Gratitude Friday

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This post is a mashup of The Little Bliss List and Joy Jam, and as such is meant to celebrate: the little things that brought me hope and happiness this week, the sweet stuff of life, those small gifts that brought me joy this week. By sharing them, I not only make public my gratitude, but maybe also help you notice your own good stuff and send some positive energy out into the world.

1. Facebook. With the storm last week, it was my best source of information about how real people were really doing, and there was so much love and concern, kindness connecting people, making a scary, stressful time not so bad.

2. Books. Oh, how I love to read. Tell me all the stories!

3. This, bath time for toys. I’m so grateful to have two dogs who play with the toys, make a mess that I can clean up, and a functioning washing machine to use in the process.

4. Friends who get it. You know who you are, and I love you for it.

5. “I love you.” Even when I already know, it’s nice to hear.

6. A stand up desk. After a few long days in a chair in my Eddy Hall office at my paid work, I realize how awful sitting that much makes me feel. I’m so grateful for my stand up desk in my home office, and need to figure out how to convert the work one.

Bonus Joy: Another week with Dexter. I changed all the calendars in our house over to November, with him following along to “help.” I really didn’t expect him to still be here, and he even went running at Lory State Park the other day. My sweet boy.

NaBloPoMo: Day One

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I can’t get enough of 30 day blog challenges. Blogtoberfest one year ago was my first, done during what was only my second month of blogging, and it solidified my practice like nothing else could have.

NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) is another of my favorites, and with a tagline like “Type Your Heart Out,” and a theme of “blogging for blogging’s sake,” I can’t resist.

Today’s prompt is hard for me to answer: “Tell us your favourite quotation and why.” I love quotes, I collect them the same way I do seashells and rocks, some of them I practically memorize having read them so many times. Favorite lines will pop into my head like magic, like medicine, just when I need them most. I love how the right quote takes the truth of your heart, the thing you know deep in your gut but can’t seem to express in words, and manifests it exactly, fully formed and clearly communicated, as if somehow the author were inside your head, had heard your thoughts and felt your feelings, and you read it and say “yes, that’s it, me too, amen.” But there are so many, each one beloved and adored, how can I pick just one?

And yet, there is a favorite. When I really thought about it, let myself get quiet and still, it was clear, there is just one, my favorite.

We already have everything we need. There is no need for self-improvement. All these trips that we lay on ourselves—the heavy-duty fearing that we’re bad and hoping that we’re good, the identities that we so dearly cling to, the rage, the jealousy and the addictions of all kinds—never touch our basic wealth. They are like clouds that temporarily block the sun. But all the time our warmth and brilliance are right here. This is who we really are. We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake. ~Pema Chödrön

I feel like my whole life philosophy, the heart of every practice, my deepest wishes are held, communicated by these words. And sometimes when I read this quote, the last lines make me cry: “But all the time our warmth and brilliance are right here. This is who we really are. We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake.” I don’t want to simply memorize these words, I want to become them, embody them.

I’m curious, kind and gentle reader, what’s your favorite quote? Leave it for me in the comments. I’d love some new ones for my collection.