Day 6...gratiTude

I'm twisting things up a bit today. On Day 4, we used the letter "T" so I thought we'd use a different letter today. If you're making a banner and want it to read "gratitude" then by all means, use the letter "T." Instead, our letter for today will be "F." My list of things I'm grateful for that begin with the letter "f" is long. I'm thinking I might try the sun mandala approach as shown above. So many creative opportunities!

May your day be filled with wholesome food, fresh air, some meaningful fiber, time spent with friends and/or family and finally, to find peace in every opportunity.

Christina

Day 5...gratItude

Once again, I've been inspired by something I heard at yoga. The teacher read a passage at the beginning of class and I knew I wanted to share it with all of you. I've heard it said that before going to sleep, part of living a grateful life includes recounting your blessings from the day. This reading takes that concept one step farther...

“In the morning when you wake up, reflect on the day ahead and aspire to use it to keep a wide-open heart and mind. At the end of the day, before going to sleep, think over what you’ve done. If you fulfilled your aspiration, even once, rejoice in that. If you went against your aspiration, rejoice that you are able to see what you did and are no longer living in ignorance. This way you will be inspired to go forward with increasing clarity, confidence, and compassion. ”

— Pema Chodron

Why not give this a try? No need to wait until tomorrow. Take a few minutes right and think about the day ahead of you...keep an open heart and mind throughout the day and tonight as you lay in bed just before going to sleep, recount the day.

Today's letter is "I"

Day 4...graTitude

Gratitude is all about being thankful, right? Well, what about the art of saying "thank-you." How does the ability to say thank you contribute to one's over all "attitude of gratitude?"

Saying "thank you" in our day-to-day lives is routine for most. Someone holds the door for you, compliments you regarding the shirt you are wearing, or perhaps after the meal has been served and eaten...it's polite to say thank-you.

We are also taught to say thank-you after a gift is given to us. A formal thank-you is now "expected;" perhaps to set this scenario apart from the day-to-day simple acts. This formal thank-you is customarily viewed as a thank-you card. There are several people in my life that are professionals when it comes to this form of saying thank-you...I, am not.

We probably all have a list or two of "things I should get better at." For me, writing formal thank you cards is on that list. I've never been very good at it yet I feel I should be. So today, I'm going to write three notes to people that went above and beyond for me in the month of April. I've informally said "thank you" several times but I really want them to know how much their help meant to me.

So, today's letter is "T" and I think you can tell what word was probably on my mind as I contemplated this letter in the context of graTitude.

Day 3...grAtitude

Casting on? Tackling a large number of stitches and fretting over the size of the task. Fear not, break it down into small tasks (e.g. 50 stitches at a time). Make this an opportunity to enjoy and express gratitude for the chance to spend time with your knitting.

Here's a great question to ask yourself...are you approaching _________ (fill in the blank, could be casting on, could be your day, a walk, a conversation with someone) as an operation or an opportunity? For example...

Are you approaching casting on as an opportunity (to reflect, slow down, appreciate the time you have to knit) or an operation (let's hurry up and get this done so I can get on to the next task)?

I have found this a very helpful question to use throughout the day.

Today's day is the letter "A"