“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.”
— Sarah Ban Breathnach
I started the #365grateful Instagram Challenge in October of last year in an attempt at getting my head straight.
Because, despite knowing that there was, truly, so much good in my life, I was still sad, feeling stuck and frustrated, and struggling to find a positive perspective.
We’d been experiencing a lot of transition over the previous few years and with a brand new move (to a very haunted hacienda) and a recent job loss (from a career that held all of my passion and commitment for a decade), I was feeling stuck, uninspired, and quite gloomy.
While playing on the interwebs one day, I found this challenge and thought it might be an interesting way to recognize my gratitude for the small things in a small way via a single picture each day on Instagram in an effort to recognize joy in the bigger picture…
Because even when life is hard and the bills are piling up…
Even when breakfast is burned and people out in the world are mean…
Even while earthquakes are crumbling buildings and the globe is warming…
Even when things are not what you’d imagined they might be…
Even while the darkness acted like a veil and the words to explain what I was feeling were stuck inside…
I knew at my core that life is still just so good…
And there is truly so much to be grateful for.
And so I began taking pictures and writing short reflections, even on my darkest days.
Some days I was overwhelmed by so many things to grateful for that I didn’t know which one to talk about so I just talked about them all…
Some days I just picked one profound (or mundane) thing to show and speak to…
And some days, despite my practice and the slowly lifting veil, were a real challenge (not because my life was bad, but because my vision was blurred).
And yet, I’d committed to the practice…
And it was something I could count on and there was a goal to count down towards…
And it all wound up being so wonderful and so profound in its simple reminders of all of the light and love around me…
My family, my friends, my gorgeous surroundings…
The fresh eggs, goat antics, and fluffy puppy…
The hot tea, cold beers, and delicious foods…
Life really is good.
:::::
And so now that I’ve completed my challenge, I’ve been debating on what’s next. While I’m still working on my 365 sky blanket, I hope to have it done as close to my birthday as possible (which gives me a month and 2 days to complete it), and then what will I do each day to keep my hands busy and my mind focused in a creative way?
So, I’m looking for a new 365 challenge for myself…and, of course, I’m open to suggestions! Have you any ideas? I’m heading into my 39th year and thinking that closing out this decade with something fun (and maybe even profound) could be a very good thing for me (and maybe even fun for you to follow along on?) 🙂
xoxo,
M
P.S. Curious about all of the captions to my 365 Grateful photos? Click here.
Congratulations on completing your challenge!
Thank you, Karen!