I always loved May Day when I was a child.  It was so fun to first, make the basket by weaving lovely colored paper strips.  Then, you had to go find some flowers to pick.  I am sure the neighbors may not have been quite so happy about that aspect!  And lastly, you had to CAREFULLY put the basket on the front door handle, ring the doorbell...and RUN and HIDE!  I always loved my mother's look on her face when she acted SO surprised to get this lovely treat. 

I think these gratitude cards I am writing are my grown up version of May Day baskets.  I love writing these notes, sending them off and picture the person's face when they get them. And I love being relatively "hidden".  It's the ones where I have to face the person again relatively soon where I get uncomfortable.  I'd prefer just to be in the background, happy to know they got it, but not having to be in their presence where they may feel they need to say something.  It's a pretty interesting reaction from a person who has loved the spotlight most of her life!!

Hmmm...maybe my next batch will be send anonymously! 

As I write these gratitude notes, I'm noticing a definite theme:  these are people who make me laugh.  Well, not everyone, but a vast majority!  I have come to realize that laughter truly touches the soul.  What a gift to be on either side of that equation - the giving or the receiving.  Just thinking about it elicits a smile.  Perhaps I have found my goal for the day today!

I am so loving this project! I am reaching out to and hearing from people that I have not communicated with in decades. Even got a note from my 6th grade teacher...and I recognized her handwriting on the envelope before I saw the return address.

However, a universal reaction theme that is an undercurrent of all my responses is "Are you okay? Are you sick, or even dying?" Gladly I can say that as far as I know, I am just fine!

Isn't it a sad commentary though that we are so not use to hearing heartfelt appreciation from others, that the only time we expect it is when they are "on their way out"? I, too, feel at times a little like I am "getting my affairs in order" as I write these notes. But then again, do any of us really know when our time is up? So why not say what is in our hearts now and avoid the rush?

I am back from a weekend in Martha's Vineyard and still feeling the glow.  My intention had been to get away for a long weekend somewhere so that I could finish up my book without distractions or responsibilities.  In true fashion, I spent HOURS researching, putting together a spreadsheet of possible locations.  And when I was bleary-eyed and feeling no further along than when I started, I did my proverbial throwing up my hands and saying "Uncle!" and guess what:  a friend from Martha's Vineyard wrote and told me I could use her place.  Decision made!  I used to have a home on the Island and still have many friends there.  It is also a "God Place" for me:  I feel such a spiritual connection to the Universe when I am there.  So of course it was perfect.  And I had PERFECT weather - an added treat!  I got to see old friends, spend quiet times on the beaches, eat at my old haunts, and yes, I FINISHED MY BOOK!!!  Now off to final editing and then publication!  Although it has been on my bucketlist to publish a book since I wrote "Nancy the Crayon" in 5th grade, it always seemed to be an elusive dream.  It is now within grasp and I cannot wait!! What gratitude I have for all that has brought me to this place!  Such joy - I am positively giddy with gratitude!

James Hillman just died.  You may not have heard of him, but he wrote a book called "The Soul's Code" and it was one of those awareness altering books for me.  It got me thinking in ways I had never thought before.  At times I had to put it down because it was literally giving me a headache from expanding my consciousness so much! 

I am particularly sad to hear this news because James Hillman is on my list of gratitude notes.  I think I had him scheduled sometime in November to write to him to thank him for his work.  Now I'll never be able to tell him.

If this is not a reminder that you just never know and to not assume you have all the time in the world to thank someone, I don't know what is.  Better get to work!!

Saw this today on Facebook from Paulo Coelho:
When we are unable to receive, we deny someone else the pleasure of giving.

I can truly say that the reactions I have been getting from people who are genuinely touched that someone would take the time to tell them how grateful they are for them absolutely touch my soul.  I am grateful that those I give to are gracious in their receiving, thus completing a sacred circle of love. 

Last week I had to bring my car in for a nagging persistent problem.  I told the service representative that I had 45 minutes before I had to leave.  "No problem!" was the reply.  Forty minutes into it I went to check on the car - "It's nearly done" was the reply this time.  As the minutes ticked past the time I was supposed to be at work, I found myself growing more and more angry.  I allowed myself to feel that anger for a few minutes and then as I felt it threatening to consume me, reminded myself that I had a choice as to how I felt about the situation.  It was not easy - trust me - but I kept thinking about this project and how I had made a commitment to choosing gratitude.  So, as I worked at finding things I could be grateful for, I found that my anger started to dissipate.  There is simply no room for both emotions at the same time!  Grateful for the reminder!!!

Here's a side effect of this project:  as I am writing these notecards daily, an intense calm and peacefulness comes over me.  It is the most gentle, humble feeling and cannot help but make me smile.  Reverently, of course.  Loving it!

I didn't start dancing until I was 25 yrs old.  I'm not talking about those college days in the local discos - I mean taking dance lessons.  And when I started, I felt like I had come home.  There is something amazingly freeing about dance.  My mother had been a dancer in her youth and agreed with that assessment.  So tonight, after many years away from it, I took my first Zumba class. Not quite the same as a ballet class, but boy I was moving!  And for the most part I could keep up - as long as I didn't think about and just let the muscle memory take over.  So for today my gratitude is for cell's that remember even when the brain doesn't, for a body that can still move, albeit a bit more rigidly than before, and for the joy of the dance!

Today is one of those days that I am exhausted. Not sure how I did it, but woke up at 3am with a pain in my neck that was not a lot of fun.  So I'm tired and I find it much easier to be negative than to slip into gratitude.  But that is the joy of this quest I am on:  if I have to write a note of gratitude EVERY DAY, there are bound to be days when I just don't feel like it.  And I am willing to bet that just getting my mind into the proper frame will have a positive effect on all of my thinking.  It's worth a try!

Welcome to my new website and blog!  Today I am beginning this project that has been bouncing around in my head for months!  It started, as I said above, as a passing thought and just kept blossoming.  I am SO excited to be able to pass on my gratitude in this tangible way.  So often I go through the day filled with grateful thoughts that frankly go no where. This gives me a chance to act upon those thoughts and give the gratitude to those who deserve it. 

Last year, when the whole world seemed to me to be crashing down, I heard someone say that the way out of this is gratitude and service.  I couldn't agree more!  I am trying to find ways to be of service to others - indeed, I built a business based on it - and now found a way to express the gratitude piece.  What a gift!

My motivation is just this - to reflect the goodness in others.  If it encourages others to pay it forward, even better!  And my dear friend, Susan Krien, has created some lovely notecards for me use.  If you get inspired and feel like doing the same, Susan has notecards available for sale (see her website link above).  My only request of her was that 10% of the sales go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research in honor of my dear father-in-law, Richard Neal and Jim's dad, James Savage. 

Stay tuned as I record what happens this year!  And if you have gratitude you want to share, go to the page on this website to record it!!