Why Gratitude? Why now?

It's very easy to get caught up in what is "wrong" in your life. Focusing on the bad things not only allows us to wallow in our own misery but it also invites everyone we come in contact with to a giant pity party. Physically, it drags us down as if the weight of the world is on our shoulders. It causes tension headaches, TMJ disorders, ulcers, and various other physical manifestations.

Have you ever spent a fair amount of time around someone who is always down? It is not a pleasant experience. You either spend all of your time taking in their stuff until you are down with them- or you expend all of your energy trying to raise their spirits. They are energy vampires and you are their prey! I don't want to BE that vampire! I want to learn to let things go more quickly and to focus on the positive. I want to radiate inner peace. To do that- I need to focus on what is great in my life, not take the little things and blow them up into all consuming issues.

And so- my gratitude journal. It is a journey- I know that. Even if I focus on the famous 5 (health, home, family, work, play) for a while, it is all about teaching myself to look inward for the great things.

Inner peace- here we come.

Today I am grateful for Lazy Saturdays. Be they here at home, or hanging out with Mom and Dad it is wonderful to be able to just stop for a few minutes and get off the merry-go-round. To sit and sip a cup of piping hot coffee and savor the mix of the bitterness of the bean and the smoothness of the half and half is a joy to the senses. You hear the coffee perk, smell the aroma, feel the heat and then taste the combination. It just brings a smile to a sleepy morning. Lazy Saturdays also allow for hanging in the PJs (and who doesn't love jammie time- honestly!) and catching up on the dvr. It means snuggling up with Harley watching a movie and munching on some home cooked popcorn. It means wandering outside to feel the grass between my toes. It means curling up with a good book- or even a bad book (lol)- and escaping to another place. It means forgoing the "musts" and only doing those things you really feel like doing.

Celebrate Lazy Saturdays! They just don't come often enough and should be recognized and savored when they do.

Thank You for my Lazy Saturday!