It really takes a concerted effort to stop and look for the not so obvious things to celebrate. One that has become second nature to me is when I go outside, I'm so aware of birdsong. I'm lucky to be surrounded by lots of trees and it might be as I wander down the driveway to put the bin out, or check the mail, or hanging out the washing I'll hear the variety of different bird communication and I'll stop and listen.
On a clear day on my walk down the driveway to the letterbox I can see the distant hills and I love that even though I'm living right in the middle of suburbia, I can see the hills and that makes me smile.
Today (now that our social distancing restrictions have been relaxed a littlet) I was able to drive to the country and see my gorgeous 4yo twin grand daughters for the first time in a few months. Lots of cuddles and snuggles and playtime to celebrate being together again. But that's an easy, obvioius one.
There have been occasions where circumstances have caused tears and sadness, or hurt. Even on those days I manage to shift my mind to finding somehting positive. Maybe others think it strange, but on those days I'm grateful that I am capabale of 'feeling'. Even a negative feeling. I see it as a celebration of being truly alive. As an integral part of being truly alive.Our back yard isn't big or fancy and it's currently covered in autumn leaves. I see people outside,
madly sweeping up 'the messy leaves', but I leave them so I can celebrate the change of season, so I can crunch them under my feet, kick them, admire their vibrant colors before the bareness of winter sets. in.
Quite often, if I'm the only one left up, I'll just celebrate the end of the day by lighting a couple of tea-lights and have a few pieces of dark chocolate. Just because. And we don't need any more reason than that to celebrate!
What will you celebrate today?
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5 comments:
So true, Andra. One thing I've noticed is the bird call is more distinct now that traffic is down. I used to only hear them in the morning and evening. Now I can go out and stand on my deck at any time of day and hear the birds trill and the bees buzz. It feels as though the earth is coming alive again. I guess, in some sense it is as spring awakens so much. And...a few pieces of dark chocolate in the evening...oh, yes!
Totally agree with you, Andra. I remind myself of at least 3 things I'm grateful for at the end of every day...even on the darkest ones, there is always something. Right now I'm grateful that my yard is beautiful and relaxing. A bit of a breeze but it it too cool to sit out and listen to my harmonic chimes...much less leave a window open. A bit harder for me today is to be grateful for the 4 or so hours of sleep split up over the night instead of being ungrateful...at one point it was only 2 hours! And celebrating the seasons? I'm right there with you...enjoy your winter season as we here in the Northern Hemisphere enjoy our spring and then we'll meet up again in September and switch places!
Lovely post, Andra. I agree that finding something to celebrate or feel gratitude for makes life richer.
Today I celebrate my two dear friends whom I had a Zoom call with this morning. So lovely to see Judith and Sarah's faces and chat.
I celebrated the beauty of the fuschia-colored orchid we bought two days ago for the window above the kitchen sink, the gorgeous sun break we had around dinner time on this rainy day, and the green of the countryside that's thanks to the spring rains in the northern hemisphere. How fun that it is spring north of the equator and fall! What an amazing world we live in!!!
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