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In the spirit of closing this year and bubbling with excitement about the new one fast approaching, I’m playing with what grateful feels like. First, let me express my gratitude to each one of you for playing with me in these little missives about life and our feelings. Thank you! Big hugs to each one of you, all around!
When I feel grateful, my heart warms. Have you experienced that? When I’m feeling grumpy, finding different ways to show gratitude helps me feel warmly aware. (She found a yummy, special sauce to include in her recipes for intentional living.) Did you know that expressing gratitude helps you sleep better? I didn’t know that! It makes sense, though.
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Observations of Holidays.
There’s an interesting energy during the holiday season. The year is winding down, we’re arranging adventures with family and friends, and people are eager for some time off from their regular work routines. We decorate our living and work spaces and we extend ourselves in ways that are outside of the day-to-day wheelhouse. With a new year approaching, we’re daydreaming about our ambitions for the coming year and setting intentions. It’s just different from other times during the year.
This energy feels like a percolating sea of possibility. It’s interesting to dive into that sea and let my heart do the driving. It opens me up to think about things I think I want, as well as things I don’t know, yet, that I want.
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I’m feeling intrigued about feeling intrigued. I have a desire to know more. You know what it means to go down a rabbit hole—that insatiable desire to learn more. I realize I’m intrigued when I’m digging in for more information, whether about myself, someone else, or a topic.
Isn’t that the same thing as curiosity? I think it is subtly different. Curiosity has a more particular context. Webster defines it as demanding a high standard of excellence that is difficult to satisfy. Whereas intrigue has more to do with the desire to know more from a mysterious or complex perspective.
When I feel intrigued, I feel a yearning. It’s that thing that sparks my interest in something and my heart quickens. My senses sharpen and want to know more. The excitement about it is more intellectual than thrilling. It encourages me to want to explore and learn more.
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Celebrating Thanksgiving Together
Turkey and gratitude: it must be Thanksgiving. Some of you have already celebrated your Thanksgiving this year. In the United States, we’re just getting around to these shenanigans. Yesterday was our holiday, but we historically make a long weekend of it. I practice gratitude year-round, but it is nice to have a day where we focus on being thankful. The traditional eats are nice, too.
I’m grateful to be alive to celebrate this holiday. There was a day in my past when that was questionable. I practice being aware and grateful each year for the grace that allowed me to survive. Home, family, friends, and being able to live my dreams every day are things I also feel grateful for. It’s good to say these things out loud.
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Now who loves feeling jubilation in their bones? I do, I do! It makes me want to jump up and down and this amazing thing happens with my face. It smiles and my eyes twinkle, and laughter seems to just ooze out with no effort. Let’s experiment with feeling jubilation for a bit, shall we? Go ahead, get your jubilation on!
There now. How does that feel? It feels like warmth beaming through my being, and I feel a bit like floating. Imagine your whole body filling with spritzy bubbles. That’s what my body feels like when I feel jubilation. My most recent experience with this (at the time of writing this) was the Boomer Sooner win over the Longhorns. (The one day a year my husband and I cheer for opposite teams.) Squeeeeee! See? My body even makes these fun little squee sounds.
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Don’t we have an interesting history in letters? Sure, you could take this to the level of each A, B, or Z that impacts our history. What I’m referring to is the correspondence we give and get, and how that shapes our history. Yes, the fine art of letter writing. In the digital age, physical letters are less frequent.
My parents collected things during their lifetime. (Don’t we all?) One of their collections, though, I am extremely grateful for. They saved boxes of letters to and from my grandmother—about 5 years of correspondence. Most of it was letters she wrote to her mother; at least once a week, sometimes more frequently. She died when my dad was 2 years old, so I never met her, or her parents.
When my parents made their transition from their home to a smaller, more contained living environment, they shared these letters with me. WOW! I committed myself to reading those letters so I could get to know this part of my family whom I never met. Most of the letters date from the late 1920s to the mid-1930s. A time capsule!
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Are you feeling kind or kindness? Kind is one of those feelings, like gratitude, that creates a spirit that people gravitate toward. It feels generous and open. We all enjoy receiving kindness. There’s feeling kind, acting kind, and one-of-a-kind. I’m exploring the feeling today.
My heart and consciousness soften when I feel kind. There’s a connecting-type energy that courses through my being. Sit there for a moment and feel that. That’s a pleasant feeling.
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If this violin could talk, I would love to hear the stories! When I was 13 years old, my family moved to Fort Worth (from Ponca City) and I needed a violin. Charlotte had one collecting dust and loaned it to me. I didn’t know how long the loan would last, but it was good for the moment.
Charlotte’s dad bought a violin for her from a band of gypsies in search of funds for medication. The red violin (painted with barn paint) was gonna get a makeover. In 1933, they refinished the instrument, removing most of the paint. As the story goes, Charlotte hated playing the violin but obliged her parents’ insistence. She was all too happy for the violin to be used by someone who would play it, and I was the lucky recipient.
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Like is a great emotion. I’m liking this! I’m grabbing an interesting feeling out of the bag today; liking. You know, that feeling where you like things. I’ve not put this feeling into words before, but I’m going out on a limb to say it exists. Don’t you like liking things?
There’s a satisfying feeling that comes from liking something. Whether you like the way you feel, or like doing something. When I like something, an interesting alignment occurs. A desire in my heart aligns with an activity or sense of something. When I like something, it seasons the deliciousness of life and that which makes me happy.
When I like, my body feels lighter. I like my job, or having that yummy deli sandwich. I keep going back to the perception of alignment. There is a correlation between liking something and feeding the joy I want to feel in my heart. They resonate together, like milk and cookies. I like you! I enjoy (or as some would spell it, injoy) your company, sharing our life together. Isn’t that a friendly feeling—liking?
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Ever said, “One day I will…?” How many times have you said that to yourself? It’s the little bookmark we give ourselves when we set something aside to do or say. Think for a moment about all the things you’ve ‘one day’d’. I wonder how many days are in that bookmark list. I have quite a few on my list, but I’m happy to report that my list is getting smaller and smaller since I retired from my corporate job. Suspicion tells me, though, that there are a good number of days on the list that will not see the light of day.
A couple of reasons to examine our one-day list. One—Are there things on that list that you could do right now that would enhance the quality of your life? Two—Are there things on that list that are no longer relevant?
One Day I’ll Find Amazing
We all have amazing and full lives. Sometimes circumstances dictate placing things on the shelf for a moment. However, when we do that, if your one-day thing is going to enrich your life, then it’s worth finding time to follow through. Take this example. Busy at work, an extraneous thought pops into my head about doing something special with my kiddos. The work day ends, I get home, I’m tired, and my dream about doing something special gets pushed aside. One day, I’ll do that. Fast forward a year or two, the kids are living their own lives, and my special thing was never done. That’s not what I intended!
On the flip side, let’s look at this. One day, I’ll walk the Camino de Santiago. Now that I’m retired and living my dream life, I don’t think that’s going to be in the cards. Instead, I’m walking on my treadmill, virtually anywhere in the world I’d like to go. Moreover, I made a compromise. I’m ready to release the one-day Camino bookmark from the list. No harm done.
So what do we do with all our one days? Here’s a suggestion. Therefore, set aside a vacation day (or two) to tend to your important one-day items. That way, your one-day dreams get some attention and feel less ignored. It gives you the opportunity to live your dreams—they don’t always have to wait 25 years and then disappear. Let’s be active with our one-day bookmarks!
Image by Dmitrii Bardadim from Pixabay
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Let’s talk about how marvelous feels. I experience feeling marvelous as wonder or astonishment. When I feel marvelous, it transcends mere happiness and feels more like resonating with pure joy. Marvelous, though, differs from joy. It feels more expansive than joy. Joy makes me smile; marvelous makes my whole being smile—inside and out. It is the crescendo that brings all the instruments together in a harmonious climax.
When I feel marvelous, my body feels like it’s floating on a cushion of air. It is warm and tingly and comes from my core, like the touch of the first rays of sunrise. It is a harmonious energy that feels electrifying and soothing at the same time.
Marvelous creates a general feeling of confidence. Unlike arrogance, it is a pure form of self-assurance. My heart feels a profound joy and serenity at the same time. It opens me to find wonder in simple things, similar to a child discovering the savory deliciousness of ice cream.
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Life Gifts
- Sending you willing, loving hearts and hands to help you.
- Sending you joy and glee in celebration of your accomplishment.
- I send you comfy pillows to cradle you in love and comfort.
- Sending you giant pails of peace to spill or splash in.
- I send you delicious caring and big love.
- I send you lush green mountain meadows splattered with wildflowers for you to rest and rejuvenate your soul.
- I send you fresh strawberries to enjoy in a mild, sunny meadow upon a lush spring mountain.
- Sending you a bubble full of love and healing, to hold you and your heart.
- I send you fruit-full surprises in your journey.
- I send you virtual blankets to keep you warm, and good thoughts that your electricity is soon restored.
- I send you fresh, crisp apple bites of life to bite into everyday.
- I send you the lightest hint of lilac and a handful of petals.
- I send you peaces to resolve the conflicts you’re experiencing right now.
- Sending you calm and peace.
- I send you clocks that indicate there is plenty of time.
- I send you joy as I think about how delightful you are.
- I send you contagious child-like giggles and unstoppable smiles.
- I send you pregnant pauses to remember how much you are loved and cared for.
- I send you glorious freedom to move your body and experience joy.
- I send you billowing bubbles of joy.
- Sending you magical lenses to sharpen your focus.
- I send you delicious moments filled with rare and marvelous accents that grow your heart.
- I send you calm as you step back into work from being off for a few weeks.
- I send you joy.
- Sending you joy.
- I send you chortles, giggles, and warm hugs.
- I send you life rafts for navigating the waters of life.
- I send you large bundles of gratitude for being who you are, and for being connected with me.
- I send you focus as you practice setting up new routines to support your engagement with your true self.
- Sending you music to fill your heart with warmth and comfort.
- I send you relaxing moments filled with love and caring.
- I send you a warm, snuggly kitty to comfort your soul and remind you about the power of love.
- Sending you patience while your body heals.
- I send you music to make your insides dance.
- I send you bright flowers to see, smell, enjoy, and nurture.
- I send you patience and understanding, and a powerful little elf to manage all your worries.
- I send you a path of petals on which to tread as you navigate life.
- I send you soothing healing.
- I send you healing love and energy.
- I send you warm blankets to snuggle with as you sip warm tea and warm up your cold body.
- I send you moments to fill your year with acknowledgment of how truly special you are in this world.
- I send you love.
- I send you buckets of bubbling, juicy kindness.
- Sending you rain to nourish the earth so that the earth can nourish you.
- I send you buckets of smiles to share with everyone you meet.
