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Notice the Beauty of Nature
Nature makes you pay attention this time of year. The Call of Nature On Saturday I was rushing all day from obligations to a friend and family and home. All things I am full of appreciation for but because I was rushing and busy I wasn’t present. At one point in the day I was…
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Fall Gratitude Walk
A walk outdoors to deliberately take in moments of beauty. Gratitude Found Take a walk with me as we explore nature and the outdoors. We find gratitude in unexpected places. And remind ourselves to be grateful for things that are easy to take for granted. We explore the concept of unattachment, noticing, appreciating and letting…
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The Gift of a Full Moon: a gratitude ritual
Try this centering gratitude ritual. Start With The Moon I love the quote this week but I haven’t shared it before now because I always thought it was a little contradictory. I thought if you are waiting for good things to come to you how is that giving thanks continuously? Then I reflected on the…
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Prettier Than Ordinary
Let your curiosity play. Look deeper. Find something just a little prettier than ordinary. Try This, Instead of Questioning Everything Be curious. Notice sensations in your body without telling a story about them. Go outside. Listen to the song of nature or the city or whatever song is humming. Find something alive and look closer.…
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Give Your Body This Gift
I almost didn’t share this picture because I was embarrassed about my body. Honor Your Body With Gratitude There our bodies are each and every moment of each and every day. They are carrying us through our lives. We push them when we are busy. We rest them when we can. And we complain when…
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I Have To Admit I Haven’t Been Feeling It
This isn’t the first time. What has worked for me in the past? It's There in the Moment and Then Poof I usually do my daily gratitude practice right before bed. I have tried other times but before bed is what works best for me. But every once in a while I go through a…
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Blessed with Each Bite
Thank you, fish. Thank you, basil. Thank you, tomato. Food Appreciation The freshly caught fish from the mountain stream tasted so good. I said aloud, “thank you”. How often do we thank our food? Each meal. Each bite. It is giving us a gift. The gift of life. When I thanked that fish I thought…
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If You Want To See Something Ugly
This Basquiat quote is just so damn true. Seeing It All Do you want to see the ugliness in the world? Do you want to see the beauty in the world? It isn't really a choice. We have the capacity for both. But we just have to remember that if we want to see…
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Research Says Just Make It Your Goal
Making gratitude the priority. The Benefit of Making Gratitude Your Goal Neuroscience has found that all humans have a negativity bias. This means that our brains are more cued in to noticing threats than rewards. It means that we will notice, respond to and remember the negative for more than we will remember the…
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Don’t Cover Up Shit with Glitter
I found actual dog shit in my bed! Allow The Shit To Be Shit A couple weeks ago I was talking about Getting Real About Gratitude where I mentioned that things aren't always pretty but that we can still find beauty by looking at the ugliness with a grateful heart. Well that was put to…
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Practice Choosing Those You Care About Every Day
They will feel your appreciation even if you don’t tell them. Gratefully I Choose You There is a great paradox with those we love that the more we have them in our lives the more we get caught up in the mundane details of day to day life and the less we show them how…
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Get Out of Your Perspective Rut
I have always hated that. Another Day Another Opportunity Yesterday I was at Target and making small talk with the cashier. We were celebrating that he was getting off work in 15 minutes. Then he started talking about how much he hates Mondays and how he has hated them his entire life. He really lost…
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Listen. The Sound is Fleeting.
Mindfully enjoying the fleeting moments of spring. All The Noticing If you notice anything, it leads you to notice more and more. ~Mary Oliver My lilacs are blooming. The beautiful and bright pops of purple are the early signs of spring in my yard. My biggest lilac bush is directly in my path…
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Getting Real about Gratitude
It’s not all daisies and sunsets. The Reality of Gratitude Before I started my gratitude practice I used to roll my eyes at people’s gratitude. I mean, come on. Don’t they live in the real world like the rest of us? Where’s the dog shit and the car wrecks and the death? Why is…
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Allow the Sun In
What will bloom if you allow the sun to shine on it? Growing Gratitude Things have been hard. There has been struggle. There is struggle. And though it all you are growing. You are even able to find gratitude throughout it all. I invite you to allow in even more gratitude. As the sun…
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Fall in Love With Yourself
Happy Valentine’s Day! Look into your heart. Look Into Your Heart and See Beauty There is beauty. It is all around. Do you choose to see it? There is beauty. It is you. Do you choose to be it? On this day of love I challenge each and every one of us to fall in…
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The Wisdom of Feeling Good
Tiptoeing into feeling good. Me, At My Wisest What if the wisdom we seek has been here all along? What if feeling good is our work? What if finding beauty even amidst the struggle is what we are here for? When I am at my wisest I am noticing, aware, feeling it all. And I…
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And Then the Anger Came
Gratitude and anger. We rarely talk about these two together but … Is Anger the Opposite of Gratitude? If you’ve been following the last three issues you know I have been going through a difficult time. In full transparency I am grieving the loss of a beautiful partnership. This breakup has been challenging. But you…
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Is Your Gratitude Practice Building Your Resiliency?
And through my gratitude I now know my worth. What Do You Do When Things Get Hard? Do you try to numb the pain? Do you distract yourself? Do you ignore it? Do you practice gratitude? Do you fall back into some old negative patterns? Do you exercise? Do you feel sorry for yourself? Do…
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What I Love About The One Word Resolution
Don’t ignore the problem but staring at it is not the way forward. The Way Forward We have arrived in 2017. A new year. A fresh start. I hope you have taken some time to reflect on 2016 with gratitude. Before you jump into your New Year’s resolutions (if you do that sort of…