Tag: thankfullness

Ten Things of Thankful – Mid January

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Thankful16 Comments

Today I’m taking part in the Ten Things of Thankful (TToT) challenge.
“Every week, bloggers from all over the world gather together here online to share with each other the things that they have been thankful for during the past week. Although the number ten is in the title, that is more of a suggestion than a hard and fast rule.” If you are interested in participating here’s the link to it. Ten Things of Thankful
“The blog hop opens every Friday morning at 1:00 a.m. Mountain time, and closes the following Tuesday at 11:55 p.m. Mountain time.?”

This week I’m thankful for:

  1. feeling better mentally and starting to get back to being me.
  2. my dog always being there for a cuddle, support, and listening to me when I need to talk. 🙂
  3. being able to drive this past Thursday, only 1 mile to the store, but it was glorious. (I haven’t been able to drive in the past few months)
  4. the weather was so nice when I drove I was able to take the top down on my car.
  5. my father-in-law’s wife appears to be okay after a fainting spell and a fall.
  6. I was able to go to my nephew’s birthday party and got to play with the sweetest child I think I’ve ever met. Such joy was emanating for her, I didn’t care I was hurting, she said she wanted to play with me instead of the other kids, that warmed my heart.
  7. I have the ultrasound on my kidney’s tomorrow to see if my ureter is still causing my urine to stay in my kidney’s too long.
  8. I have the love of my blogging friends and family. One in particular is going though a very challenging time, I’m grateful she can talk to me.
  9. I was able to just throw together a soup yesterday with mainly just pantry ingredients.
  10. last but certainly not least, I’m very grateful my friends who live where the blizzard has occurred are safe.
  11. extra…I’m grateful we had a few 70F degree days this week, it was a joy, and I’m grateful we have a fireplace for the cold night we’re getting tonight. (the warm weather will be back on the weekend…Yay!)

I think I could have gone on, there are so many things I’m thankful for this week. Some weeks I really have to struggle, but I’m so thankful for so many things. Like this challenge, I needed it to show me how thankful I am for so much!

What are you thankful for this week?

Ten Things I’m Thankful for This Week

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Gratitude15 Comments

Last week was my first time participating in the Ten Things of Thankful challenge, and it made me feel really good.  This week my ten things were not as obvious; I think that  makes it even more important to take note of them.  I’ll be the first to admit, I did not have a good week.  A lot of pain and stress has taken hold of my body, I’m holding on, but it’s getting difficult.  It’s time to step back and figure out how I can make things a little less demanding.  Every weekend is filled with so much to do, when it gets to be Monday I’m in full flare.  That has to stop, but I really like my busy weekends. I haven’t been able to do any of these things in so long, it does my heart good to be able to do them now, but my body is not as happy with me, and I’m afraid if I don’t slow down my body is going to make me.

I’m so very thankful:

  • for my amazing friends who keep me going every day.  Some I “talk” with almost every day, some I don’t keep in touch with as often. but I know they are there for me, and I am so very, very thankful for that.  I can only hope they know I’m there for them too.  I love my people.
  • that I didn’t get really hurt when I fell down the other day.  Yep, I fell, again.  Hey, it’s been a while, and I didn’t fall because I was dizzy or anything like that, I fell because I stepped on something slippery and my foot flew out from under me.  Mostly, it just scared me.
  • that I was able to go back-to-school shopping with my niece.  It’s so much fun getting to know my niece and nephew, I’m so grateful we can now spend so much time together.
  • that a local friend of mine texted me today saying that if there is every an emergency I can call on her.  That really meant the world to me.  She’s local, and I haven’t even seen her yet, I must rectify that.
  • that I have Air Conditioning.  It has been dangerously hot here; I honestly don’t know how anyone could live here without A/C.  There are so many homeless people here, I don’t know how they survive in this heat.  I’m so grateful I have a safe home and don’t have to live on the streets, my heart goes out to those who do.
  • that I have been having fun learning to decorate cookies.  I’ve only just begun to learn about it, but I’m having so much fun discovering this new art form.  I attempted my first watercolor on a cookie this week, it turned out pretty cool, not perfect, but not too bad. 20180725_121650
  • That my father-in-law is letting me use one of his cars, and it’s a really cool car too.  I’m just beginning to drive again, after a few years, so it feels amazing to be able to get to go somewhere whenever I want.  I’ve only gone on one errand so far, I’m very nervous driving here because I don’t know the area and I can’t hear the GPS.  I need to get a GPS that I can see without taking my eyes off the road, that would make things much easier.
  • for cooler mornings.  I’m trying to get up earlier so I can enjoy the weather before it gets too hot, some days I make it, other days, I don’t get out much.
  • that my surgery is soon.  Just got a call this evening that my surgery date has been changed to the 7th. This is causing a bit of inconvenience with Stuart and work. as that was supposed to be a training day for him, I’m grateful he will still be able to take me.
  • that I was able to do write a post.  With my wrist pain, migraines, and additional pain this week, I didn’t think I’d be able to get this done, I’m so grateful that I could do it.

What are you thankful for this week?  I’d love for you to share with me just one thing you are grateful for this week!!

I’ll try and write more about my surgery soon, a little mini update before I have to disappear for a while.

I’m always thankful for you.

 

Thinkfulness Mondays (filling in for Wendy): thankfulness; appreciation; gratitude

On By LorraineIn Bipolar, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, Gratitude, Guest Post, Life, Mindfulness, Quotes6 Comments

Wendy chose the theme: thankfulness; appreciation and gratitude to highlight what a Mindfulness Turkey Day should be. Of thankfulness for what we have tangibly, but most importantly, for those intangibles: the fairy dust; the miracles; the possibilities; grounded in our moments; spreading hands and hearts. Appreciating the touch of a hand; a donation to a food bank; thankful for the moment with friends; aware of the needs of others; and appreciation on the need for us to help.

This Saturday is giving Saturday at my local library. I am thankful I am able to provide some tangible help: toys and books for children and clothes for their mothers.

Wendy has a nasty migraine making working on the computer right now feel deadly, so I stepped in to help – what are friends for? Please send her messages of support as she deals with yet another round of migraines, cluster headaches, vertigo, and back pain. She got so far, but needed to rest her eyes. I so understand, so here I am offering up quotes about thankfulness, appreciation and gratitude. But I would pose we should think of “thinkfulfness” – the ways in which our minds wrap their synapses around the mindfulness approach to living – including celebrations of ourselves, friends, families, and perhaps through donations, or volunteer work

So, I searched beyond my usual sorts of quotes (with Wendy’s assistance), and have more than Wendy’s usual three. These resonated with me in terms of thankfulness, appreciation and gratitude. A cornucopia, and over abundance of meditations on gratitude, thankfulness, and appreciation.  I was unable to post Wendy’s lovely image; instead an unedited collage of my back yard.

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.“ G.K. Chesterton

“Every day, spread the magical stardust of thankfulness into your life.” Terri Guillemets

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Anon

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” A. A. Milne

“Don’t cry because it’s over, be happy because it happened” Dr. Seuss

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” J F Kennedy

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom”. Marcel Proust

“In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.” Elizabeth Gilbert

“We take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” Cynthia Ozick

images are copyrighted to Lorraine; unable to upload Wendy’s marvelous images.

And to end on a musical note: a song discovered by a search that seems to fall within the theme of thankfulness.

Josh Grobin: Thankful

Somedays, we forget to look around us,
Somedays, we can’t see the joy that surrounds us,
So caught up inside ourselves,
We take when we should give,
So for tonight we pray for,
What we know can be,
And on this day we hope for,
What we still can’t see,
It’s up to us, to be the change,
And even though we all can still do more,
There’s so much to be thankful for,
Look beyond ourselves,
There’s so much sorrow,
It’s way to late to say, I’ll cry tomorrow
Each of us must find our truth,
It’s so long overdue,
So for tonight we pray for,
What we know can be,
And everyday, we hope for,
What we still can’t see,
It’s up to us, to be the change,
And even though we all can still do more,
There’s so much to be thankful for,
Even with our differences,
There is a place we’re all connected,
Each of us can find each others light,
So for tonight, we pray for
What we know can be,
And on this day, we hope for,
What we still can’t see,
It’s up to us, to be the change,
And even though this world needs so much more
There’s so much to be thankful for.