G. R. A. T. E. F. U. L.

Hello everybody! I have a late night, nearing the end of the week, follow up to my previous post. If you read it, you know there are some things I’ve concluded I need to work on. A few main ones are having faith, being grateful, and being myself. I’ve been playing with something in my mind to try when I lay down at night as a way to express gratitude and reflect on the day. It turned into the following:

Give myself grace. Forgiving myself for something minor I’d typically beat myself up for (spending extra money, eating poorly, not exercising, not being productive, etc.)

Releasing. Letting go of negativity, jealousy, the need for certainty, or anything else that needs releasing.

Appreciate about myself. A quality, characteristic, skill or physical attribute that I like about me.

Trusting in. Having faith. Trusting that my worries will work themselves out, in myself, in my abilities, etc.

Event. Something that happened during the day that was a highlight and/or am grateful for.

For another life. Being thankful for another being, furry, four-legged, or human (which might still be furry).

Uplift. What did I do today to be there for another person, help them out, show compassion, put a smile on their face, etc.

Looking forward to/Leaning into. I once read that all you need in life is something to be excited about. The aim is to look forward to something without it taking a pessimistic turn. Another option is to lean into joy, vulnerability, uncertainty, or anything else uncomfortable and, as a yogi may say, “breathe into the pain”.

That’s all I have this go ’round. I hope it can be of use to someone out there. I’ll be back Sunday with a children’s book review roundup for any fellow picture book fans out there!

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