Day 6 of the 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge: A movie that’s comforting. Answer: Christmas Vacation. Or Elf. Or Home Alone. Or Preacher’s Wife. Or any Christmas movie I watch every year. I’m not sure this is what they were going for with today’s gratitude entry, but Christmas movies came to my mind instantly. When I bake Christmas…
Category: Live Better
30 Days of Gratitude
The other day I got an email from a magazine I used to subscribe to (Bella Grace) and it included a link to an item called “30 Days of Gratitude.” It’s a 30-day calendar with a prompt each day to, well, promote gratitude. Here’s the intro: “There is always something to be grateful for, we…
Choose the better
“Hate has 4 letters, so does Love. Enemies has 7 letters, so does Friends. Lying has five letters, so does Truth. Negative has 8 letters, so does Positive. Under has 5 letters, so does Above. Cry has 3 letters, so does Joy. Angry has 5 letters, so does Happy. Right has 5 letters, so does…
Small journeys
On the way to the office this morning, I realized how much being home for the last year and a half has made me enjoy getting out and about — so much that I even appreciate the stoplights along my route to work. I love to look around, see what’s developing (in nature or man-made)….
Good choice
Every day you have an important choice to make. Whether to cherish or waste the most valuable blessing you have – time. Today you have the choice to spend it wisely, appreciating every minute of your life, loving the people that love you, focusing on all the good you have. Find what makes you happy,…
Seven Ways…
…to love yourself. 1.) Celebrate small things. 2.) REST. 3.) Say “no” to toxic people. 4.) Express what you need. 5.) Set boundaries. 6.) Slow down. 7.) Forgive yourself. I saw this list on Instagram (@chronically_cheerful) recently, which seems to be my magic 8 ball of self-care wisdom these days. And I thought those were…
Making the most of it
Welp. While we gained an hour of sleep, the sun is setting super early — and now I’m officially running in the dark. Gone are the glorious autumn scenes like the one above, replaced instead by a few feet of sidewalk illuminated by my flashlight. Usually this is a tough transition for me. As a…
Things I wish for you
I spotted this wonderful sentiment and thought it was worth sharing with others (along with photos from my morning run in the Park and my later-in-the-morning walk with Finn). Things I wish for you That you go on lots of long walks and enjoy your own company. That you learn that the real magic doesn’t…
Love
“Love your life. Take pictures of everything. Tell people you love them. Talk to random strangers. Do things that you’re scared to do. Take your life and make it the best story in the world. Don’t waste it.” – unknown
Everyone
“Be extra kind, and show respectevery chance you get.Keep reminding yourselfthat everyone you meet is a human being whodreams of something,fears something,loves someone, andhas lost someone.” -@marcandangel
Twofer
Yesterday I fell asleep before I had a chance to post day #6 of the “7 ways to be more kind to your mind” exercise/self-reflections from @laurajaneillustrations. So today I’ll post the thoughts/reflections for both Friday and Saturday. Twofer! For Friday: “Check in with your feelings. What are you feeling today? Why are you feeling this way? What…
Pause
It’s Thursday — day #5 of the “7 ways to be more kind to your mind” exercise/self-reflections from @laurajaneillustrations: “Take a moment to just stop. Stop and breathe. Breathe in, pause, breathe out. In the silence, listen closely to what your body is telling you – what do you need more of today? I took this photo the…
It’s okay
I have to say that I’ve cut through this tunnel countless times, but it’s never looked quite as magical as this before. I don’t know if it was the golden hour light this evening or what, but it stopped me in my tracks. I half expected to come out the other end into another world….
A work in progress
I’m continuing to make my way through the “7 ways to be more kind to your mind” exercise/self-reflections that I found on Instagram from @laurajaneillustrations. Here’s the thought/action for Tuesday: “Choose to forgive yourself for still being in the “process.” Instead of saying “I can’t do this,” remind yourself that you are still learning, still…
You’re doing great
Goodness, it seems like the leaves are slow going this year. But I’m milking every glimpse of color I can find. Even the ones like these just starting the transition give me hope. Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, I found an exercise/self-reflection on Instagram (@laurajaneillustrations) that I really liked: “7 ways to be more kind…
Ways to be more kind to your mind (Day 1)
I found an exercise/self-reflection on Instagram (@laurajaneillustrations) that I really liked: “7 ways to be more kind to your mind.” She breaks it down to one item per day for a full week. Looks like Sunday is Day 1, so I figure I’ll start there – and I thought I’d share, just in case you…
Make sure
“Every minute someone leaves this world behind. We are all “in line” without knowing it. We never know how many people are before us. We cannot move to the back of the line. We cannot step out of the line. We cannot avoid the line. So while we wait in line: Make moments count. Make…
Monday Mantra
“Release yourself from the pressure of the perfectly-figured-out life and spend the day remembering what is good and true.” – Morgan Harper Nichols (I do believe that my dog is both good and true. Not the purpose of the quote, but worth tossing into the mix of things to remember today.)
Reframing the ‘what ifs’
What if I fail?What if I excel? What if I go and have a terrible time?What if I’ll have the time of my life? What if none of this is worth it?What if I can create my own purpose? What if they’ll hate me?What if they’ll be my new friends? What if I’ll never be…
You never know
You never really know the impact you have on people around you. You never know how much someone needed that smile you gave them. You never know how much your kindness turned someone’s entire life around. You never know how much someone needed that long hug or deep talk. So don’t wait to be kind….
Neighbors
“We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.” – Winnie the Pooh My Monday morning started out with this note on my doorstep, a darling portrait of me, my dog and my sweet little neighbor. The sentiment had me smiling all day. When I talked to my mom about…
At-a-glance
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau During this morning’s (struggle) long run, I noticed a man along my route who gave me a bit to think about. As I plodded along (hot, grumpy, uncomfortable), I glanced over and took in the most idyllic scene. A…
Ah, yes…
“Being grateful doesn’t mean you have to love every part of your life. It’s okay to feel hurt when something doesn’t turn out the way you thought it to be, especially for things you have given so much of your heart. What gratefulness means is that no matter what happens or what you go through,…
hey there, friends 