The Power of Thankfulness

Hi, folks. Welcome to 2020 on Seize the day. This year has been a gift to my inner introvert.  That extroverted side of me has taken the passenger seat, and the book worm, star gazing gal is doing the driving. I've thought about Issac Newton a lot this year. He was at home during an epidemic when he connected the ideas of an apple falling and the moon being held by the earth, leading to the law of universal gravitation. Whoa!

I feel that Newton has set the success-during-a-pandemic bar high, but I have been giving my creative self the reins in what I am calling my "Magnum Opus" year. I'm grateful for a year to slow down and take time to breathe and write the hardest book I've ever attempted. If you have struggled this year, I hope my journey helps you reframe that rickety house you've built around yourself. 

Thankfulness is a weird sort of thing. So many want to capture it, believing if they pile enough stones on the pile that that will show how thankful they have been. Nothing wrong with listing out what you are thankful for, nothing at all. I particularly like lists, but for me, thankfulness is like an updraft, unseen and moving me along at all times. Along with updraft is this other wind, unthankfulness, the downdraft, that can hold me down like a butterfly pinned to a board.  If I want to soar, I gotta jump into the updraft. 

Imagine a pillar of air shooting up out of the Earth with enough force to send you above the clouds. It's not going to be an easy jump. Add to the thought experiment that you stand in a downdraft that will hardly let you stand. The downdraft pins you to the Earth. You can't move much, but you don't have to worry about falling. You're already on rock bottom. It's going to be a battle to get out the downdraft. You will claw and crawl your way to the edge and then, ploop, you are tossed into the updraft. 

Claw and crawl your way out of unthankfulness. Reframe your thoughts. Start with breathing. If you are reading this, you are breathing. Your lungs suck in oxygen all day long without a hint of help from your active brain. Breathe and be grateful. Get into this moment. Meditate. Let go of worrying. Be grateful for the body that holds your brain. Be grateful for the brain that allows you to think thoughts. Think about any mindless repetitive chores you do most days: sleep, brush your teeth, make your bed, sweep your floor. Think about the good people in your life, what gifts they have given you. Note, you are probably going to cry, have revelations about life, and forgive a whole boatload of stuff and write a magnum opus. This is a side effect of thankfulness, as far as I can tell. 

In a bit, you will notice that the gloomy cloud is lifting. You will soar. So here is the drill claw and crawl. Whatever it takes. Then soar.  If you find yourself back in ungratefulness, do the drill. 

I hope this helps you. Check back for the next bit of carpe diem.   

Here is a quote for your pocket.

I've never had a policy, I've just tried to do my best every day. Abraham Lincoln. 

A doodle for your joy.