Gratitude

Monday, October 27, 2014

I'm guilty of wasting a lot of time on Facebook. But amidst the sea of shallow chatter that sucks me in, there is one meme that I think has real value - naming three things you're grateful for each day.


Unfortunately, I tend to view life's metaphorical glass as half empty, rather than half full. When Buzzfeed comes out with a "Which Winnie the Pooh Character Are YOU?" quiz I will most likely be Eeyore...  So I have to work at retraining myself to focus on the multitude of good things in my life.

But even I, dour little pessimist that I am, can't deny the surprising power that simply naming the things I am grateful for has to shift my perspective and let some light into my soul (though I did grimace as I typed the word "soul" just now - this new age sh*t does not come naturally to me.)



I often feel overwhelmed and exhausted - maybe it's life with two young kids, maybe I'm just a wimp, who knows? But when I feel kind of beaten down, I pause for a moment and repeat this little trio of things I'm grateful for in my head: "I am not pregnant, I do not have an infant, I do not have a dog."

Like magic, instead of feeling tired and put-upon, I start to feel lucky. Consider: I don't have to wake up umpteen times tonight to feed and soothe a crying baby! I only have to wipe the butts of two small humans, I do not have to pick up steaming dog turds! If I want to eat raw fish or brie or ham, I can do so without feeling terribly guilty that I might be harming my unborn child, nor do I have to spend the entire day (morning sickness is a sinful misnomer) feeling like I want to puke! This may sound a little snarky but it never fails to make me feel better.

While that is my quick, go-to gratitude list, I also approach this on a much more serious level. Here are a few:
  • I'm grateful that after multiple miscarriages, I have two beautiful, healthy little boys. 
  • I'm grateful to live in a beautiful place where I can step out the door and be in nature, breathe clean air, and get out of my own head. Below is the view from my living room.
  • I'm grateful for my husband who is a steady, loving, loyal, patient, playful, capable, and optimistic partner and quite possibly the world's best father to boot.
  • I'm grateful for my wonderful extended family - for their love, their support and all the fun we have together.
  • I'm grateful for humor.
  • I'm grateful for beauty.
  • I'm grateful for food and that I've always had enough of it. Also, that it tastes so good.
  • I'm grateful to live in a society where I have rights, access to education and the ability to make my own reproductive choices.
  • I'm grateful to have access to good medical care and vaccines.
There's much more, of course, but I'm much more interested in finding out what YOU are grateful for. Please share if you feel like it - I would truly like to know.

Autumn creeping in by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

1) A hot bath or shower in clean potable water every day
2) A garden to feed us (in a desert) that also attracts a diversity of life (humming birds, lizards, bees, and even sometimes the critters that get their share of our food like raccoons and possums). To witness the biodiversity of life gives me a sense of beauty, laughter, and awe.
3) When I read God's Word and am renewed, enlightened, and/or encouraged. It amazes me, that at my age, I can still learn and be inspired by the same book.

Eve Fox said...

Thank you so much for sharing! Those are wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Great post! So true. Your photos are glorious, especially the 1st on which made me think that I should have appreciated my last summer month in upper MI more, the cold and lack of sun.

Anonymous said...

I'm grateful for your blog, and I mean that in all seriousness. It's one of my all-time favorites—for the recipes, the pictures, the words, the sense of connection with another mom of two boys. Thank you.

Eve Fox said...

thanks, biochemgal!
And thanks to you anonymous for saying that - you just made my morning!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Gratitude

I'm guilty of wasting a lot of time on Facebook. But amidst the sea of shallow chatter that sucks me in, there is one meme that I think has real value - naming three things you're grateful for each day.


Unfortunately, I tend to view life's metaphorical glass as half empty, rather than half full. When Buzzfeed comes out with a "Which Winnie the Pooh Character Are YOU?" quiz I will most likely be Eeyore...  So I have to work at retraining myself to focus on the multitude of good things in my life.

But even I, dour little pessimist that I am, can't deny the surprising power that simply naming the things I am grateful for has to shift my perspective and let some light into my soul (though I did grimace as I typed the word "soul" just now - this new age sh*t does not come naturally to me.)



I often feel overwhelmed and exhausted - maybe it's life with two young kids, maybe I'm just a wimp, who knows? But when I feel kind of beaten down, I pause for a moment and repeat this little trio of things I'm grateful for in my head: "I am not pregnant, I do not have an infant, I do not have a dog."

Like magic, instead of feeling tired and put-upon, I start to feel lucky. Consider: I don't have to wake up umpteen times tonight to feed and soothe a crying baby! I only have to wipe the butts of two small humans, I do not have to pick up steaming dog turds! If I want to eat raw fish or brie or ham, I can do so without feeling terribly guilty that I might be harming my unborn child, nor do I have to spend the entire day (morning sickness is a sinful misnomer) feeling like I want to puke! This may sound a little snarky but it never fails to make me feel better.

While that is my quick, go-to gratitude list, I also approach this on a much more serious level. Here are a few:
  • I'm grateful that after multiple miscarriages, I have two beautiful, healthy little boys. 
  • I'm grateful to live in a beautiful place where I can step out the door and be in nature, breathe clean air, and get out of my own head. Below is the view from my living room.
  • I'm grateful for my husband who is a steady, loving, loyal, patient, playful, capable, and optimistic partner and quite possibly the world's best father to boot.
  • I'm grateful for my wonderful extended family - for their love, their support and all the fun we have together.
  • I'm grateful for humor.
  • I'm grateful for beauty.
  • I'm grateful for food and that I've always had enough of it. Also, that it tastes so good.
  • I'm grateful to live in a society where I have rights, access to education and the ability to make my own reproductive choices.
  • I'm grateful to have access to good medical care and vaccines.
There's much more, of course, but I'm much more interested in finding out what YOU are grateful for. Please share if you feel like it - I would truly like to know.

Autumn creeping in by Eve Fox, the Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

1) A hot bath or shower in clean potable water every day
2) A garden to feed us (in a desert) that also attracts a diversity of life (humming birds, lizards, bees, and even sometimes the critters that get their share of our food like raccoons and possums). To witness the biodiversity of life gives me a sense of beauty, laughter, and awe.
3) When I read God's Word and am renewed, enlightened, and/or encouraged. It amazes me, that at my age, I can still learn and be inspired by the same book.

Eve Fox said...

Thank you so much for sharing! Those are wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Great post! So true. Your photos are glorious, especially the 1st on which made me think that I should have appreciated my last summer month in upper MI more, the cold and lack of sun.

Anonymous said...

I'm grateful for your blog, and I mean that in all seriousness. It's one of my all-time favorites—for the recipes, the pictures, the words, the sense of connection with another mom of two boys. Thank you.

Eve Fox said...

thanks, biochemgal!
And thanks to you anonymous for saying that - you just made my morning!