You hear about the bestest things on message boards, I tell ya.’ My AMR/CKMB buddy LEEA, posted at AMR about THE GRATITUDE PROJECT being run by BRENDA ARNALL. Now, you know I luv me some Brenda. She is a kind and talented lady. {If you’re not familiar, she does different things for CK including the Easy Patterns feature and book}. I do read her blog regularly, but hadn’t seen THIS entry yet til Leea pointed it out. So “Thanks Leea!!”. I read Brenda’s blog entry, then went to check out the Gratitude Project WEBSITE. Yeah, they have their own rockin’ website ~ a weekly message from Brenda, quotes, inspiration, a gallery, and a message board. It’s a beautiful website.
At first, I hesitated about doing the project and thought, “I don’t have time to commit to this, so I’ll just lurk over their and watch what everyone else does.” But at work all day today, I couldn’t get it off my mind. So I decided to jump right in! This project is close to my heart because I’m a Blessing Counter. I think as a kid, I took everything for granted. You know, the sun will shine, I will have a roof over my head, the ocean is beautiful, etc. But as an adult, especially after becoming a parent, especially after losing my dad and some other loved ones, it sank in over time that THIS LIFE IS NOT A GIVEN. I am blessed with each new day, and tomorrow it could all be gone. I could lose my health, my home, or our country could be bombed again. I began to look at life in a new way, and not take all these blessings for granted. I often point things out to my kids….”look at that amazing sunset, isn’t it cool how God designed the human body, savor that piece of chocolate while it melts in your mouth…” I don’t want them to waste the time I did being ungrateful. I hope they will come to appreciate life the same way I do.
I so look forward to doing this project. It will be NO problem finding 52 things I’m grateful for. Big things, little things, huge epiphanies, and little moments. I know it will increase my appreciation even more for all that my life is.
I hope you’ll think about doing this project. If you’d like more info, just go check out Brenda’s blog and the Gratitude Project website linked above. Hope to see you over there on the GP message board!
1 Comment
Awww, Erika…thanks for all the kind words. And I love that you have embraced the idea. Life goes by in a blur and we’re all guilty of taking too much for granted. It’s nice to see so many of us taking a step back and recognizing that our lives are filled with good things great and small.
I’m excited you’ll be participating, my friend, and can’t wait to see where you take this concept.