I have struggled with the need to write this post and open a chapter publicly, if you will, for some time. I guess the best place to start is an explanation.
I'm a list maker. Somewhere around 5 years ago, in addition to my daily agenda, I began writing a gratitude list. The list began as a running tally of items and I'd add to it when something made itself focal to me in that way, but over time, I needed to streamline the process and it became what I lovingly call my "Friday Five." Each Friday, I take a few minutes to jot down 5 things that I have been noticeably grateful for that week. Some are trivial, some deep.
Somewhere in there, I started offering them to a pal that struggled (much like me) with stopping to experience the small things along his life journey. Soon the "Fives" became a beautiful tangle of words that allowed us to really see joy in the simple. We sent them reciprocally via email for more than two years. Sadly and in the most heart shattering incident, he left this life. For months I continued to email him, just because I needed some normalcy. (I know, I know... it's weird to email your dead best friend...)That was a few years ago and while the creepy, posthumous emails have stopped, my "Fives" haven't.
Over the next few posts, I will be sharing some of my "Fives" with you. I hope that something in them sparks you to reach toward a life of gratitude. What a great joy it would be for the simplest things to be experienced and then offered a bit of a nod in your own way, whether it be writing a "Five" or whatever medium suits you. I'd love to read your "Fives", so if you feel a tug of bravery, send me one via email or just reply here.
The first:
"You know... I think I'll do my Friday five for you...
1. I can breathe. This week I've sat, listened, and breathed. Breathed in oxygen in the literal, but also, acceptance, pride, and self-sufficiency.
2. The sky is so many colors. The sky is such a metaphor for my life. It can be happy blue and sad blue, it can be a fiery red with the beginning of a day or the end of a day. It can bring inclusiveness in the light and utter lonesomeness in the dark. I love the sky and am trying to be content with life as well.
3. I love to teach. Teaching people things, particularly words brings the most joy of any job I have had. Teaching is my catalyst. I need to force a plan for education that moves me toward my dream job.
4. Words make me vulnerable. I've been made vulnerable by words many times this week. Instead of shielding myself from the words, I'm allowing them to soak in and cast me into a brilliant, mended piece of pottery.
5. Coffee. This week, I'm overjoyed by coffee. Not that I'm not usually enamored by it's charms, but this week coffee has encouraged my waking existence and for that I am grateful.
Be brave today. Be encouraged. The life you live is yours alone."
I'm a list maker. Somewhere around 5 years ago, in addition to my daily agenda, I began writing a gratitude list. The list began as a running tally of items and I'd add to it when something made itself focal to me in that way, but over time, I needed to streamline the process and it became what I lovingly call my "Friday Five." Each Friday, I take a few minutes to jot down 5 things that I have been noticeably grateful for that week. Some are trivial, some deep.
Somewhere in there, I started offering them to a pal that struggled (much like me) with stopping to experience the small things along his life journey. Soon the "Fives" became a beautiful tangle of words that allowed us to really see joy in the simple. We sent them reciprocally via email for more than two years. Sadly and in the most heart shattering incident, he left this life. For months I continued to email him, just because I needed some normalcy. (I know, I know... it's weird to email your dead best friend...)That was a few years ago and while the creepy, posthumous emails have stopped, my "Fives" haven't.
Over the next few posts, I will be sharing some of my "Fives" with you. I hope that something in them sparks you to reach toward a life of gratitude. What a great joy it would be for the simplest things to be experienced and then offered a bit of a nod in your own way, whether it be writing a "Five" or whatever medium suits you. I'd love to read your "Fives", so if you feel a tug of bravery, send me one via email or just reply here.
The first:
"You know... I think I'll do my Friday five for you...
1. I can breathe. This week I've sat, listened, and breathed. Breathed in oxygen in the literal, but also, acceptance, pride, and self-sufficiency.
2. The sky is so many colors. The sky is such a metaphor for my life. It can be happy blue and sad blue, it can be a fiery red with the beginning of a day or the end of a day. It can bring inclusiveness in the light and utter lonesomeness in the dark. I love the sky and am trying to be content with life as well.
3. I love to teach. Teaching people things, particularly words brings the most joy of any job I have had. Teaching is my catalyst. I need to force a plan for education that moves me toward my dream job.
4. Words make me vulnerable. I've been made vulnerable by words many times this week. Instead of shielding myself from the words, I'm allowing them to soak in and cast me into a brilliant, mended piece of pottery.
5. Coffee. This week, I'm overjoyed by coffee. Not that I'm not usually enamored by it's charms, but this week coffee has encouraged my waking existence and for that I am grateful.
Be brave today. Be encouraged. The life you live is yours alone."
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