I figure I may as well participate in new blogger series Self-Discovery, Word by Word (see this post on Nourishing the Soul for details about the series).
This month's word is gratitude.
Like many, writing about gratitude conjures up memories of Oprah and her famed gratitude journals from the 90s. I even had one in 1997-1998, although I didn't use it much. It was my first year out of college, and it was a little rough. I felt ridiculous writing down what I was grateful for -- it always seemed to include my cats, and at the time, that was a little disconcerting. It felt cheesy, and to be honest, at the time I'd rather listen to Fiona Apple really loudly while ruing (now doesn't that word look strange typed out?) the day I accepted the job in NC.
I've been trying to be more grateful lately, and this invitation to write about it is timely. It's so easy to bask (such a joyful word...) in the bad, in the uncomfortable, in the terrible. Plus, our inner teenagers remind us that it's cool to be jaded.
But I have a confession. Sometimes my cynical inner teen takes over. Just last weekend, Aaron was commenting on how great things were, how nice the weather was, and how lucky we were to be there (we were camping). I must admit, I kind of teased him about it.
But you know what? This morning, I woke up in a house I can afford, got in my well-maintained, reliable Subaru, and drove to the job that I have. That's more than so, so many people are able to do. And the fact that I had snuggly kitties and an even snugglier boyfriend to kiss me goodbye? I'm really lucky. (And I haven't even mentioned my kick-ass family and friends -- and the fact that I can afford my fun, fun hobbies!)
I'm not sure if what I've written is in the spirit of the project, but it's what I'm thinking about. I'm almost 35 -- it's time to quiet the inner jaded teenager and be grateful for the great things in life.
2 comments:
Thanks so much for participating in the series! I love your reference to the "cynical inner teen" because I definitely experience that as well. It's easier to be jaded than grateful in my opinion, though being grateful is totally worth the effort in the end.
Aww. For what it's worth, this post totally made me smile. You're right, we all have that cynical inner teen. But it's so lovely when we can shut that voice up and be the mature adult that realizes how great we have it. :)
Fellow Self-Discovery: Gratitude participant here, just stopping in to read and say hi.
Post a Comment