Weekly Gratitude: The More You Recognize the Beautiful Things in Life, the Less You'll Worry About the Ugly.

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

- Thornton Wilder

In the mist of my panic over the major changes beginning in my life today, I’ve realized that I’m spending a lot more time panicking, looking at my crazy schedule, complaining, and feeling overwhelmed, than I am being thankful that I am even able to actively participate in these changes.


In an attempt to consciously, and actively, change my mindset, I’m going to be writing a weekly “Gratitude” post, where I share some of the little things (and sometimes big things) that have brought me joy, and happiness throughout the past week. I’ve chosen Monday’s because Monday’s are often the toughest days of the week. I want to start my week feeling thankful, happy, -perhaps even excited, no matter what crazy schedule I’ll be tackling in the days following, or what kind of mayhem I’ve faced in the week prior. I don’t want the positive aspects of my life to be on the backburner. I want these aspects to be overtly conscious. I want to reflect on these aspects often, and share them, so that others’ can begin to see that there is a lot to be thankful for as well.

It is my hope that this commitment I’m making to gratitude will slowly help me let go of my endless worry, and will help me see the big picture in life. That is, in five years, -or even one year, will I look back on this time in my life and see it as this massive, overwhelming experience that still haunts me years later, and warranted the amount of stress and weight I put on it, or will I look back and say, “That was a hard time, but so much good happened. Really, none of it was worth worrying about that much. In the grand scheme of things, when I look back, that time was a small ripple in my life; the further I've gotten away from that time, the less impact that ripple has had. I should have just been present, taken it in, and been thankful for what it was, -the good,  the bad, and the ugly”.

This week, I am thankful for the following:

Flowers and spring time. I love summer, but there is something exciting about spring. It’s the anticipation of that summer is just around the corner I’m sure. And in Minnesota, summer’s a short, so I try to hold on them as long as possible! One of these reasons I love summer so much, and dislike winter, is that summers are full of color. Everything is just full of life! My mom had some beautiful roses out yesterday so I snapped some pictures.

My close friends.Even if most of them live in different states, I am very thankful that I have these relationships. Do I wish that I could see them everyday? ABSOLUTELY!!! More than they will ever know.

Other bloggers. I can’t believe what I’ve been missing out on by not reading blogs up until recently. There is so much useful, meaningful information available to those are seek it. I had not idea how many people blogged about things similar to I, and the impact each of these people would have on me, and the way I view my life and the world.

Today, as a part of my journey towards wholehearted and authentic living, and also my ethical obligations to self-care and introspection as a counselor, I'm starting an e-course available through Hopeful World, a global classroom where wisdom, knowledge and stories seed the ground of personal transformation and social change.

To anyone who is interested,  in learning more or participating,  here are links two great e-courses:

The following are offered by Hopeful Publishing

Daily Hope  an inspirational weekday series of quotes and messages from designed to increase resiliency, foster positive emotion, and provide gentle guidance for the inevitable ups and downs of life.

Wholehearted Living: A Year of Reflection WholeHearted Living is 52 weeks of hope, courage and honest inspiration. This once-a-week all year long missive is designed to give you the grounding you need to keep your heart focused on what matters the very most – living in the truth of your own story.