All I care is that the sun is shining brilliantly through the windows, the snow-covered ground looks like God sprinkled it with glitter and long tree shadows make patterns on the front lawn. I breathe in the sunshine!!!!
I am keeping a "Gift List". I have 300 gifts written in a little book that I keep handy. This idea from Ann Voskamp's book "1,000 Gifts" (see my New Year's Day post) is a beautiful way to stay present. This is what mindfulness is all about. Notice. Breathe. Slow down. And while we're at it let's give thanks in all things.
I often pick up Beth's old bible. It's well worn and highlighted and there are many hand written notes in the margins. Today I was reading her notes in Ecclesiastes;
"Be expectant."
"You may become trite if you hurry your heart."
"Wherever you are, be all there."
I believe she continues to take this journey with me. Holding her books, reading her notes brings her so close. I only discovered
"One Thousand Gifts" because it was one of her books that I brought home with me from her book shelf two years ago.
I encourage you to keep an ongoing gift list, a gratitude journal too. It's a great tool to help you slow down and be thankful. Thanksgiving creates abundance. Thanksgiving makes time!
Wisdom from "One Thousand Gifts":
"... Life is too brief to hurry.
How long does it take your soul to realize that your life is full?
The slower the living, the greater the sense of fullness and satisfaction.
Weigh the moment down with full attention.
Full attention slows the current. Don't I always have the choice to be fully attentive?
Simplicity is ultimately a matter of focus. Thanksgiving keeps the focus simple - sacred.
Our life story in freeze frames of thanks...
#362. Suds in the sink
#457. Brown eggs fresh from the henhouse
#526. New toothbrushes
#663. Opening jars of preserves
#904. First frost's crunch
#971. Kettle whistling for tea on a cold afternoon..."
If we chronicle the gifts, what happens is along the way we will discover a new way of seeing that opens our eyes to gratitude and a way of living that brings deep and lasting happiness...
Today is the anniversary date of Dad's passing. I was thinking about how he passed at the time of the Epiphany, a Christian feast day that celebrates the manifestation of Christ as the Son of God. The dictionary definition is: realization, idea, enlightenment, inspiration, discovery.
In my reading this morning I read this beautiful simple idea of our daily epiphanies... Our life experience is typically in the eye of the beholder. If we have eyes to see the daily epiphanies in our lives we will end up with grateful and joyful hearts. My dad did this. He was a role model for discovering the good in the moment. He had a joyful heart. A big, generous, joyful heart and I miss him. Always.
If we chronicle the gifts, what happens is along the way we will discover a new way of seeing that opens our eyes to gratitude and a way of living that brings deep and lasting happiness...
Today is the anniversary date of Dad's passing. I was thinking about how he passed at the time of the Epiphany, a Christian feast day that celebrates the manifestation of Christ as the Son of God. The dictionary definition is: realization, idea, enlightenment, inspiration, discovery.
In my reading this morning I read this beautiful simple idea of our daily epiphanies... Our life experience is typically in the eye of the beholder. If we have eyes to see the daily epiphanies in our lives we will end up with grateful and joyful hearts. My dad did this. He was a role model for discovering the good in the moment. He had a joyful heart. A big, generous, joyful heart and I miss him. Always.
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