An Attitude of Gratitude No Matter What!

Gratitude Through Struggle & Joy — March 26, 2010

by admin - March 26th, 2010.
Filed under: Gratitude During Challenging Times, Gratitude Practice.

Thank you to Katy, a reader who writes about her experience with gratitude “through struggle and joy”:

“I’m still writing as much as possible, finding ways to seek gratitude through struggle and joy — it’s become part of my day that I enjoy and look forward to. My journal is more than three lines though I like to write about what is going on that day, things happening or plans I hope to make, inspirations to myself (as secretly I like to read through it later to myself and re-think situations and ideas!)… so thank you again for introducing me to this practice.”

Gratitude isn’t always “easy to come by,” as writer Lee Woodruff (author and wife of journalist Bob Woodruff, who suffered a nearly fatal head injury in Iraq) reminds us in Living Life as a Thank You: The Transformative Power of Daily Gratitude, in which she wrote the forward.

It can be a life saving practice, especially during tough times or during periods of recovery or loss, not just when things are good. It may be a harder practice to implement during these times, but just as important.

Living Life as a Thank You authors Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammons write about a gratitude practice specifically for challenging times:

“To truly practice gratitude, say thank you for challenging experiences, for people who have hurt or betrayed us. Send them light. Forgive yourself; it’s not your fault. Count your blessings, as by blessing we are blessed. And move on.”

Not easy to come by, indeed, but an important practice for us all.

« Start the day with gratitude — March 19, 2010

Pure inspiration

Living Life as a Thank You

Every once in awhile, you encounter a book that can be summed up in one lovely word-INSPIRING!

Living Life as a Thank You: The Tranformative Power of Daily Gratitude by Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammons is a motiving guide, filled with daily inspiration and affirmation.

The opening line asks, "Imagine living as if each day were a gift," and Living Life as a Thank Youoffers the wisdom and insight to lead you down the path.

The book is divided into ten chapters, each chock full of stories of individuals whose lives have been tranformed by thanfulnees, motivational quotes and blessings, and suggested gratitude practices. The book can be read from cover to cover, or used daily for ideas and meditative time.

One of my favorite "mom" stories in Living Life as a Thank You is "Finding Thanks at Target." It certainly gave me a new perspective to read how an ordinary shopping trip became an extraordinary experience of gratitude for a mother and child.

If you'd like to find out more about Living Life as a Thank You, visit http://www.livinglifeasathankyou.com/

May you find many tranformative moments of gratitude in your life today!

Friends ARE everything!

Girlfriends Are Lifesavers

March 10, 2010 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged career, fearless, friendship,girlfriends, girlfriends are lifesavers, happiness, healing, healthy diet, inspiration,intelligent, relationships, self awareness, smart women, therapy, trauma, vintage art,women as physicians

Girlfriends Are Lifesavers

By Reeda Joseph

Published November 24, 2009 (Hardcover) Viva Editions

The luckiest thing happened tonight. It was my night to host the Dinner Grrls potluck and, for whatever reason, only most of my very best friends from the social networking group showed up. So a few minutes ago, when I read Girlfriends Are Lifesavers, the words took on intensified meaning.

The vintage pictures…not so much. But they were amusing.

Vintage artwork of four women doing some kind of water ballet with pre-Samsonite luggage balanced on their shoulders. Author Reeda Joseph writes: We can be ourselves with our closest friends…baggage and all.

Four of us women in my kitchen sat semi-circle around my grandmother’s century-old oak table whose glass-rings stained into it are older than any of us. In no way did we four around that table resemble the women in the picture. Dana is a PhD level educator. Lisa is a Naturopathic Physician. Laura, another physician, is an allergist. And, me, simply stated, a journalist.

Dana whipped up a spinach salad. The doctors brought wine. And I served up that cheesecake pie I baked last night.

The book is playful, but not necessarily true: We rely on our girlfriends for so many important things…like gossip, dirt, and rumors.

The conversation was full, and shifted, after spending adequate capital on each subject. Our quartet opened with the question of sexual harassment between people of power and their underlings. Then…the positive healing effect of EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) on rape victims in third-world countries where the women would otherwise be ostracized forever. The shambles politicians are making of health care reform. How sitting for more than two hours at a time can shorten your years. The ridiculous appearance of women who lift and tuck and enhance surgically. And each of these subjects stemmed from personal anecdotes, which we revealed and discussed, fearlessly and openly.

Yes, this is the story of girlfriends. It has changed since we grew up – women our mothers’ ages were depicted in Girlfriends Are Lifesavers. These girlfriends around my grandmother’s table not likely to be gossiping in the fresh produce aisles.

But some things haven’t changed. Despite the vintage picture of women in makeup with pillboxes on their heads seated at a diner, Reeda Joseph’s line is fine for every time: Everything gets better…when you can vent about it with your girlfriends.

Are you tired of being tired? me, too!

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LINDA HAWES CLEVER, MD

You’re probably a very busy person — one who may feel over-whelmed and stressed and bent out of shape because of your demanding lifestyle. For many Americans, it seems our daily cyclic movements have us dragging our feet from Point A to Point B, and often times we never even make it to that seemingly distant Point C. We’re a brutally busy lot. Soon enough, we find ourselves beaten down physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Well, as good news has it, there is a manageable prescription for our cyclic fatigues. The only problem is that many of us are so busy we may (as per our usual routine) still unwisely choose to close our ears to its wisdom. The recommendation I’m referring to is Dr. Linda Hawes Clever’s new book The Fatigue Prescription: Four Steps to Renewing Your Energy, Health and Life. Rather than inundate the reader with over-the-top intellectual jargon or patronizing, lecture-style ramblings, Dr. Clever pleasantly guides you through four basic steps to renewing your daily life: (1) Awareness (2) Reflection (3) Conversation and (4) Plan-and-Act. It’s an easy and highly worthwhile read. It’s more than self-help — it’s self-health! Dr. Clever is merely the moderator. You are the one who will empower your life and change it for the better, a more healthy and relaxed better.

And if time is available, come and check out Dr. Linda Hawes Clever on her Bay Area book tour promoting The Fatigue Prescription. Let’s break those daily cyclic movements that breed apathy and dreary living. It’s in our best interest to do so.

BAY AREA BOOK TOUR:

3/8/2010 SF Library: Sunset Branch, SF, 7:30 PM

3/10/2010 Pharmaca: Novato, 6:00 PM

3/11/2010 Ink Spell: Half Moon Bay, 6:30 PM

3/13/2010 Pharmaca: Oakland, 1:00 PM

4/1/2010 East West Bookstore: Mountain View, 7:30 PM

4/12/2010 Borders: San Mateo, 6:00 PM

4/16/2010 Pharmaca: Los Gatos, 6:00 PM

4/3/2010 Pharmaca: Sonoma, 1:00 PM

4/6/2010 Copperfield’s Books: Santa Rosa, 7:00 PM

4/12/2010 Borders: San Mateo, 6:00 PM

4/14/2010 Gateways: Santa Cruz, 7:00 PM

4/15/2010 Metropolitan Club: San Francisco, 10:00 AM

4/15/2010 Oakland Public Library: Oakland, 6:00 PM

4/16/2010 Pharmaca: Los Gatos, 6:00 PM

4/17/2010 Borders: Pleasant Hill, 1:00 PM

5/11/2010 Center for Excellence in Nonprofits: Milpitas, 4:00-6:00 PM

The Fatigue Prescription: Four Steps to Renewing Your Energy, Health and Life by Linda Hawes Clever, MD

Viva Editions, February 9th, 2010, 288 pages, paper trade

ISBN 978-1-57344-380-7, $16.95 (USA)