blog

Things That Are Supporting Me

Michelle GD6 Comments

A few things that have supported me this week…

 

:: lots of walks…the crisp, autumn air (finally!)…the leaves, the breeze

:: meditation

:: lighting candles…at my desk, during meals

:: soup…I am craving soups of all kinds

:: a good, long chat with a good friend…(and we had soup)

:: my daughter made me a ‘Creative Flow’ potion

:: getting to bed on time

:: writing in the morning

:: clipping the hydrangea and bringing it indoors

:: making lemon pancakes for the kids…because making something they love makes me happy

:: sweet potatoes…I’ve been on a bit of a kick

:: a new knitting project

 

What about you?  What felt good for you this week, or lately?
I’d love suggestions for ways we can all support ourselves…

 

Sending a little love your way, m

 

***

Have you signed up for Gratitude Week?  I’m eager to share my Gratitude Notes with you.
Click the banner below to sign up.  (psst!  It’s FREE)

:: Dear Thursday ::

Michelle GD7 Comments

Dear Thursday,

 

Thank you for beginning with tea.  Thank you for the words I got down, even though they frustrated me and I finished the writing session feeling not satisfied but antsy and disheartened.  Thank you for the cinnamon rolls I shared with the kids.  Thank you for a bottle of fresh milk to replace the sour one. Thank you for leftover udon soup. Thank you for the difficult book I’m reading with my daughter which is creating opportunity for important discussions. Thank you for the man who teaches my son guitar and the woman who teaches my daughter violin.  Thank you for the cookbook I love and the fact that I’ve been able to renew it twice now at the library.  Thank you for the pork ragu which cooked slowly in the oven. Thank you for the afternoon rain which calmed my antsy state.  Thank you for the flickering candle and the twinkle lights on the deck out back.  Thank you for the rumbling thunder late in the day. Thank you for my family (nuclear and of origin and the friend one grown over the years).  Thank you for being exactly what you were, even though you felt hard and a little bit off.  I didn’t like the first half of you, but there was a reconciliation, a shift, an embrace.  So thank you, Thursday…thank you for being exactly what you were.

 

 

What was your Thursday like?  Share in the comments below, or jot down your memories in a journal or notebook.  Sometimes it’s nice to look back as we begin to move forward.

 

Sending a little love your way, m

 

 

P.S. Links above are not affiliate.  I’m just sharing because they’re books I like, and you might too.

***

I hope you’re planning to join us for Gratitude Week.  Click banner below…

I Have No Words

Michelle GD12 Comments

Here’s the thing.  I’ve written and rewritten (and rewritten) a post to share today, and nothing feels satisfying or appropriate.

 

There’s the skein of gorgeous alpaca yarn you see above. Grey and soft, so soft.

 

But there’s also the unsettling craziness of our US government.  Abuses of power, dishonesty, sexual misconduct, general immorality.  Everybody talking, but not everybody listening.

 

How can I talk to you about that beautiful yarn?  I just can’t.  Believe me, I tried.

 

So I’m popping in today with a public service announcement for those of you living in the United States.  Your voice matters.  If you live in the United States, make sure you’re registered to vote and please vote on November 6th (there’s still time to register in most, if not all, states…go here).  If you live outside the United States, your voice matters too in your country.

 

We are all equal.  Let’s treat one another as such.  No matter the gender, the color, the ethnicity, the sexual orientation.  Each of us is equal and deserving of respect.

 

Wherever you live:   Pay attention.  Listen.  Be involved, as you’re able.

 

Sending a little love your way, m

 

 

Bits of Gratitude {and Gratitude Week}

Michelle GD10 Comments

This morning, it’s the second cup of tea and the roasting peaches in the oven and the patched jeans.  It’s the birch trees out my window that blow in the breeze and show hints of autumnal yellow.  It’s the shuffling of my kids in the other room, the clearing of her throat.  It’s the whir of the washing machine.

 

Yesterday, it was working on a literature essay with my daughter and talking Physics (well, listening on my part) with my son.  It was the long walk in the morning and the Pilates that followed.  It was the sausage sandwiches for dinner.  It was the quick rain shower which cleared in time for my son’s soccer practice.

 

Tomorrow, well, I don’t know what tomorrow will hold but I know there will be bits to tuck into my heart. Every day there are bits to tuck.  Bits to acknowledge and hold tenderly.  Bits of this and that…bits of gratitude.

 

For several years now, I’ve hosted an annual Gratitude Week.  It’s almost time again.  You can read full details on the special page I’ve created (click the image below) but, in a nutshell, we’ll be holding gratitude at the forefront of our minds (our hearts) for that week.  Together.  The community aspect – whether you’re joining online, or playing quietly at home – is my favorite part.  Knowing we’re all walking that week with a greater awareness comforts and inspires me.  I love Gratitude Week.

 

As always, it’s FREE.  Each day, I’ll be sending Gratitude Notes…a simple reflection on gratitude for you to read as you begin your day, or as you pause somewhere in the middle, or as you wind down.  Wherever and however feels right for you.  Please join me and us…

 

 

Here’s a peek at what was shared in this space for last year’s Gratitude Week.  And, if you’d like to see one of the Gratitude Notes I sent last year, click right here.

 

Sending a little love your way, m

 

P.S. If you’d like an image to share on your blog or social media, here you go:

 

 

***

Touching Real

Michelle GD8 Comments

I like my lists; you know I do.

 

I’ve had some long to-do lists lately…most written in my planner but some flitting about my head.  This past week has been good for getting things done.  Sometimes things just click, you know what I mean?  Sometimes all the procrastinating shifts into productivity.  Man, that feels good.

 

Earlier this week, I crossed a huge item off my list.  I won’t mention what the thing was, not from coyness, but because I’m not ready to share just now.  The point, anyway, is not what I did…the point is that I did.

 

Don’t think.  Act.  We can always revise and revisit once we’ve acted.  But we can accomplish nothing until we act.
~Steven Pressfield~

 

As soon as I did what needed doing (which, true story, has been on my to-do list since late July) (yep, I’m solid in the procrastination department), I texted a dear friend.  I was so pleased in the doing and I knew she understood how hard it had been for me.  I told her that the job was complete; I also told her I had butterflies in my belly and tears in my eyes.

 

This is what she texted back to me:

Congrats!!!
And those feelings are what happens when you touch your own “real”. Congrats on that too.

 

I read her words and the mistiness in my eyes became full tears on my cheeks.  I cried only for a few seconds.  The tears were release; the tears were recognition.

 

I felt connected to something deep inside and, I dare say, I felt connected to something bigger than myself. I don’t want to put words or names to any of it.  I just want to tell you, and I want to remember.

 

Those tears.
That “real”.

 

It happens in the doing.
Keep doing, my friends. Keep doing.

 

Sending a little love your way, m

 

 

***
I’d love if you signed up for my Monthly Notes (heartfelt notes from me to you)…