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sun_set_bravelyI'm feeling extraordinarily good today. The sun is shining, the sky is clear, and it's currently 37 degrees outside. With my newfound understanding of single digit temperatures, I'm grateful for this warm and sunny break from the cold. I went out to get lunch and I couldn't stop smiling at the sky.
For the last few weeks, I've been keeping a daily gratitude list. Every morning, as soon as I wake up, I pull out my journal and write at least five things that I'm grateful for. I'm experimenting with the timing of the list, because when I write it just as I've woken up, my list usually consists of: my flannel sheets, my burgundy velvet comforter, my snooze button. So today I'm writing the list here.
I'm grateful for:
*the salty-sweet crunch of chocolate covered pretzels
*the sunlight warming the back of my neck while I sat on a couch and discussed pop culture with old and new friends
*the tall young man with the shopping cart in Staples who took my breath away because he reminded me of the kids I used to be intimidated by in high school and he was so beautiful
*Erin McKeown's "Grand" and the full-bodied memories from this summer that it evokes
*cool water to drink
*my new wool coat with hood that I bought from Housing Works for $30
*my new haircut, and how pretty it makes me feel
*ink on paper
There's lots more. I'm scribblng words on anything that stands still. On the subway, before bed, when I wake up. Whenever I can steal moments from my day. More soon.
edit 3:42pm:
Another thing I'm grateful for:
*a fabulous new stretch I've been doing recently that cracks something in my lower back that feels spectacular. I put my hands on my lower back, about where my back jeans pockets are, and then lean my head back and push my butt and lower back forward. My chest opens up, my lower back gets a stretch, and then I get that delicious *pop!*. I don't think it's going to break me in half. I like to think that the stretch is slowly releasing all that >stuff< that my movement teachers always told me I held in my lower back.
For the last few weeks, I've been keeping a daily gratitude list. Every morning, as soon as I wake up, I pull out my journal and write at least five things that I'm grateful for. I'm experimenting with the timing of the list, because when I write it just as I've woken up, my list usually consists of: my flannel sheets, my burgundy velvet comforter, my snooze button. So today I'm writing the list here.
I'm grateful for:
*the salty-sweet crunch of chocolate covered pretzels
*the sunlight warming the back of my neck while I sat on a couch and discussed pop culture with old and new friends
*the tall young man with the shopping cart in Staples who took my breath away because he reminded me of the kids I used to be intimidated by in high school and he was so beautiful
*Erin McKeown's "Grand" and the full-bodied memories from this summer that it evokes
*cool water to drink
*my new wool coat with hood that I bought from Housing Works for $30
*my new haircut, and how pretty it makes me feel
*ink on paper
There's lots more. I'm scribblng words on anything that stands still. On the subway, before bed, when I wake up. Whenever I can steal moments from my day. More soon.
edit 3:42pm:
Another thing I'm grateful for:
*a fabulous new stretch I've been doing recently that cracks something in my lower back that feels spectacular. I put my hands on my lower back, about where my back jeans pockets are, and then lean my head back and push my butt and lower back forward. My chest opens up, my lower back gets a stretch, and then I get that delicious *pop!*. I don't think it's going to break me in half. I like to think that the stretch is slowly releasing all that >stuff< that my movement teachers always told me I held in my lower back.
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no subject
Date: 2004-02-02 12:25 pm (UTC)I am grateful for:
*cool water to drink (hey!)
*the fact that I am inside and not out in the torrential rain of San Francisco's "winters."
*being solely responsible for the only marine biology book that we publish, and am allowed to take home and read material that really excites me, and yet still call it work and get paid for it.
*my big smushy headphones
*hope
no subject
Date: 2004-02-02 12:27 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-02 12:48 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-02 12:58 pm (UTC)In related but slightly different news, I'm reading a book right now called Mama Gena's School of Womanly Arts (http://www.mamagenas.com/). It's entirely entertaining and seductive, and one of the activities Mama Gena recommends for women to do to get in touch with their life's big dreams and desires is to make a Desires List. List everything that you desire -- no matter how impossible they may seem: a purple sleeping bag, a new car, world peace, a rabbit pearl vibrator, a new lover, a room full of monkeys, a personal masseuse, a job as the president of my company, etc. Whatever you want. It's a lot of fun -- and it creates a snowball effect, too. My list is going on four pages now, and it's nowhere near stopping. I highly recommend the book for some fun and inspiring reading, when you have a moment to read un-work-related material.
Re:
Date: 2004-02-02 01:08 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-02 01:30 pm (UTC)Well hell yeah, woman. Who wouldn't? That's kind of interesting-- I see that dovetail you're talking about, loving from a surplus instead of a deficiency. It's a good point. No one who feels robbed or downtrodden or neglected is going to be able to give love and happiness away freely and easily. Something about wanting to hoard it for yourself...
Definitely will check it out. And will start one of those lists-- I think that's especially important at our age when the dreams you had as a kid seem to become increasingly more unrealistic, and you start to lose dreams entirely as the world stares you in the face.