I resisted doing this.
Really, I had to think long and hard before adding to the heap of words on the digital mountain of gratitude you see around the ol’ interwebs this time of year. (U.S. Thanksgiving, for those of you not from around these here parts.)
I woke up to an inbox chock full of bloggers and online biz owners emailing messages of gratitude and directing me to their blogs where I could read still more messages re the same.
But since some kind of writing motivation lightning bolt struck a couple days ago fairly compelling me to write more often here, and today is Thanksgiving, after all, well, here I go.
Today I’m grateful for:
1. The best group of kick-ass female friends a girl could hope for. Ronda, Annie, Kristal, Carolyn, Sharon – the brain power, resourcefulness and kindness in that group of five could light up the world for an eternity.
2. Technology. I’m amazed, and some days, overcome, by how much my life is improved and enriched by all that technology allows into it. Isn’t it a great time to be alive?
3. And on that subject, I’m grateful for all the eyeballs on this blog and on my email newsletter. And the smart and amazing people connected to those eyeballs. I may not have thousands of readers, but I cherish every single one I do have. And that is the truth.
4. The fantastic meal I’ll be enjoying later today at my friend Carolyn’s house, plus the conversation, the laughs, the camaraderie and the fellowship. Not to mention our friend Katelyn’s famous Cheddar Cheese Apple Pie. Getting to spend time with the adorable 4-year-old who rules the roost over there is an added bonus.
5. My family, both immediate and extended, who I’m missing this Holiday, but who is always in my heart.
6. The Deepak Chopra 21-Day Meditation Challenge I’m participating in this month. I’ve benefitted enormously from taking 15 minutes each morning to pause and breathe and reflect on all the abundance in my life. And Deepak’s soooooothhhinnnng voice as he guides each day’s meditation nearly puts me in a trance. Love that. : )
7. The brilliant, sunny 62 degree day (on November 22nd, no less) here in lovely coastal North Carolina where I am blessed to live.
8. And about that . . . I’m also grateful that I get to live here, in Wilmington, NC, a place I’ve been head-over-heels in love with since I first visited back in the 80’s. I might not go to the beach more than once a year, but just knowing it’s 10-15 minutes away brings me joy.
9. The excellent new client I started working with in October. How lucky am I that I get to do interesting, intellectually stimulating work among a group of uber-smart and talented colleagues? Still drinking that in. Very cool.
10. The challenges put in my path and the hard lessons I’ve learned. I believe these events are blessings, given to me to benefit from. (Now let’s be honest, at the time, some of those “lessons” were things I cursed and resisted. As recently as this week. Ha ha. But retrospect is a very useful tool, and I’m deeply grateful for the growth that my challenges have inspired.)
11. And . . . . I could go on, but I’m starting to feel self-indulgent, so I’ll make #11 my last list item: I am grateful for S.N., an extraordinary man I still think of lovingly every.single.day. And miss. Though things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to, it’s because of S.N. that I believed I could give up the 9-5 worker bee life and have a business doing something I love. It was through S.N. I saw first-hand what smarts and dedication and hard work can bring into your life, and the experience made me believe I could do it too. Through S.N. I saw what a successful business looks like, and felt inspired. But mostly, it was through S.N. that I finally got what real love really feels like, and for that I am forever grateful.
And you?
What are you grateful for today, whichever day you may be reading this? Shout it out in the comments!
And ~ Happy Thanksgiving!!! ~ to those of you in the good ol’ U.S. of A.
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