, but typically get a little something nasty in the winter time, most of the time due to allergies.

I am glad that I have my health and the wherewithal to maintain it to the best of my ability. It’s sometimes the only thing we can be thankful for during those days in which things don’t seem to be going right or where there are challenges. Today is not particularly challenging, I just have had a difficult week chasing down paperwork and dealing with difficult situations. These have made me recognize that if I weren’t healthy, these things would be significantly worse to cope with. I am so thankful that not just I am healthy, but also that my husband and baby are too. We are especially fortunate, since so many others cannot say the same.

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Day 20- Gratitude Project (halfway there!)

Gratitude is a funny thing. Either you can embrace it in its pure form, or you can resist it. I’ve been battling gratitude in certain situations recently, but I’ve decided that I need to embrace it more fully. So, I guess in a way, I’m grateful for the lessons that gratitude has shown me. For instance, I’ve been so overcome with gratitude and truly humbled since I started writing my thankfulness yet, I’ve been partially blind to other areas that I could embrace in my gratitude.

This culminates in the fact that I’m grateful for the women who have come before me. Their struggles have paved the way for many of the things that I take for granted. I am able to wear pants, for example. I can go in public without an escort, and I can vote, should I choose to. However, at the same time, I’m an idealist. I want things to be right; I want the world around me to be a just place, and I seem to be more and more disappointed at this lack of righteousness and justice. That doesn’t take away my gratitude, but I am also not choosing to shine a light on the parts of things that aren’t perfect, that I am grateful for. Please note that this will be my only “political” post during my gratitude project.

In the spirit of true gratitude, I am eternally grateful (while also incredibly sad) for Bernie Sanders and his unwavering commitment to public service. He has not faltered in his convictions or changed his ideals for anyone or any amount of money. He has not caved to the immense pressure in decades. It has likely strengthened his resolve. I would literally walk through fire if it ensured his presidency. I truly believe that he is the only politician worth my vote that has come along in my lifetime. I am truly grateful for his lifetime of challenging the status quo and his ability to unite people. I’m truly saddened and have been experiencing a period of mourning that he is not the Democratic Nominee.

However, I am also grateful for the fact that Hilary (although, I’m not a huge fan of her) has achieved something no other woman has in our country. I am grateful for her dedication to not wavering or allowing politics to remain “a man’s game”. She may not be the person I want, she has overcome many obstacles and has worked her way to this perch. That has not gone unnoticed by me, even though I have been upset about the results. She knows how to play the game and has achieved a lot. She cannot be bashed for that, not that I’m bashing anyone.

I’m grateful that we are able to have civil discourse, and that we have relatively free elections. There are things that could be better, and I wish they were, but I’m grateful that I do not live in another country in which I do not have these same freedoms. American is FAR from perfect for an idealist like me, but I am grateful that I live her compared to many other places.

I’m not sure what I will do in November, and I’m likely to take more time to decide. But I’m grateful for Bernie, and for what Hilary has achieved. Perhaps this is a start to more women being in politics and changing the face of American governance. We certainly cannot keep going this same path.

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