Gratitude!

WELCOME sweet sweet people! I'm finding I almost never know what I'm going to write about for this blog until I sit and begin. It's very strange, but that's how it plays out. I sit down and pull whatever's strongest in my mind at that moment, and just- begin. And before you know it, I'm 4 paragraphs in. It's very weird but I love it- it feels that much more expressive to write about something with no grid outline, just purely from what's circling in my mind in that moment. And for this week's post, I sat down and the strongest word in my mind was gratitude.

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Something I've been working on is taking aside more time to sit and really think about the countless blessings I have been given. I choose to do this through writing. I take my favorite notebook and write out 10 things I'm grateful for that day. Number one is always the blessing of being alive for another day- because I've really come to realize what a blessing it is to wake up for another day of life. Seriously- how cool. Now I've always tried my best to not take life for granted, but it wasn't until one of my favorite Disney stars very suddenly passed away last month, that this really hit me: not everyone got to wake up today. And that really shook my mind up. Because that's such a weird concept to grasp: the thing that we are given daily (waking up to this life) becomes routine, so much that we don't even acknowledge the beauty of it anymore. It's just the norm. Now girl, I'm not trying to scare the crap out of you here- I don't want you to live everyday in fear of not getting a tomorrow- that is soo the opposite of what I want you to do. No one should have to live their life fearful, and it pains me deeply that so many do. I'm simply stating that life is a blessing- and the moment we acknowledge that, everyday simple things begin to have more meaning. You know, your usual morning routine of grabbing that old mug and making your coffee followed by scarfing down a bowl of lucky charms all while wearing no pants with your hair in a knot (hey- no shame, I've been there too sis) - that, *yes, even that, becomes a blessing. Driving to college campus- that begins to feel a little brighter, and more like a blessing, rather than a chore.

~My girl, Perspective. Changes. Everything.~

Now, don't get me wrong- you can still show gratitude, and lead a positive lifestyle, and still have days where you feel like crap. Where you don't do much cause it's your shark week and all you want to do is sleep and eat Ben and Jerry's. Trust me; I. Feel. You. But even on those days, taking 5-10 minutes out of your day to write down, speak out, or just sit and think about all that you're grateful for that day is a game changer.

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I won't lie to you, I've had some days where I completely space this, but I've been working on writing out, praying about, or somehow expressing some form of gratitude in my day to day routine. It has truly shifted my perspectives on each day- and I encourage you to give it a try a couple days this coming week. See how you feel when you shift that mindset and energy for a few minutes everyday. I'm here rooting for you, girl.

TONS of love! Get out there & kill it. I love you I love you I love you.

Xx

-j