After yesterday’s low, and venting about it in this post, I woke up feeling a little more energized and hopeful. And that is a good place to think about what I am thankful for.
So here is my list:
My Continued Yoga Practice
I am continuing on my 100 Days of Ashtanga Yoga Practice Project, as outlined in this post. This morning practice is such a gift in my life. Before I do anything for my daily life, I show up on my mat. For the next 45-50 minutes I breathe with intention. I move my body with focused attention. I think about nothing else. No dwelling on the condition of the world, or all the tasks I have to accomplish that day.
It’s just me, my mat and my practice.
And I cannot think of a better way to start my day. I am thankful to my 4 week younger self to have established this gift of a routine in my life, and for showing up to it.
My Son
We have a number of arguments, we butt heads on every other thing. But at the end of the day, he is the brightest light of my life. A hug from him solves most of my problems. Listening to his stories from school, trying to understand his sense of humour and sarcasm, and being amazed at his ethics and bravery…it all lifts me up from my lows. I am so proud of my young man. He makes me want to be better, and he helps me feel better by his presence. Thank you son.
My Thrift Store find
I have found some gems to add to my collection for still life inspiration at the thrift store over the past year. And this is what I found yesterday. I love it! I already drew it last night. Without these inspirations it is hard to get started with my art. They give me great place to begin. And they are great drawing subjects to study shapes, shadows and angles from. And thrift stores are perfect places to pick up some old gems from…I won’t be surprised if this bottle makes it into one of my paintings soon- yes, I love it that much!
Little Free Library Find
I found this little gem of a book in a little free library around my home. I wrote a review for it earlier this week. Once in a while I find a book in a little free library that just grabs at me, makes me want to pick it up on instinct, and then go ahead and shock me, or change my life. This little book was definitely on the shocking side of things. I am glad to have had this interesting introduction to Ian McEwan, and I am looking forward to reading more of his books. So thank you Little Free Library for this little book.
A Podcast that is changing my life
I listened to Commune Podcast with Jeff Krasno last week. He interviewed Doug Evans about how sprouting transformed his health. Then I went to read Doug Evans’ book on the same topic called The Sprout Book. All in three days time. Because, well, it makes me very excited! I sprout some, but nothing as extensively as Doug Evans made it sound possible, or even, necessary. I started researching on how I can expand my sprouting extent, and what seeds I would be interested to germinate, and where I would make space in my kitchen etc…Because, this is something I can really get behind. And I know it will be a great thing to do for my family’s health. I am dreaming of not buying salad greens because we will have enough sprouts and micro greens every day to make salad out of. I am not sure how far I will go, but right now I am happy to get started. And of course, I will write about my experience in this blog. You can hear the podcast here.
So here is a list of things that are making me happy and thankful this week. Small little rays of sunshine in the dreary political and weather situation we have going.