Thankful. Grateful. Reflective.
Like all of us, I am feeling anxious and unsure of what is ahead. There is an enormous amount of sadness and grief, for loss of life, jobs and connections. At the same time there is a deep underlying sense of gratitude. During this global crisis, I wanted to say how grateful I am and how gratitude shapes my daily life. Here is my list of what I am grateful for, despite our “new normal.”
- My daily walks keep me in touch with nature and family. We are quarantined with our family and grateful to be engaging with them everyday through a morning walk. There is a lot of joy in spending time together. This would not occur in other times when we are all living our pre-virus life. I hope for you that you are also getting outside in the green space and feel supported in this time.
- Each day I have the opportunity to cheer others on and serve others. Finding small ways to give back make this time meaningful and purposeful.
- My home is a place of serenity. I am often asked how organized my home is. I am also doing my own decluttering and organizing. My home is where I find peace and rest. I hope you find that same in your space.
- There is a pause for me to reflect. Life is busy. This is an opportunity for me to think about what I will apply moving forward. I have been spending time thinking about who and what will be an every day part of my life after quarantine concludes. I want to surround myself with positive people, experiences and work.
- This time has given more the opportunity to connect more. Every week I connect to clients to see how everyone is doing. Every day I reach out to two friends. That brings so much joy to my day! I have laughed harder, smiled more and said I love you more than any other time.
- My work brings me so much joy! I have worked on my YouTube channel as I planned this year. It is time to spend on learning more to help my clients. I realized that there is always a new opportunity to create a schedule I love every day.
I am here to encourage you. Find the positive in your time during COVID-19. I look forward to hearing what is “sparking joy” for you right now. I think many of us are thinking of the powerful positives that have come our way.
I love all these positive things you are doing and thinking about. I also love the verse you drew in chalk. Some little girls who live at the end of our lane painted rocks with inspiring words and put them in the pedestrian walkway that connects our lane to the nearby road. When I went for a walk, it really cheered me to see them. The small things really do matter!
Ellen- What a beautiful reflection! Gratitude is such an essential part of life. And now more than ever, we have opportunities to find and acknowledge what we’re grateful for as you have done. There is much darkness, insecurity, and uncertainty, especially now. Some of that (MOST of that) we have zero control over. Yet expressing gratitude is entirely within our control. And more so, it helps us focus on positives during this dark time. It’s all there. All we need to do is to stop to notice. Be well. Stay healthy and safe, my friend.
@Linda, thank you friend! I love that we are all so connected despite the social distancing!
@Seana, yes we are all focusing on the little things and how important they are to help us stay positive.