Bistro Table, Front Porch

The rain makes me wistful. Happy, stirred up in quiet ways. We’ve had quite a bit of it in the last two weeks, which is wild. Nobody told me it rained in Colorado. Certainly not in the middle of summer. Last night, it poured for almost four hours. Unheard of round these here parts.

I read this on another blog this morning: Pinched from Baron (pinched from Cicero):

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.

While it was raining here, Ryan was in Boulder yucking it up with his younger brother, so I had some me-time. (Prepare for a list.)

1. Finished an important document for work. Did a good job.
2. Gardened in the rain, until the mud took over.
3. Lit candles. I don’t do that often enough.
4. Baked chocolate chip cookies.
5. Baked blueberry cornmeal muffins.
6. Cooked the meatballs I rolled yesterday.
7. Did all the dishes save the muffin pan and cooling racks. Very notable.
8. Did some prep work for a sewing project.
9. Rubbed some love into Buster.
10. Read from my new book, Feng Shui Your Life by Jayme Barrett. (Torry you get to borrow this when I’m done. Wink.)

One of the things I read was a reminder to express gratitude. Barrett suggested making a daily journal entry noting 1-5 things you’re grateful/thankful for. …I remember hearing Oprah suggest that once on TV, too…. As an occasional, not devoted private journaler, I feel guilty not filling my pretty books and their pretty pages with purpose. I suppose leaving them blank-ish is some sort of carryover for the days when I knew I had so much potential but no desire or direction to fulfill it. I also struggle reconciling with their value. I mean, with this blog, at least I post pictures that other people seem to enjoy. But, Barrett’s suggestion for at least 1 entry with 1 item per day strikes me as both valuable and doable. A good exercise in mindfulness. And I could use the practice in discipline. The idea of stepping back from my stuff and my thoughts and my impulses and my my my my my!-ness long enough to say thank you seems like a really good idea.

Related posts:

1. Oranges, Divided Glass and Rain
2. “Hose” your daddy?
3. Thinking East
4. Round Here