Gratitude Gumbo 3-21-13

Our temperatures may not be reflecting the arrival of Spring, and the cold is keeping all but the hardiest of plants still tucked in their winter beds; but I am delightedly grateful for this fresh new season.   And it’s been quite a while since I served up some Gratitude Gumbo, so let’s take a peek at what’s in my pot.

1.  Proverbs

I’m not sure when or why I developed my interest in proverbs but I’m always on the lookout for new delightful ones.  And I heard one this week, from Ireland.  “It’s good to have another day on the green side of the grass.”   That makes me smile every single time I think of it.  Yes indeed it’s true – and I’ll put that right at the top of the list of things I’m grateful for.

 2.  Love

My anniversary celebration on the first annual International Day of Happiness.  How delightful is that?  There was laughter and cake and all around happiness.  I think I’m the luckiest person to have found the most perfect-for-me husband in the universe.

And speaking of love and happiness, do go watch this video of Lee Harris singing Fast.  It’s a wonderful love song, but it’s made even better by the performance art done by Henrik Simonsen.  Dare you not to smile and feel good.

3.  How big is infinity?

I love kid’s books and my current favorite is Infinity and Me, written by Kate Hosford and illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska.  It’s a charming little story that begins with “The night I got my new red shoes…”

And you know how I feel about red shoes.  There’s no convincing me otherwise – it is a true and certain fact – life is infinitely better with red shoes.

So the story clearly starts out on the right track.  And it ends very sweetly as well.  Plus you get to think about infinity. 

4.  Fabulous Footwear

Having mentioned shoes, let me go on record saying I don’t think all shoes have to be red.  You can have other cool shoes.  Like my new Haflingers which are comfy cool which is actually the only kind of shoe that makes it onto my feet these days.  And that way I instantly double my gratitude quotient: points for comfy, points for cool – yay!  Here’s a peek.  What do you think? 

5.  Rise Up and Reclaim

Cast your mind back to February 14 – remember One Billion Rising, the invitation to strike/dance/rise globally to end violence against women.  Julie Daley of Unabashedly Female has put out a little ebook about her participation that day and is offering it as a free download.

I’m grateful to every woman who danced and every person committed to supporting change so that violence against women is never deemed acceptable.  Ever.

6.  Connections

This week I had conversations with friends and clients, and received unexpected emails the gist of which was that I had somehow made a difference in their life.  I don’t mention this to brag or out of some ridiculous notion that I’m special.  I am an ordinary person living a probably more-quiet-than-average life.  But I’m grateful that people took a moment of their time to connect with me.  To be seen, to be touched heart-to-heart is something we shouldn’t take for granted.  It’s a gift and should be appreciated as such.   I’m grateful to the people who take time to read this blog, or my newsletter, who offer a comment or pop off an email to me.  Thank you!  It’s lovely to be seen.

So there you have it, my first Spring Gratitude Gumbo. 

What about you?  What are you feeling grateful about?  A good gumbo has room for lots of ingredients, and I’d be delighted if you added yours.