Day 24 - Today I am Grateful For.....

So today my good friend Jeni Dahn spoke at an eWomen meeting about the choices we make in life and how we face our day - with fear or faith?

She started by asking how many of us close our day with Gratitude - journaling or statements out loud (yes, I raised my hand - along with about 1/3 of the room) - then she asked, "what if you started your day with gratitude for the unknown.....for what the day will bring? Hmmm - well now - here's a twist - in some ways to me it sounds like setting an intention.....yes? I am grateful for the friendships that will blossom - setting the intention for good encounters for the day, yes?

Now this has gotten me to think - is this something I can incorporate into the future - not yet - but after my hundred days - is this the next exercise I can incorporate into my life and routine.

What about you? Could you start your day journaling about gratitude you are ready to give - for meals you will eat, the people you will meet, the opportunities that will present themselves.....

So tonight's gratitude will be about what I am grateful for tomorrow.....

Tomorrow I am grateful for.....

• The contacts I will make at my workshop tomorrow that will be appreciated by my clients.
• The generosity of a good friend.
• A long walk on the beach with my husband and best friend.
• My mom saying she can be here in two weeks to sit for a family portrait that is too long over due!
• A yummy pork roast in the slow cooker.

.....my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.

Day 19 - Today I am Grateful For.....

So yesterday my friend Betsy Talbot made a post on her blog http://www.marriedwithluggage.com/2009/10/09/i-like-who-i-am about an exercise she learned from Chris Haddad called the I Like Who I Am Game.


The game has you taking a big ol' sheet of clean paper or a big ol' blank computer screen and write until it becomes uncomfortable all the things you like about yourself.....written in the third person. Betsy has all the details on her blog - you should check it out - and Chris has a video as well.


It got me to thinking about somethings people might say about me in their gratitude journal- so while I only have 5 things a day I speak of being grateful for - I thought this might be interesting - let's see how it turns out.


Today I am grateful Debbie.....

• Always greets me with a smile.
• Listens when I talk and hears what I am saying - listening and hearing are two very different actions.
• Looks to offer solutions to sticking points in my life when I ask for them.
• Will take time out of her day to help me if I ask for assistance.
• Takes anything I share in confidence and keeps it to herself.

.....my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.

Day 11 - Today I am Grateful For.....

How do you mark time? Is it behind or ahead of you? Is it something you go through? Or move toward?


I am very intentional in the words I use in most of my daily life. I make a conscious decision to fill my mind and the space around me with the specific intent for the desired outcome. It is certainly not easy and sometimes like a tape recorder .... you remember what that is right? I have to rewind and put the words in place that work better and are true to the inention I am setting.


So as I have been chronicling that past 11 days of Gratitude I have been puzzling over time and how I feel about it. I've tried to examine it from several angles in different situations - does someone in prison mark the time they've served or the time until they will be released or eligible for parole? Do expectant parents mark time by how far along they are in the pregnancy or by the due date?


Am I looking at this as 89 more days until I reach my 100th day? Or am I looking at this as I have successfully completed this exercise for 11 consecutive days? And how does each of those perceptions of time leave me feeling? One of them has me expectantly waiting to post the next day; the other leaves me feeling like I am serving a sentence.


How do you view time?


Today I am grateful for:

• My fun friends at book club and the laughter and joy they bring into my life and my home - oh and the food, the wine and the beer aren't bad either!
• The quiet waking of the day - the gentle trill of the birds outside my window, the brightening light in the sky as the morning begins.
• The happy lab greeting of Harley every morning with his downward dog stretch towards me (I like to think he believes I am royalty and is bowing his greeting)....sure :)
• The appreciation I am developing for the difference between meditation and silence - when I meditate it feels like I am on a journey in my mind - there are times when I just want to sit and let me and my mind just be in silence.
• The unexpected generosity of friends - today you took our breath away.

.....my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.

Day 3 - I Am Grateful For.......

So have you ever looked at your journal....I mean really looked at it?


When do you write? Is it a daily part of your routine or do you only turn to your old friend when you are excited and want to celebrate - or sad and frustrated?


I think what I have come to appreciate is that the journal is the place for it all - it's the friend you can share the darkest thoughts you could never imagine verbalizing - and the one place you want to make sure chronicles your best successes.


In all my journals I've started I notice that it has always been at a time of 'crossroads' - personally or professionally - and yet once I cross the intersection I put it on the shelf and move on down the road. I now realize I have an entire Encyclopedia set of crossroads - there in and of itself is a story...I need to process and come back to this later.


So today I am grateful for:

1. People who have a passion for what they do and the ability they have to share their work and help others find their joy - thank you Lesley Hobbs - you are a delight.


2. Appreciating my life is a glorious buffet of choices


3. My 6 year old nephew Trever who can't wait to teach me to hula hoop.....I know shocking I can't do it at 39 - when I told him the only time I have been able to hoola hoop has been with the Wii...he says with all the authority of a 1st grader. "aunt Debbie that's because it's a video game!"


4. Safeway crediting 10% of all purchases to the school of your choices - until 10/15/09 - nice to see companies giving back.


5. The late sunshine of fall.

......my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.

Day 1 - Today I am Grateful For.....

So again a good emberassment of riches - my niece said as a little girl "mom, there are too many fun things to do....." tonight I feel like there is SO much to be grateful for...how do I choose? (Remind me of this in two nights when I'll be grateful I don't have a cold!)

1. Hummingbirds who remind me to pause and hover over the beautiful moments in my life.


2. The longest friendship of my life which began over cinnamon toast in 1974.


3. The gentle purring of my 15 year old cat.


4. Egg frittata at world wide headquarters during the week.


5. Dinner plate wrapped and warming for me when I get home from a workshop at 10 o'clock tonight.

Now, what have I been so worried about... this is going to work out just great!

What are you grateful for today?