Category Archives: Grace

Gratitude Friday

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“Life is weird. Hard. Also beautiful.”
~Estrella Azul (41 6-Word Days).

On Friday’s, I do a “Gratitude Friday” post that’s a mash-up of Joy Jam (“Join us to radiate the energy of gratitude, thankfulness and celebration of everything that gave us joy this week. Together we will help send positive energy out into the world”) and The Little Bliss List (“Every Friday, the Little Bliss List provides a chance for us to celebrate the little things that brought us hope and happiness this week. I do believe when we focus on the sweet stuff of life, the sweet stuff multiplies. And by sharing those small gifts in our lives, we help others notice the gifts in theirs”).

This week was a rough one for me, so concentrating on what’s been good is especially important.

The List

1. Nice cops. On my way to my mother-in-law’s this morning, to be there with her when our beloved Rocky died (and to be with him), I got pulled over for speeding in a school zone. It would have been even nicer if he’d just let me go with a warning after hearing where I was headed, but he was nice enough to give me a bit of a break. And who knows, maybe the Universe was taking care of me too, keeping me from something much worse by delaying me for ten minutes? I haven’t had a speeding ticket in over 20 years, and that one was the first and only until now, so there’s that to be grateful for too.

2. Good dogs who are no longer in pain. I was so lucky to have known, loved and been loved by Obi and Rocky, and we are so lucky that there’s a group of vets like those that work with Home to Heaven who can come to help when our dogs are just too sick and in too much pain to go on suffering. Both Obi and Rocky went peacefully and at home where they were comfortable, surrounded by those who loved them most. I am grateful for that.

obi and rocky, the very last time they were together

3. Spring in bloom. This week I’ve seen bright yellow forsythia and daffodils, and the crabapple and cherry trees are also in bloom.

4. I have the best husband. He brought me back a sprig of blooms this morning from his walk with the dogs, and left them for me with a love note, because he knew I was going to have a tough morning, and because he’s just that good and kind.

5. Vegetarian corn dogs and organic tater tots with lots of ketchup. All of the yum with none of the yuck or guilt.

6. Birds singing at dawn. This is one of my favorite things about Spring.

7. The Dalai Lama running on a treadmill. I saw this in a Russian documentary “Sunrise/Sunset” on Gaiam TV, and this clip includes the scene, towards the end. He’s shuffling more than running, and he’s wearing a white cotton tank top, with a large, fluffy pink bath towel belted around his waist. Too cute. I also realized as I was watching this film that when the Dalai Lama is starting to giggle, but still talking, he sounds kind of like Yoda. So cute, he is.

8. Two healthy, happy dogs. I know this was on my list last week, but it is worth repeating.
9. Danielle Ate The Sandwich. I am going with some dear friends to watch her play and sing tonight. A happy end to a hard, sad day.

10. I get to finally meet Roxie!!!

Joy Jam + Little Bliss List = Gratitude Friday

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Typically, I do the Joy Jam on Friday, but lately, my friend and fellow blogger Lindsay seems to be the only one jamming with me, so I am going to add my list to Liv Lane’s “Little Bliss List,” and do like Lindsay has and just call the whole thing “Gratitude Friday.”

Liv describes her list this way: “Every Friday, the Little Bliss List provides a chance for us to celebrate the little things that brought us hope and happiness this week. I do believe when we focus on the sweet stuff of life, the sweet stuff multiplies. And by sharing those small gifts in our lives, we help others notice the gifts in theirs.”

What I was grateful for this week:

1. Downton Abbey. If you haven’t heard of this show, you are living under a rock. People in my neck of the woods haven’t been able to stop talking about it, so this week I finally started watching it, and oh how the nerd girl in me loves it, the one who devours period novels and loves the theater. I can’t help thinking as I watch it, however, that if I had been alive during that time, I would have been of the class that worked in a factory or on a farm, and my life would have been so much harder.

2. The weather. Blah, blah, Jill, you’ve said it before, BUT: what was special about this week is that I had my first, official “sit in the backyard in a lawn chair with the dogs and read a book” session! This is one of my most favorite things to do, and for the first time, because the weather was warm but not too hot, I could lazily and easily sit, read and dream and stare at my toes, and watch my dogs relax and roll in the grass.

3. Clean bill of health for the dogs. We went to the vet yesterday and Sam let himself be handled and prodded and shot, without a single growl or any rude behavior, and the vet, rather than remarking on how old Dexter was getting, described him as being in shape “like an athlete.” Healthy and happy all around.

4. “I trust the power of my true self.” This guided meditation, read by the open-hearted, wise and generous Julia at Painted Path, was such a gift, she is such a gift.

5. Blogging from the Heart. We are only two weeks in to the class, and it has exceeded every expectation I had. I have the biggest girl crush ever on Susannah Conway right now. Registration for her “Unravelling: Ways of Seeing Myself” class opens on Saturday, March 17th.

Bonus Joy: Music. I have been listening a lot to dreamy boy singers like Bon Iver, Alexi Murdoch, and Ben Howard. Two heartbreakingly beautiful songs I’ve listened to over and over this week are these:

May the Grace of God be with you always, in your heart
May you know the truth inside you from the start
May you find the strength to know that you are a
Part of something beautiful…

And this next one isn’t a dreamy boy, but a girl, and it’s sad, heartbreaking, but if you’ve ever felt loss or grief, you will recognize that it’s true, true, true.

Nothing comes easily
Fill this empty space
Nothing is like it was
Turn my grief to grace

Oh, dear reader: Life is messy. Hard. And beautiful.