I'm not sure who reads this blog, but if you're one of the (like, five) people who stop by, I hope it entertains you. Audience or no, I'm the kind of person who tries to go all out on projects that are dear to me.
I've recently been contemplating making the blog more interesting and consistent (at least for me) by adding a couple of fixed features that run at regular intervals. I think it's comforting to visit a well-loved blog on a certain day and know that there will probably be something up.
While I do this on an ad hoc basis in my journal and on the blog, I thought it would be productive and meaningful to have a weekly (every Monday where possible) gratitude list about three simple little things that I am happy for, or that have brought me joy this week.
Some books recommend that if you are going through a struggle or a loss, it is important to step back at the end of every day, put aside the anger, and name anything at all that you are grateful for even if they are as small as short queues or finding a parking space. Some experts even say this is the key to constant happiness.
People judge these kinds of lists, as if it is shallow and vapid for some to find comfort in something as simple as a piece of clothing or pretty ornament. I don't agree though. These are the things that get lost in the hubbub of life. And I think, often, it is the little things in life that keep you going when all the big things are hard and insurmountable.
There is no shame in that.
This week I am grateful for:
1) My favourite scent in the form of a mobile hand cream! L'Occitane's Cherry Blossom scent is really delicate and nuanced, and unlike the flat, sweet floral fragrances you sometimes get, there is something so beguiling about this one that it has become a constant repurchase.
2) Fun, arty bokeh that I made myself! A couple nights ago I was enjoying a mocha after work and I spontaneously used Starbucks napkins to make a lens hood with a little shape cut out in.
I made a bit of a mistake with rotating the focus, so in some places you see hearts, in others, lilypads, but I think that's easily rectified and I was delighted to learn that I could do it to begin with!
3) My body. That sounds... inappropriate. But after pole class today, even though I was still bottom of the class, struggling to do things other girls mastered with ease, I felt grateful. Grateful that I'm young and have the energy to try and laugh and do and fail.
I don't look after my body enough. I don't feed it particularly well or exercise it nearly enough and it still does things for me. It keeps me on my feet for four to six hours a day, ferries me places, allows me to be present and affectionate and alive.
And it occurred to me today that I should stop bashing it (huge gut, short stature) and appreciate it for the privileges it allows me.
2) Fun, arty bokeh that I made myself! A couple nights ago I was enjoying a mocha after work and I spontaneously used Starbucks napkins to make a lens hood with a little shape cut out in.
I made a bit of a mistake with rotating the focus, so in some places you see hearts, in others, lilypads, but I think that's easily rectified and I was delighted to learn that I could do it to begin with!
3) My body. That sounds... inappropriate. But after pole class today, even though I was still bottom of the class, struggling to do things other girls mastered with ease, I felt grateful. Grateful that I'm young and have the energy to try and laugh and do and fail.
I don't look after my body enough. I don't feed it particularly well or exercise it nearly enough and it still does things for me. It keeps me on my feet for four to six hours a day, ferries me places, allows me to be present and affectionate and alive.
And it occurred to me today that I should stop bashing it (huge gut, short stature) and appreciate it for the privileges it allows me.
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I hope you enjoyed this post - I'm thinking of also doing a monthly variation of random moments. Could be a real party.
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