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Amongst other things, this is a love story.... the theme changes occasionally... this year it is fitness and learning to love yourself.

8 April 2013

G is for Grateful - A-Z challenge - Words of change. Day 8

grateful -|ˈgrātfəl|
adjective
feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; thankful.

Thursday:  Stressed. At the Library - A book about Reiki lying flat on the shelf. It's a new word, thing, therapy -  so I read it that night.

Friday: At the cafe - Open a newspaper to an advertisement for a Reiki course that starts this weekend. It's being run by the same lady that wrote the book. I ring the lady, she says "you're welcome, it's never to late."

Saturday:  Arrive at retreat early, immediately surrounded by animals - including a kangaroo. I am in nature. Maybe, I might relax. I hope to relax.  Initiated, dream of a lion roaring and a wolf watching.

Sunday:  Time to do yearly meditation, find a sound and choose a significant word. Lovely relaxing meditation. All I hear is birds - "shut up birds I'm trying to meditate."  

I  ask the lady "Am I doing it right? Everybody can hear the birds, we are in the bush, they are outside the window, not in my head -  "Should I've heard an AUM or a tone, something more... enlightening."

She smiles and says "You're doing just fine."

I reach into the bag and choose my word.

Grateful?

"what does that mean, should I just say thank you more often, don't I say it enough, and what sort of bird was that, how will I know if it's the right bird?"

Again she smiles "Give yourself time - you're doing just fine"

Long drive home. Sunset behind me.

Monday: – Wake up in my own bed, my room is a mess, I dread the thought of going to work. Through the noise, I hear a reminder to remember my word.  I'm grateful.... that I start work late and can lie here a bit longer...

More birds chatter and sing their songs, they never stop. From the moment I wake up, to the moment I sleep - chirping whistling chipping, clucking, tsipping, peeking, trilling, cheeping, cooing and cawing, be grateful, be grateful - Every day, week, month, year long, even at night, every single, silent, waking second of my year .

I'm grateful for concrete, I'm grateful for dust, I'm grateful for gifts and grateful for fazes, I'm so grateful for my tiny, one room apartment that has no balcony or air conditioning, because it is secure and shady.

I'm grateful Oprah taught millions of people to write a gratitude journal. I'm grateful for compliments and grateful for grateful and for all my 10 fingers that type what I think.

I'm grateful for every jerk I've been fortunate to meet, they taught me a lot about humanity and myself. I'm grateful for imagination and mind bending trips, and knowing what it means to be free. I'm grateful for fallen angels and people that can't find a job. I'm grateful for everybody, everything, and when I forget, I let birds remind me - again.

Even in moments filled with gloom, 'grateful' threw down the gauntlet to find gratitude.  It is hard to be angry at anything when you are in gratitude - Grateful taught me to be gentle, graceful, glamorous, gracious and good. It was gratifying and felt great... full. 

35 comments :

  1. I have been thinking about starting a gratitude journal- it is such a great idea!

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    1. It's really is... A good start is to just stop, look around and think of a few things, but journals are so much more fun. Maybe we could start a gratitude blog hop. :)

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  2. Beautiful! It's always the little things we have to be grateful for! My F post is just like that.

    Jamie Dement (LadyJai)
    Http://writebackwards.we3dements.com

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    1. *checks your F - post* Finding positive is exactly the same as being grateful

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  3. Gorgeous. Grateful for the glory that is to be a gracious giving genuine person.

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    1. I'm looking forward to your alliteration of G -

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  4. Nice post. Sometimes we get so caught up in all of our daily problems and we yearn for things we don't have. This post has helped remind me that it's probably healthier to worry less and start being grateful for even the smallest gifts we receive.

    Thanks,
    Dan

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    1. Thanks again Dan...I think there is no 'probably' about it, I am yet to meet a person that became healthier from worrying more... :) Thank

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  5. Ida, Thanks for a beautiful post. Often when feeling on the ends of the good-bad spectrum (either side) I find it beneficial to keep a list of things for which Im grateful. I have been adding to the same list for about ten years! I keep thinking I should number the items but havent found myself grateful for that amount of patience yet.

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    1. Wow - Zoe it must be a long list, perhaps start with numbering the pages! :) - I wish I had have spent more time writing in the past, I have no doubt your list is inpiring.

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  6. Sometimes we forget to be grateful for the little things as well more major things.

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  7. An attitude of gratitude gets us through the bad times.

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  8. Gratitude journey is such a nice idea. I missed out on D, E & F as I had a mishap and was not able to write for few days. But I am grateful it was nothing major. I will try to fit in the missing letter but to be with the flow I piblished my G today.

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    1. Better late then never Yamini. Goal setting is a great idea for a G post

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  9. I'm grateful I read you blog. It felt as if I were meditating too...I could even hear the birds chirping. :-)

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    1. Thank you GK - I wonder if you tried to tell your birds to shut-up too :D

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  10. Be grateful for the little things. Waking up to greet a new morning is something we often take for granted.
    Thanks for the thought-provoking words...

    Writer In Transit

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  11. Ida,

    Thanks for the nice words on the Grizzly Bear post, it was perfectly clear. It's a sad story. The state of Colorado does not want to reintroduce the bears here because they don't think people are responsible enough to live with them and the state may be correct on that. If we want to see Grizzlies in the wild, we have to travel about 10 hours north to Yellowstone National Park.

    I'm enjoying your A to Z posts and I'm looking forward to your "H"

    Thanks again,
    Dan

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    1. Thank you Dan. It's hard to believe there isn't a better solution. I hope I can keep up the pace in this A-Z challenge I look forward to more of your posts too :)

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  12. Gratitude is vital! :) So thanks for stopping by my blog - and good luck on the road of A-Z :)

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  13. It was a pleasure and thank you

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  14. Hi Ida,

    I'm grateful that you're grateful. An attitude of gratitude. Lessons learnt and those lessons teach us that despite it all, there is much to understand about how blessed we are.

    I'm grateful for the interaction we share, dear lady.

    In gratitude,

    Gary )

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    1. Hi Dear Klahanie, It is so easy to forget - I am grateful for you, your kind, insightful words and the interaction we have too - it really gives me a buzz :D

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  15. Gratitude for new friends and for moving forward. It is great to be reminded to be grateful for the little things in life. My daughter's smile, my grandson's saying MeMe over and over again. Life is great when lived in a spirit of gratitude. So true. Thanks Ida.

    http://mary-anderingcreatively.blogspot.com/

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    1. I can be difficult to see through the challenges at times, but yes a simple thing like a child's smiles or demands is definitely a great way to remembering the blessings.

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  16. Lovely lovely post, Ida. I am a big gratitude person as well--come back every Friday night on my blog I post a list of what I'm grateful for that week. It's a practice I started a decade ago (pre-blog, post-divorce), and it's been one I'm so glad I have stuck with, through good and bad times my gratitude is present.

    So glad we found each other on the A-Z!

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    1. a gratitude weekly post sounds like a lovely idea. I mentioned in an earlier reply that a 'let's be grateful' or gratitude blog hop would be good too. I look forward to reading more, your Humanity post was worth reading

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  17. Isn't it odd how even something negative- like the jerks you mention- can have a silver lining of sorts?

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    1. I think when I woke up to that, I was able to move on.

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