40 Days of Gratefulness - Day 32

Aah, I'm nearing the end of my 40 Days of Gratefulness aka 'journey to joy' aka 'my life in few words with little pictures.' First, I'm so very grateful that He has seen fit to use me for some purpose, even if it was just to make you laugh. Even if this is the only post you've read, I hope the title has at least helped you consider if only for a moment what is means to be more grateful. I must say this blog has definitely blessed me and I'm so appreciative of the 'random events' (Day 27) that brought me to this exact moment. This blog has been my friend and substitute for free counseling as I've been out of the loop since I started. Being grateful with my head up in the clouds, magically makes time slip by. It seems like I started just yesterday, blinked and voila we are rounding the corner to Easter. There are a few folks like 'My T' who I've missed dearly as our connect times are generally reserved for the morning. Just so you know, T ... I'll be back in a few, with a new lens for viewing this experience.

It seems everywhere I turn is an opportunity to share some story about how things are exactly the same but they feel differently. Even as I penned this here post on a stickie in the back of a meeting, someone emailed me with this on their signature block 'I am joy.' that's from the book, The Secret. I immediately replied to the email that I loved that quote and would use that very phrase in my blog. Within a few moments, I had a reply email thanking me for the information and a request to share my blog. WHAT? I can't make this stuff up. It seems 'coincidences' or 'seemingly random' things are happening all around me. How would it be that someone would casually pop over to my desk and mention that they didn't know Sampson from the bible had been married? WHAT! I had just listened to Sampson's story of the bible en route to my hike (Day 29, Day 30) with my roomie, the shenanigator.

Are these things happenstance? Nope but they are not unusual since I've started documenting these 40 days of gratefulness. It's amazing that over these last few weeks, things I'm grateful for have fallen out of the sky, into my heart and tumbled out onto these pages. There have been days when I was concerned that I had nothing pertinent to write but then a snow day (Day 19) and a good night's rest (Day 22) found its way into the recesses of my mind. Hopefully I've presented something worthy, something that made you feel good, laugh and think.

Folks have been so encouraging even within the first minute I posted. I can't tell you the stories they have shared. There have been emails and texts telling me how this blog has impacted them. Some have even busted my chops at 'institutionalizing' this here blog meaning I'm free to do whatever I like. Know that all of your comments are all words of affirmation, propelling me forward, encouraging me to believe that I could even do this for 40 days. I appreciate each and every comment, every Facebook post about how folks were laughing in meetings or took time out to consider me in their prayers. And if you didn't know, nothing has ever touched me more than someone choosing to pray for me, it is the most important gift I've ever received and you have forever sealed the deal as far I'm concerned. period.

'What's next?'

I've also had several folks ask me, what's next? I have no idea, remember I never planned to do this. I've even received a text or two with folks threatening to hurt themselves because they can't imagine this grateful ride being over. LOL. I love the sharp instruments depicted in the text, it made the 3rd grader (Day 9) in me laugh. I also had someone share with me at length about how it convicted them. Well, for the record our choosing to be grateful is never over. And as much as I like to believe I'm a detective like Olivia Benson, I never really stopped to consider what I would do when this thing was over. I'm having a fabulous time and not a day goes by when I'm not looking for something to be grateful about.

Now, not every day has been a good one, I promised myself I would be honest, but I absolutely know without a doubt that my good days outweigh my bad because I have empirical evidence. In fact, consider this 40 days of gratefulness an experiment. Oh, the statistician in me still lives. So far I've had 2 bad days out of 32 which suggests that 93.75% of the time, I've had good days. What's important is that on 100% of the days, I was still able to find something to be grateful for; documenting it right here on these pages. That's GOOD NEWS!

Needless to say, I'm trying to let this thing be ... my plan or unplan ... just capturing my head and heart as these last few days go by. Forgive me if you see the same material, I'm grateful for each and every thing I've shared. Gone is the notion that I should have a title or theme to be grateful for -- I'm surprised that I've been grateful for activities and not just things. I'm grateful for prayer (Day 31), growing old (Day 25) and surprise visits (Day 24). I'm grateful for my mom (that was a Facebook post), my roomdog (Day 2), my BFA (Day 7), my roomie (Day 23) and I could go do this exactly 32 times. ;-) I'm grateful for biking (Day 18) and bootcamp (Day 5) for both make me feel vividly alive. There is some space just outside the bootcamp buzz or maybe it's in the space just before you ride downhill and catch a good breeze that makes me appreciate each and every breath. It also makes me more appreciative of how I spend my time. I suspect that I may be way more comfortable with the uncomfortable in the upcoming months by saying no more often. Time is important and we should treat it accordingly. That being said, choosing to be more grateful, is time well-spent.

So on this Day 32 of 40 days of gratefulness, I am grateful for you ... choosing to spend your time being more grateful. #beblessed #40daysofgratefulness