Do you have any of those humans in your life that are just really great? I mean positive, thoughtful, intentional and supportive? My friend Denise has been just that person. No pretense. What you see is what you get. So when I thought of writing on the topic of gratitude for our 30 Days of Wellness month, I truly couldn’t think of anyone else who exuded gratitude quite the way she does. So without further ado…..here is what Denise has to say!
GRATITUDE – Start Each Day with A Grateful Heart ~ with special guest blogger, Denise Herrington.
For me gratitude, being thankful, and being kind has become a big part of my everyday life. It is something I cherish and recognize more and more with age and as I watch my children grow.
I have always had good manners and taught my kids to do the same but I have learned that “feeling grateful” is so much more than I imagined. When I intentionally think about what I am grateful for, it makes me feel happy, less stressed, and healthy. It has given me the motivation to embrace and love myself, to be fit and make healthier choices. I focus on not taking things for granted and celebrate the little things, including my mistakes.
Just recently I attended Tracy’s Move Daily Elevate Workshop, and my biggest takeaway was to enjoy and celebrate myself every day. I do this by being thankful I can exercise daily, and being thankful that I can show my kids the importance of taking care of myself both for both my mind and body.
Every night before I go to bed I ask myself “what am I grateful for today?” The list continues to grow. Every morning when I get up I set my intentions. This is what my list looks like:
- gratitude in all my experiences
- to see the good in myself and others
- to be positive
- to embrace my workouts
- to be grateful for those who got up early to join me
It is not happiness that brings us gratitude, it is gratitude that brings us happiness.
Here are a few things I am grateful for:
Myself, my husband and our 2 beautiful boys and the rest of our extended family. Our home, our surroundings (mountains, lake, incredible views) and that I can enjoy it and share it with my children, so they recognize it too and feel how lucky we truly are. I am grateful for my friends. I loved Tracy’s post on Friendship she shared last week (be sure to read it if you haven’t already). I learned a long time ago the power of friendships and my friends truly inspire, motivate and warm my heart daily.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. It can turn an existence into a real life, and disconnected situations into important and beneficial lessons. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melodie Beattie
What Are you Grateful for Today?
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