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Entries in gratitude (6)

Wednesday
Aug082012

gratitude.

 i am...

a short poem note i uncovered in my studio yesterday

Thank you for your kind words and emails after you read my last post. Thank you for getting it. I am repeatedly reminded that letting people know you need support is such an important thing to do. My mom always says that "people don't know what they don't know." This simple truth applies to so many things, but it definitely applies to the idea that people often don't know you need support or a hug across the miles unless you let them know. (Remember this okay?)

Thank you for you...

Blessings,
Liz 

PS I've decided to keep the shop open through Saturday, so the sale will be extended until then. I continue to unearth more treasures in the studio that I'm adding as I find them. (Use coupon code AUGUST20 for 20% off.) 

 

Friday
Jul272012

catching the gratitude and the everyday 

capturing gratitude (4)

Today, I want to share one way that I'm using the lens of gratitude to catch a few of the everyday stories around here.

Back in April, I watched a live-streamed talk that Brene Brown was giving at Omega. In the talk, she mentioned that one common theme among people living wholeheartedly is a practice of gratitude. This might mean that they literally keep one of those gratitude journals that Oprah helped make popular in the 90s, but it could also mean that they are able to access gratitude as they move through the day-to-day stuff.

[I want to be one of those people. Even though sometimes the word gratitude bugs me. But then I remember how I've learned that gratitude isn't an invitation to say everything in your life is fine but it is an access point to joy.]

I've kept gratitude journals a few times in my life. Inspired by Sarah Ban Breathnach, the first Christmas after college I made gratitude journals for all the women in my life - from my close friends to my grandmother. In the first few pages of the journal I explained how to keep the journal (write down five things you are grateful for each day) and then I wrote a few pages of the reasons why I am grateful for that person. I remember being so happy to give them to my loved ones that I practically vibrated. They were my first truly handmade gifts since ornaments I made when I was 10.

When my grandma died, that journal came back my way. I'd like to say that she had filled the pages with her stories and everyday gratitude, but the other pages were still blank. This did not surprise me. I think this can be a difficult practice to begin and then maintain, even though the evidence is there that it can literally change your life.

Over here, when I am neck-deep in the toddler stuff and the life stuff, it can be a bit challenging to remember that sometimes moments are full of ease...that sometimes the day goes just the way I hoped...that often there is more joy than intensity. 

My mom keeps saying, "When you have a good time at a restaurant with Ellie, write it down. When she says, "Juice," write it down. When she tells you she wants to take a nap, write it down."

And when she's said this, I often think, "I'll get right on that. Right after I tackle all the other stuff that is on my list like planning next year's retreats, writing tomorrow's blog post, and trying to remember to take the clothes out of the washer before 24 hours passes and I have to rewash them."

Here's the reality though: My mom is actually inviting me to do what I already do, notice the simple moments and the beauty found within them, but to come at it with more awareness to how much Ellie is growing each day so that when the day has more frustration than ease, I can still see the bigger picture. (When you have a toddler, your world can get really really small.)

When I was having one of my "okay, maybe I could start writing this down in more of a mindful way" moments, I came across the new "documenting" section at Paper Coterie and found this "Daily" journal. 

capturing gratitude (1)

At first I thought I might be making just be another excuse to get another journal (ahem), but the simple layout intrigued me as did the ability to personalize it. I added my own photos (there are a few different photo spreads inside like the one at the top of this post) and I was able to remove the quote in the inside cover and add my own words. 

capturing gratitude (3)

And I've been using it for a few weeks now. I keep it out in the living room so I can grab it at the end of the day when Jon is reading to Ellie, and I just make a simple list of what today looked like. Everything from the bliss of taking a nap when she does to the joy of a meal with all of us together at the table to honest statements like, "Today was kind of crap as the electricians left a huge mess in the backyard, but I am one day closer to having my new studio." 

What I have noticed so far is that when I see the photos on the front and inside of this simple book and I turn to the page to make my list, my mind clears just a bit. I begin to breathe from my heart, and I come back to myself. Plus, the notes are a great place to find stories to add to Project Life.

Edited to add: And this is what I know: If you peek in over here at my site you know that I notice and document the everyday through my photos and words, whether on my blog, at Flickr and Instagram, and through other projects I do. It is kind of my thing (as my new website tagline suggests). But there is something about documenting in a simple list that is helping me, the mama of a two year old, drill down to the even simpler moments to celebrate: when she uses words, when Jon and I connect through just sharing a bowl of popcorn, when Millie rolls her eyes at Ellie...the even simpler moments that push me to know we are doing okay over here. Sometimes you just need a simple list.

Do you keep a gratitude journal or daily list of sorts? How? What do you use? I'd love to know.

***

This weekend, Paper Coterie is having a pretty incredible "Christmas in July" sale on gift cards; the intention being that you buy gift cards now knowing you will be purchasing holiday gifts (like cards or other fun things) in a few months. You can use them for anything on their site. I'm thinking about creating a few new gratitude journals and sending them out into the world to my kindreds this holiday season. 

Note: Because I'm using several of their products almost everyday, I decided to become an affiliate for Paper Coterie, which means the links to their site are affiliate links. 

Thursday
Apr262012

a pocket poem + a thank you

 

carrying a poem in my pocket

 

a pocket-sized poem . an excerpt from "Our Grandmothers" by Maya Angelou

It's Poem In Your Pocket Day

Oh how this day makes me so darn happy! Throughout the day I saw a few poems pop up in Instagram and on Flickr and on Facebook. Love this! If you carried a poem around in your pocket, will you let me know which one you were called to today? And if you didn't carry one, think about carrying one tomorrow...or the day after that...or every day. It is some kind of magic to carry a poem.

***

I also want to say thank you for being out there in the world sharing pieces of yourself. I am so grateful for the ways this crazy internet world connects us. Thank you for taking the time to connect...to say "I see you"...to show up. The ripples of this are so much bigger than you will ever know. Yes.

Sunday
Jan162011

with gratitude.

 

the me from today, the "what is real" covered in bits of spit-up and surrounded by words pounded into brass and tucked in for the night in flannel pajamas and overwhelmed by all that is and deciding to just relax with my husband and watch a movie and have some cake + milk at least until she wakes up me is peeking out to say this:

thank you for seeing the seventh-grade me. thank you for getting it. thank you for catching my words. thank you for noticing the mirror i am holding up. thank you for your words, your emails, your comments sharing your stories of the seventh-grade you...of the you of today. thank you for seeing me...seeing yourselves. 

more soon from this corner...but for now, i just want say thank you. (big time.)

blessings,
liz 

Sunday
Aug222010

blessed.

thank you

you have cocooned us with your words, silence, love, notes, burning candles, prayers, hand holding.

you have pushed me to know: i am heard. i am seen. (dare i own it?) i am loved.

you have held the space in this time when i most need it.

thank you. thank you.

(i am so blessed.)

another doctor's appointment early tomorrow morning. another holding of the breath while we see if the little one has gained weight. another prayer being said in the form of a mama stroking the cheek of her daughter. another day where our little elliebean will continue to sit herself inside our hearts with her every breath.

yes

we just live it. each day. we live it.

thank you for being beside us, holding us gently.

blessings and light,
liz