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Shall We Gather Online?
Do you want to keep receiving these emails? Practicing Gratitude in Solitude I am seeking your input on the future of ourgratitudecollective. I created this website five years ago for the purpose of having a place for like-minded people to gather and share gratitude in community. It has been a beautiful endeavor. That has been…
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Stressed and Blessed
Both are true. Uncovering that truth. Yes, And Oof. My final (if all goes as planned) year of graduate school has begun. And already the stress is thick this semester. I was texting a friend and told him how intense it was to be in class for 12 hours (with just two small breaks). I…
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Have You Thanked Your Water Today?
Drinking in Water. Drinking in the Universe. Drinking in Gratitude Water is sacred. But how often do we drink it without a thought? Mindlessly stirring it in to our food as we cook? We are taking an element into our body. An element that we can’t live without. An element that connects us with the…
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Money Gratitude
Healing your relationship with money. I Love Money. I’m Grateful for Money. Throughout my life I have learned and practiced a lot of money negativity. I’ve had to rewrite some tired old stories about capitalism being the root of all evil, the rich not being able to get into heaven, earning and saving money being…
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Reflections on Your Day-to-day
Inspiring Yourself in Expected Places What’s Right with the Expected? Last week I talked about breaking free of that day-to-day routine to find gratitude. But not everything to be grateful for lies in the unexpected. Sometimes when we reflect with gratitude we can find some beauty in the mundane of our lives. Danielle LaPorte posted…
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Thank You, Younger Me
That one time … Finding the Good in Ourselves Think about your younger self. All they were and did that brought you to today. Honor these memories with gratitude. Write a little love note of appreciation to your younger self. What a beautiful way to connect with your younger self, your past, your heart, your…
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A Love List
Never finish the list. Let Me Count the Ways Love, like gratitude, is a practice. Every day, every moment is another opportunity to experience and communicate love. Just because we love someone doesn’t mean the act of love is set in stone. We reaffirm it with our thoughts, beliefs and actions every day. And just…
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This Is Why I Like the World
Finding other words for gratitude Such a Simple and Beautiful Phrase I stumbled across a beautiful tiny story that Elizabeth Gilbert shared on instagram. It is a brilliant story of gratitude that did not include the word gratitude. Once upon a time I went for a walk and met a beautiful horse, and we made…
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Spring Blooms by the Light of the Moon
Seeing Spring in a New Light Spring Equinox Full Moon Last night to celebrate the spring equinox and full moon I decided to go outside under the full moon and immerse myself in nature. I love being out in nature and I am often grateful for plants and flowers and wildlife and weather and mountains…
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Meditation and Gratitude
Quieting Your Mind to Make Space for Gratitude Find Quiet to Find Gratitude Sometimes gratitude hits me out of nowhere like a punch to the throat. Leaving me overwhelmed and choked up with emotion. Other times it is a whisper of a thought that taps at my attention. Noticeable but just barely. Often when I…
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Grateful for My Ex
A chart-topping pop song is all about gratitude. Thank U, Next There has been a theme lately for me about gratitude for my exes. First, during therapy we have been talking about my past relationships, the good, the bad, what I learned and how I grew. Then, this popped up in my fb feed memories:…
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Grateful for My Ex
A chart-topping pop song is all about gratitude. Thank U, Next There has been a theme lately for me about gratitude for my exes. First, during therapy we have been talking about my past relationships, the good, the bad, what I learned and how I grew. Then, this popped up in my fb feed memories:…
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Throwback: It Isn’t about Leading a Charmed Life … Or Is It?
Issue #1 redux Sometimes I Look for Gratitude and Only Find Worry Sometimes I fear when people read my gratitude posts they think that it is easy for me because I have such a great life. When that fear emerges I want to tell everyone who will listen my woes about money and business and…
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Escape Into Presence
When I Worry Sometimes I Look for Gratitude and Only Find Worry I write out my gratitude every night before bed. It is a wonderful routine that usually involves reflecting on my day with a positive lens. There are times when my positive lens doesn’t work or I can’t seem to find it and I…
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A Life of Giving Thanks
A day like the one before. Or is it? We Don't Have a Day of Thanks. We Have a Life of Thanks. Sometimes my days and weeks go by in a blur. One day seems to be virtually identical to the one before. Work, read, write, eat, repeat. But then each night I sit and…
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Where I Lay My Head
The essentials that surround us. Sick and Cold and Alone and Wondering That's how I woke up this morning. I hadn't turned on my space heater and my bedroom isn't heated otherwise. My blankets were not cutting it once that low of 21 degrees hit. And to make matters worse I was sick to my stomach.…
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Celebrating the Wins
Wins large and small. The Day after an Election and Other Days Too When we see the results of an election there are almost always wins and losses. These larger wins and losses are a great example for the itty bitty wins and losses that we experience on an average Wednesday. It can be so…
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Mining for Possibilities
Replacing your reactions with possibilities. What is Possible? Our reactions, whether emotions, actions or just thoughts, are so mindless and automatic. That isn't always a bad thing. I mean, really, it might just save our asses when we are driving. But outside of those times when split-second reaction time is necessary we can change our…
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To Have Not or to Have
Celebrating what we have through gratitude. Today It can be so easy to look forward with worry or anticipation. To look back with regret or nostalgia. But today calls for your attention. Today is here. Today is real. And even when we are present in what is real today it can be so easy to…
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The Unlikely Gratitude Expert
I must confess. I am grumpy. And grateful. Yes, We Can We can be grateful. Not just us. Everyone can. Even the most grumpy person we know. The most cynical. The most punk rock. The most intellectual. The most in pain. Depressed. Worried. Hopeless. Addicted. Everyone is grateful for something at one time or another.…