Welcome to this week’s accumulation of smaller posts on gratitude and other uplifting thoughts. Hopefully, it inspires all of us to greater degrees of gratitude and an increased desire to do good in this world. I hope you allotted some extra time to read today. I felt particularly grateful and full of words this week.
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Famous Last Words?
One of the podcasts that I listen to, which is called Sunday on Monday and is basically three friends discussing the scriptures we are reading this week, challenged listeners to write our final words in six sentences. This challenge occurred the week before last, of course. I have been mulling it over, looking for perfection in my words though I know I won’t find that in myself. My self esteem isn’t that good or you would have so much more to read from me each week.
Maybe I am influenced by the season we are in, but shouldn’t those final words be about gratitude? Final words are our last chance to leave the world better than we found it after all. So here we go, my final words should they be needed anytime soon.
1. No matter what happens, don’t forget that you are loved by me, by our Savior Jesus Christ, and by your Father in Heaven.
2. Keep striving to be the good in this world.
3. Furthermore, try to be grateful for all that you have, both blessings and trials.
4. You need both the good and the bad times to make you into the best possible version of yourself.
5. And remember that you are never alone because Heavenly Father sent us here to care for and strengthen each other.
6. When you doubt any of this, be strong and turn to Heavenly Father in prayer because he will answer you even if it isn’t the answer you want.
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Challenges Inspire Grateful Hearts
What challenges have you experienced that you are grateful for?
Not sure this particular question is going to be a mood booster if I am not careful how I interpret it, so I shall tread lightly. Challenges beyond my control have given me a perspective on life that reminds me to look deeper before I judge, try to be kind, and keep on swimming even when the current wants to pull me under. In other news, accepting the challenge to write a novel in a month has been keeping me extra busy, but hopefully, it will help me be ahead on a couple of personal goals into the new year. (Yes, one of those goals is to post more of bits of writing for my faithful fans. Shout out to my moral support squad.)
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Clothed in Gratitude
Whenever I think of an article of clothing that I am grateful for, I think of a pair of vintage, pink, polyester bell bottoms. My mother wandered into my room when I was a teenager and tossed them at me. I was horrified at first, but they grew on me. They have featured in crazy antics with a friend who wore all black (imagine that contrast, we blended well), paying homage to them in a voicemail message that no one listened to because it also featured most of "I Will Survive", and a guy who was at least a foot taller than me asking to borrow them in my psychology class (he wanted to wear them--before your minds go to a bad place and I am pretty sure he was still drunk from the previous night. Also, I said “NO”.)
Another memorable piece of clothing is a cloak that a roommate had in her closet when I moved in. I started wearing it and didn’t stop. In fact, I wore it so much that people started calling me the “chick in the cloak”, and I swear it faded from green (her color) to blue (my color). I would meet when not attired in said cloak and people would stare at me and insist we had met before. Usually, it would bug them for a while until they excitedly circled back to me to declare, “You’re the chick in the cloak.” Yes, yes, that is me. Other memorable responses to my fashion choice include greetings such as “I am Batman” and “Aren’t you a little late/early for Halloween?” Said cloak and its many friends still reside in my closet and cloak weather is upon us. Maybe it is time to introduce my new neighbors to the chick in the cloak?
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Thanks for All the Memories
How do we keep track of the memories we are grateful for?
Most of my memories are locked away in my head. Every now and then, I jot something down in a journal or the memoire I should never write. I have tried to make digital copies of as many photos as I can, but I keep finding ones that need digitized, so that just gets added to the infinite list of things to do. I also have some photo books I made for the girls. I need to catch up on those. I think I got the first quarter of 2020, so that is another thing to be grateful for.
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Extra Thanks for our Veterans
I come from a small town that celebrates our veterans as much as possible. We are famous for Memorial Day I have seen hometown posts about how to celebrate our veterans without the traditional parade this year. I remember how excited I was to receive a cloth poppy from an older gentleman in uniform when my mom donated a few coins. My mom explained to me that the man who gave it to me had fought for our freedom. We know that our country has been made better on the shoulders of men and women who have sacrificed “to defend their religion, freedom, peace, and families.” (If that causes a stirring in you, I can’t wait to see you in church again when all the craziness has subsided.) So if you see a veteran today, or any day, stand up a little taller and say “hello” or “thank you”. And as always, be kind, some veterans can’t forget the things they have seen and a little kindness goes a long way.
Don’t worry. My hometown managed to show their appreciation. I saw a photo of a parade of pickup trucks decked out with flags making a slow procession down Main Street to show that we have not forgotten the debt we owe to those who defend freedom.
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Love for the Rainbow
My friend asked us what our favorite color is. A difficult question as I appreciate most of the colors depending on my mood. My favorites are shades of pink and blue. Some shades and products sporting them are preferable to others. I have had comments from people about the limited range of colors I wear, usually black and blue. Red makes for lovely roses and delicious apples. Orange is perfect for pumpkins and the fruit of the same name. Yellow makes bananas and lemons stand out. And who doesn’t love green that makes the grass and trees more beautiful and vibrant. Shades of blue give depth to the ocean and the sky. But what about purples from royal to grape? I love it and how happy it makes my daughter, but if you see my mother-in-law, please tell her how grateful I am for the other colors, so she can mix it up this year at Christmas. If I list all the shades in between, you will run away because no one pops over here to read about puce and chartreuse and maroon and gold, so I will let you go to enjoy the rainbow of colors around you.
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Grateful for Me
Picking just three qualities one likes about oneself should not be a challenge, but it is for some us. Think about your top three qualities. I hope so many leap to your mind that you can’t decide on fewer than a dozen. I carefully selected the following three qualities of me:
1. I love my eyes. They change colors. If you haven’t seen it, you are missing out. I have had people, even ones not romantically interested in me, stare into them in the hopes of catching them at that moment they change. Of course, the day my irises turned red, I was banished to my room. Probably not a bad idea since I felt super icky that day, which happened to be my birthday. The gold and the green are a nice change from the brown. I am pretty sure the gold appears when I am most contented.
2. I love my brain. Where else would all these wonderful blog posts come from? Admit it, you think my brain is amusing and funny and maybe a little sexy?
3. I love my ability to truly love. 2 Corinthians 6 speaks of “love unfeigned”. That phrase always catches my attention. That is what the world needs right now. It needs pure, sweet, innocent love that doesn’t see our differences and just recognizes that we are all humans, children of God, if you will. We all deserve love and respect, even if we are a little grumpy today or our hair color or eye color seems odd to someone else. So I am grateful that I have an innate ability to feel love toward my fellow beings.
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Make Gratitude a Holiday Tradition
I am not sure what our favorite family traditions are yet. Thus far the only thing my girls demand we keep doing from year to year is putting on costumes and going trick or treating, which is fine by me. I hold out hope that this is the year they fall for pie, so I can justify making one without committing to eating a whole pie or two solo (just because it is fun and delicious doesn't make it wise of healthy). I am also thinking that I need to involve the girls more in the process, but they like to touch everything in sight between washing their hands and helping me cook. Needless to say, anything they help cook, they eat pretty much by themselves. Ah, to be young with a phenomenal immune system.
I should also work in more traditions that help us really feel the spirit of the holidays. I like the idea of making a paper turkey and putting feathers on each day that have what we are thankful for written on them, but would I remember to add to the turkey’s gratitude every day? I also like the idea of a reverse advent calendar though I feel like doing it for Thanksgiving would have just as much impact as it does for Christmas. After all, you could put a box of cereal into the advent box while explaining, “We are so grateful for cereal. Whoever receives this will be too.”
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Knowledge of Gratitude
Think of five things things you have learned that you are grateful for, regardless of your skill level in applying that learning.
1. How to sew, so no costume is completely out of my grasp.
2. How to bake because if I frequented a bakery or went to a therapist every time I needed the therapy only a fresh baked cookie, cake, or other random delight brings, I would be very, very poor indeed.
3. How to read and write because I can keep learning and sharing what I learn, or just discover new friends with phenomenal powers or interesting things happening around them every day.
4. How to drive so I can visit people outside of the range my legs are willing to let me walk.
5. How to take care of my possessions, such as washing laundry and doing little home repairs.
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