Being Grateful

*yes.. we are aware the word grateful is here 1 zillion times. We like life that way*

It's Thanksgiving weekend. I have no problem recalling all I am grateful for. There is so much.

I give thanks every day for the blessed life I have. EVERY day, I remind myself how blessed I am to have MY life.

I'm grateful to be alive. I'm grateful that I have free will. I'm grateful to live in a country where I'm able to use my free will and make my own choices, whatever they may be. With these things, I'm good to go. Thank you.

I'm grateful for everyone I've crossed paths with, they contributed to who I am today. Thank you.

I'm grateful for every mistake I've ever made, each experience helped me learn right/wrong, good/bad, also helping me be who I am today. Thank you.

I'm grateful for the copious amounts of SHIT other people brought to my life, somehow it was meant to make me grow, and often it did. Thank you.

I'm grateful for the challenges, all the things in life that made me buck up and face new things, they all helped me be stronger and stretch boundaries. Thank you.

I'm particularly grateful for the challenge of Autism. My son has brought intense joy, astronomical growth and richer, deeper love in so many of us. Thank you.

I'm grateful that I have a curious mind, and I'm able to access information and resources in many ways in my free country. I'm able to learn anything I wish, as much as I wish. Thank you.

I'm grateful for all of that big stuff, growing/learning stuff, and I'm so grateful for the daily joys, laughs, hugs and experiences I have on a day to day basis in this awesome world. Thank you.

I'm grateful for the people I can talk to. The people who make me laugh. My son! My Mom! My family. My girls. And all people in my family and circles that I've cultivated strong awesome relationships with. I'm grateful for all the people who inspire me, the people who teach me, The people who fight for the planet and the people who pioneer and light the way for positive growth! Thank you all.

I'm grateful for Gardening, soil, seeds, Vegetables, Fruit, Ethical/Sustainable food of all kinds,and BEING ABLE TO ACCESS THEM! Cooking, and the ability to learn to cook all the wonderful bounty I bring home!! MMMMMMM. Thank you.

I'm grateful that I live free in Canada, in Beautiful BC's most amazing city - Vancouver! I'm so grateful I can spend most of my days with my amazing son, travelling our city, learning, seeing, wondering together. Thank you.

I'm grateful for the Internet and Social Media. It's made it possible for us to connnect and share and learn and communicate like never before! Thank you.

I'm grateful that I've begun writing again and that a few people choose to read it. Thank you.

I'm grateful for the laws of karma and doing good! I'm grateful I deserved to, and managed to, bring a business home and work here and support my family for 10 years! Thank you.

I'm grateful for Music! Dark chocolate, Wii, Brett Dennen, Anne Rice, Al Gore, GreenPeace, Marc Emery,My TrackBall Mouse, Gluten Free Phil, Black Forest Bacon, Cast Iron,Heritage Meats, Cathedral World, Aquarium, Protesting, Vinegar & baking soda, digital cameras, Goats, Bokashi Bucket, Computers, Water Filters, Fridge, washer & dryer, public transit, organic food at Costco, My juicer, internet TV, Micheal Moore, chlorine free recycled kleenex,Bamboo utensils, Terracycle, Independent organic farmers, Dark (ethical) coffee with stevia and Almond breeze in the morning, my thesaurus, Scrabble, Sequence, Sun Yun Set Gardens, Lantern Festivals, Inukshuks, Waterfalls, Sunny Days, 4:20, Alaskan King Crab, Farmville (YES Farmville!)Value Village, Oprah, Survivor, Democracy, Playland, Dancing in the Kitchen.. and lots, lots more. Thank you.

Today I woke up thankful to be in the middle of a long weekend. My son, who is the best son in the universe.. is with his father for this long weekend, and I'm grateful to know they will have fun. I won't miss him "too much".

I'm grateful I'm able to have some free time. I'm very aware there are many who do not have a minute to themselves. I played on FB, I sang and danced with Brett Dennen and I prepped in the kitchen. I'm so very grateful that I'm able to have hours to do that. Later, I walked to Deer Lake, a large city lake, 5 min away. I am so thankful, I can go there whenver I want, and that today I did choose to go over by myself. I was able to take my time and sit on whatever bench I wanted, stop and take pictures of anything I wanted, for as long as I wanted.

It is so easy to be grateful when your sitting in a park. It is so easy to find beauty in the world, we just have to look for it. "Look,there it is."

The more I am grateful, the more I find to be grateful for. I am blessed. And If I choose to look at it that way, that's how it is and will be.

There is stuff in life that isn't always pretty/great/fun. I live through days that suck, we all do. We all have shit filled days sometimes, but they are just moments, and they pass. Especially if we are grateful, each day for each thing.

Try it. Be grateful more than one weekend a year, and see what happens.


Thank you.

It's simple - Is it a sad day or a happy day?

If you argue with the above statement, I probably won't convince you otherwise.

But, it is simple.

Every person wakes up in the morning. Every person puts their feet to the floor and begins the day.

There are people in the world sorting thru dumps all day with smiles on their faces, and there are executives waking up in mansions ready to go to Maui, that hate their lives.

I don't know that all happy people, conciously ask each morning, but I know that it is their decision. Today, I choose to be positive/happy. Today, I choose to see the bright side of life, I choose to "win some or learn some" (love that line from Jason Mraz " I'm yours") Today I choose to realize that not all moments will be joy filled, but they will all be authentic, they will all be moments I can learn from. I will have experiences today, good and not so good, that will help me become who I want to be, moments that challenge me, push me, help me see how far I've grown.


Others, you've met them I'm sure, choose to lament their life all day. "Poor me, poor me, why me, why now"

Our North American culture, promotes the idea that happiness is a given. We should all be happy all the time, it's possible to be happy all the time, don't you know? Buy more, do more, shop more, talk more, watch more and you'll be happy. If your not, perhaps something is wrong with you? You must need a better job, more money so you can buy more.. that will make you happy!

Who told us that happiness is a right? Who told us if your not smiling 24/7 something is wrong with you? Who made us beleive that we are better, if we're happy, that we don't belong, if we're not "happy" all the time?

I am at my personal best, when I remind myself of the phrase " 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows" Life is 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. there will be both. That's it. There will be and there is nothing you can do about it. Realizing it's so, means that when the sorrows come, you see them for what they are, lessons. Important lessons to teach you to become who you're meant to.

Sorrows are necessary, to show us what the joys are. To help us experience the joys, we need the sorrows. When we see "sorrows" as lessons, they then become joys! "Thank you universe for this lesson, so I can be a better me!"

I challenge you to remember that in your day. Wake up and decide what kind of day you will have, and if it's a day with some "sorrows" see them for what they are, lessons to amplify your joys!

10,000 joys, 10,000 sorrows. Repeat when necessary.