This morning was another rainy, thunder-filled morning. While I absolutely love these kind of mornings, my girls were thinking it maybe wasn't their favorites. For my older daughter it meant darkness, indoor recess, and just wanting to have a movie day rather than go to school. For my little one it meant scary thunder and flashes outside the window and the sun was "missing". 

Some days need a little turn-around right at the beginning. I could tell that this may be one of those days. I told them how much I like rain but also how much I like rainy music. We put on some of our favorite dance tunes, starting with a little Eddie Rabbit, "I Love a Rainy Night". My little one decided she needed her rain boots on in the house to dance to rainy day music. Then my older daughter decided we should turn off the lights so the rain boots really stood out when they flashed and lit up. We had a blast dancing around to the light-up boots and tunes!

I love how just five to ten minutes of silliness and play can turn the day around. I'm grateful to have such a fun morning. I'm grateful to have woke a little early so we could have a few minutes in our schedule for this silliness. I'm grateful for the storm that inspired us. I'm grateful for Eddie Rabbit whose voice encouraged us. I'm grateful to have these beautiful moments with my girls. I'm grateful to watch the storm rolling out and the sun peeking through the clouds. I'm grateful to know the plants have had a good drink.

What do you do to turn your day around when it starts to go sideways? What is something fun and silly you enjoy? How can you build in time in your day for play?

May we connect to our child-like heart. May we take time to play and never stop dancing! Have a beautiful day!

If a puzzle piece isn't fitting we try it in a different spot. If there is a wall, we walk around it. Every day in a dozen or more ways we adapt or change our plan to get something to work. So if the routine isn't working, why not try something new?

I'm trying to mix things up a little this week to see if some little changes to routine can help my routine go more smoothly. Perhaps just a small change is what is needed to provide that little bump of self-care. 

I'm grateful to try some new habits. I'm grateful to let go of some that may not be serving me as well as I thought. I'm grateful for dark showers. I'm grateful to let go of "time". I'm grateful to move through the morning with trust and listen to my body. I'm grateful to put other priorities first.

What is something new you have tried lately? How did it feel to change something? Did you end up incorporating it into your life or let it go?

May we always be open to trying something new. May we explore and learn. Have a beautiful day!

I talk a lot about balance and being balanced. Lately that has not been the case and I've been feeling more resonance toward a different word, planted or even rooted. 

The act of balancing is continuous work. If one thing lands out of place the whole balance can be shifted and topple. Which is exactly how it felt like things were going last week. The balance was off and when I tried to compensate, it ended up feeling like I was toppling a different way. 

We did some yard work this weekend. Our yard has been mostly taken over by honeysuckle. We cleared a couple sections and my husband planted a few little trees in one of the areas. 

Besides it looking nice, it really felt good to get out and work in the dirt. As I worked to uproot the large weeds a new resonance started forming. Honeysuckle is neat in that it's roots are connected to many plants. It is very strong and stable. While this is not great for the plans we have for our yard, it gave me a good metaphor for what I was looking for in my life. It wasn't balance so much as to be planted with roots deep and connected. 

This is exactly what I found this weekend. I drew on my "root system", my family and friends. I focused on being grounded. I looked at the nurturing we were giving to our new baby trees and I gave myself nurturing too. I am growing my roots deeper and wider to regain that stable foundation that has seemed rocked lately. I have planted myself.

I'm grateful for a new visual. I'm grateful to have some baby trees to show me the way. I'm grateful to feel more steady again. I'm grateful for all the wonderful friends and family that I get to see each week. I'm grateful for last minute zoom calls to have a quick chat. I'm grateful for the wonderful wisdom shared from all around. I'm grateful to start at the ground and work my way up.

What words are resonating with you right now? Perhaps these words have been ones you have used for a while or maybe there are new words calling to you. What shifts are you feeling? What helps you get back to balance or a sense of being planted securely?

May we take time to get our hands in the dirt. May we reconnect with nature. May we listen to the words that are resonating and let it guide us. Have a beautiful day!

Today I woke up telling myself I was going to have a great day. I was determined to do things better than yesterday, kick the funk to the curb, and enjoy the day. 

I pushed myself to get up too early and work out while having a fussy little one join me because she couldn't sleep. I pushed myself to be silly and playful when I just wanted to sit. I pushed my body to its limit fasting because I had a blood draw today. And then I pushed myself some more when my body just wanted to crash. 

There were plenty of beautiful moments today. But it really should not come as a surprise that I wiped out hard on my goal to do things better. I lost my temper with my kids, which always breaks my heart. I broke down in tears multiple times throughout the morning. 

I was so focused on pushing myself to have a better day that I forgot to just listen to what I actually needed to make that possible. So now I get to pick up the pieces of my crash. I get to find space to forgive myself as well as asking forgiveness from my children. I get to walk that harder lesson on listening to what I actually need and trying to turn this day back around. 

I am human. It is sometimes hard to admit. I am a gratitude coach. But I am also a person who is working through trauma, PTSD, and occasional depression. I struggle with anxiety and with guilt. Gratitude does not make the world a magical place of no pain or struggle. It takes the real life things we are experiencing and helps us find a little piece of light. It helps us find the good so we can keep moving forward. 

Each day I write this blog it is in the hopes that someone who is struggling can get a small glimpse of light. It is the hope that someone out there will be encouraged to find gratitude in their day and that maybe it will help them in times of challenge. This blog is not my gratitude practice. My gratitude practice is the same as what I recommend to everyone else. I wake up and write four things I am grateful for that are truly from the heart. They are different every day. Before I go to bed I write down the best thing that happened that day and at least four more things I am grateful for about that day. When sh!t goes sideways I try to pause and remember there is a lesson in it and find gratitude for something, anything. And when I crash and burn and fall into dysregulation and funk, I use these same practices to pull myself back up. 

I'm grateful to question why I chose to push myself rather than let myself be. I'm grateful to ponder that and let the judgment fall away. I'm grateful to see where I can grow from this moment. I'm grateful to take a long pause and just let the tears flow unhindered. I'm grateful to be able to tell my kids I messed up and ask for their forgiveness. I'm grateful to be raw and honest with you so there can be no pedestal, no pressure, just gratitude practice. I'm grateful to hold the hope and belief that this honesty makes a difference. I'm grateful to believe gratitude is powerful.

When have you had a wipe out? How do you rebuild? What practices help you learn and move forward?

May we always keep learning and growing. May we find forgiveness for our stumbles and gratitude in every turn. Have a beautiful day!

I spent a good portion of my younger years searching for my voice. I mostly have a pretty good grasp on it these days. Kids have a good way of helping teach, both in projection and in voicing boundaries. 

Lately though, as I find myself rambling away with friends, I feel a longing to just listen. It took so long to get my voice going that now it feels like a runaway cart sometimes. I miss all that I learned and heard by just being quiet. 

In everything there is a balance to seek. This is mine for now. The pendulum has swung a little too far and I focus on bringing in back. 

It is interesting the thoughts and fears that come up as I lean toward this shift. It shows things I thought I had healed, still wounded on one level or another. It shows the challenge in this age of either overly engaging or completely checking out via media. 

But I feel the stillness calling me. I feel the quiet opening its arms to welcome me. And I notice the reactions of others as I do this. They have their own internal story, as I do, that gives them a context whether true or not. 

I'm grateful for the void of voices. I'm grateful to witness the pull and push of these two options. I'm grateful to have the different perspectives even as I move toward shifting to a place of better balance. I'm grateful to know my silence will be filled with beautiful sounds of the heart. I'm grateful to listen. I'm grateful for this practice that pairs so well with witnessing my breath. 

One of my favorite quotes is "Talk low, talk slow, and don't talk too much." Time to ease back in to that resonance. 

When do you find yourself talking more? When do you speak little? How do you find your balance in expressing yourself.

May we speak knowing we are heard and may we listen to gift others this same respect. Have a beautiful day!

Today I am practicing using visuals for my mindfulness. I am specifically focusing on being aware of my breath. It is interesting to observe how my breath changes through different situations.

Sometimes I picture my breathing like a lotus flower, slowly opening and closing in time-lapse. I notice it getting caught like a bug in a web or shallow like a deer paused to listen. Sometimes my breath is held like it wants to build enough pressure to launch a rocket or spit fire like a dragon. And I can pause and choose to let it out in the rhythm of a slow steady rain.

My kids enjoy breathing like there is a cup of hot chocolate in front of them or like a lion needing to roar. We have a whole book on different ways for kids to practice breathing called "Breathe Like a Bear." I enjoy it too. 

So how do you like to breathe? What is your breathing like right now? How has it been at different times today? What would it take to bring it to a slow, deep breath?

I'm grateful to have a vivid imagination. I'm grateful to be able to find small challenges to help me grow each day. I'm grateful to focus on my breath today and see just how much small things can affect it. I'm grateful to notice how deeply it is tied to even subtle emotions. I'm grateful to pause and keep trying to bring it back to a deep, slow breath. 

May we take moments to pause and check in on ourselves and our breath. May we remember even when the day is going sideways we always have the power to control our outlook. Have a beautiful day!

Last night a friend shared a podcast link with me. This morning I listened to it while I was working out. It was about happiness and adding more play into your life. Obviously this resonated very well with me and she touched on two specific things that really stood out to me. 

The first thing she said that really grabbed my attention was that even though she was a happiness expert, she was feeling like she was in a slump. I have been living my own version of this. I am a gratitude coach that writes a gratitude blog and yet there have been quite a few times over the last couple years that my own practice hits a slump. Even experts are human who go through ups and downs.

The second thing that grabbed my attention was her talking to an author about his essay writing on delights. Delights can be anything that catch your attention and bring you joy. That spark of good feeling something brings is delight. The challenge the podcaster was giving herself was to find at least one delight every day.

By this point I had finished my exercise routine but I wasn't ready to pause the podcast. I wanted to hear more from the author and from this speaker. I also know myself enough to know I hear better if I am fidgeting with something non-distracting. (I realize to some this may not make sense...but to some people it will completely make sense.) So during the podcast commercial I asked myself, "what would bring me some delight as I listened?" Out came my markers and owl coloring book!

As I colored I listened to more about delight and the ending thoughts. I enjoyed the tip that when you find a delight you say "delight!" out loud. I can also see the benefit of their suggestion to write down a quick blurb by hand about what the delight was each day. There is actually real benefit (shown in studies) in writing things with pen and paper for processing emotions, building self-esteem, and growing gratitude and joy in your life.

Thankfully I already take time in the morning to write four gratitudes in a journal and then in the evening write at least 4 gratitudes about my day as well as the best thing to happen that day in another journal. It would take a mere few seconds more to write my day's delights!

I'm grateful for a new word for expanding my daily practice. I'm grateful for the word delight. I'm grateful to find delight in coloring this morning. I'm grateful to have woke early enough to work out and still have time to color! I'm grateful for my friend sharing this podcast and for the woman sharing her vulnerability and process with the world. I'm grateful to also find delight in the stop light turning green the second I arrived, the colors beginning to change on the trees, and deeply defined clouds in the sky this morning. I'm grateful to share this message with you in hopes you find some delight in today as well.

What brings you joy? What delights may be waiting for you to discover today? 

May today inspire us to look for the beauty in each day. May we be delighted by the little things. Have a beautiful day!

In the busy schedules of the day it is easy to feel like I don't have time. I don't have time to do that one more thing off the list. I don't have time to read one more book to my pleading kid. I don't have time to actually SIT and eat with my family. But mostly this feeling of "not enough time" is not true.

I have been trying to be more conscious of how I am spending my ten minutes. I don't like to be late so often times I arrive ten minutes early. But ten minutes early could have been five minutes early and five minutes of reading a book. So I am observing where I can adjust and where I can use ten minutes in a more productive way. 

We bring books in the car so as we wait in the carpool line, early as always, we can spend the time reading together. When we walk through the store, does it really hurt to stop for those few minutes so my kids can be in awe of the lighting section? Do I really want to model eating on the run or do I want to consciously choose to sit with my kids and slow down? As it turns out, I have plenty of time for ten minutes in my day to connect, to slow down, to be in the moment. Some days I even have time for multiple ten minute adjustments and other days I can add in a handful of two minute adjustments to get to ten by the end.

I'm grateful to give myself these little challenges that help me grow. I'm grateful to see what a difference it makes for all of us when I can take just a few minutes here and there. I'm grateful my girls love to read as much as I do. I'm grateful to keep seeking balance. I'm grateful to recognize my own mindset and bring in the woosah when needed. 

Where could you make ten minutes in your day to consciously connect? How can you add a few minutes here or there to keep your day more balanced?

May we never stop learning and growing. May we choose connection over chaos and always seek balance. Have a beautiful day!

Shh. Just listen for a minute. Do you hear it? It is the sounds of life. Maybe like me you are in a quiet space and can only hear the hum of electronics buzzing... but there is still life. There is the gentle rustle of movement and the breath moving in and out. 

Maybe you are in a busy place that is bustling with noises. Maybe is sounds energizing or maybe those noises feel a bit too much. Either way, you are hearing life. It is all around us in the quiet moments and the loud. 

Try picking out one sound. Can you find a rhythm in it? Now try to sync your breath. If it is a fast rhythm, make your breathing the slow base accompaniment. If it is a slow rhythm, add your breath in step. 

This moment is yours. Creating your own soundtrack of life and breathe from this moment is your gift. It is a gift you can give yourself any time, anywhere. 

Congratulations, you have just taken a moment to be mindful. You've taken a minute to appreciate the beauty of the moment and connect with it. 

I'm grateful to be able to hear. I'm grateful to be able to see and smell. I'm grateful to be able to control my breathing and use it as a tool for harmony. I'm grateful to pause and listen. I'm grateful for the background track of life that plays in different forms every moment. I'm grateful to take a moment to connect and just breathe. I'm grateful to have you join me in this mindful moment.

How can you add this into your day? What other ways can you pause and create?

May today be a beautiful soundtrack. May we find time to pause and play in tune. Have a beautiful day!

Over the weekend I was not feeling my best. Stress and lack of sleep had overtaken me and my body rewarded my efforts by getting a little sick. I say rewarded because in hindsight that would seem to be what I was subconsciously asking for by my imbalance and the Universe does love giving us what we ask.

Needless to say, once I had manifested it I changed my mind. Thankfully my husband was right there to offer some extra care. These are the moments my husband really shines. 

He cooked all morning to make me some homemade chicken noodle soup. It was amazing! And just a serving or two already had me feeling ten times better. 

Later he made croque-monsieur for an extra delicious dinner. He went out and bought my favorite, fresh basil and mozzarella and made it into a cute kabob with tomatoes. It wasn't just the extra effort, it was the extra mile! 

Today I am back to health but I can tell my "cup" is still refilling. Even as I take time to care for myself and get my own cup full again, I can't help but think "where can I go the extra mile?"

One of those places is here. Often I sit down and rush through a blog based on my day and the gratitude I find. But once this blog was a little deeper and farther reaching. 

Somedays I wonder if this blog still reaches the audience that needs to hear it. I wonder if this is worth my daily effort or if I should let it go and go back to journaling my gratitude in private. Where can I go that extra mile in my life to bring joy and gratitude to people? Is it here? Is there a new calling waiting to be heard? 

I do not have the answers yet. But I am open to the questions. I am opening myself to where I can go the extra mile to make a difference. I am opening to where I can go the extra mile to care for myself and my family. I am open to the answers. 

I'm grateful for my husband's loving care. I'm grateful for him going the extra mile to make food to help me back to health. I'm grateful for whoever first found basil...yum! I'm grateful to be bringing myself back to health and focusing on manifesting more positive things. I'm grateful to open myself to possibilities of a pivot coming. I'm grateful to ask myself these questions and focus on making a difference. I'm grateful for my amazing kids and family that give me ways to help and grow each day.

What is the extra mile for you? Who takes the time to give you a boost? What are you manifesting? 

May we take the time to ask the important questions. May we never be afraid to pivot to something new. May we take care of ourselves and those who need us with balance. Have a beautiful day!