Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Gratitude Journals

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Attitude, Contentment, Grateful, Gratitude Journaling, Gratitutde, Joy, Music, Thanks

“Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.” – Doris Day

Read more at: Brainy Quotes

Thanks for all the new followers this week! I really appreciate it. I hope all of you new comers enjoy my daily quips of this and that. I strive to motivate, teach, inspire, and engage my audience daily. Am I always successful? No, but I do try my best.

When I first began my blog a few years ago, I had no idea how important this practice is. A blog to me is nothing more than a way to communicate my unique experience of this life. Some use their blogs to offer recipes, document their travels, discuss the news of the day, or even discuss the painful ailments they are suffering from. All these blogs become part of the tapestry that we all enjoy for one reason or another.

It is cold here in Michigan. It is not as cold in other states, like North Dakota or Minnesota but it is cold. We were asked yesterday to reduce our thermostats down to 65 degrees to conserve energy. I am grateful for my warm home and the warm cup of coffee I am enjoying right now. I hope those folks who are homeless have found a warm place to stay.

I purposely use a gratitude journal every morning. In it I express my thanks for all I have, my family, my friends, and whatever else comes to mind. When I began my gratitude journal a few years ago I did not realize how life-changing these few minutes in the morning have become. I think the primary benefit is the practice of focusing on what we are thankful for. It is the focus that counts. The more we are focused on what is right in our lives, the better our lives become. If you catch yourself complaining about things in your life, try to change this around by purposely focusing on what you are grateful for. It could be as simple as being grateful for your warm bed, a family member, or even the benefits you accrue from a job you have. There are so many things to be grateful for. Give gratitude journaling a try. It doesn’t take that long. Start out with writing down 2 or 3 things you are grateful for every morning. Over time you will begin to realize how important this practice is.

I normally accompany my journaling with calming music. I pay for a streaming service called Spotify. I really enjoy this service because it gives me access to so many musicians. Music is a great thing to have in your life. I use different types of music throughout the day. When I journal, I tend to stick with nature sounds and other pleasant instrumentals. When I am programming, I tend to gravitate toward trance or techno. When I read or study, I enjoy classical. When I exercise, heavy metal is my genre of choice. Each type of music feeds the activities I pursue. I tend to shy away from any vocal’s music, especially when I am reading or writing. This type of music tends to disrupt my thinking more than other types. If you have not tried to augment your daily routines with music, I highly recommend it. This is one life hack that has proven beneficial.

I am blessed. I had the ability to retire early and pursue the things I wanted to pursue. I have also been given the privilege of spending time with my folks in their senior years. My Dad has Dementia and at times, it is a sad time, particularly when you truly grasp that the Dad you knew is no longer the Dad you have now. Regardless, my circumstances have granted me the opportunity to enjoy my folks as they wind down their lives on this Earth. It is a great opportunity that I am grateful for every day.

I am also grateful for my Brother and Sister. They are both very different. My brother loves to travel and is my best friend. He and I have a lot of fun together and enjoy pretty much the same things. My sister is also my best friend. She has different interests from mine but brings a lot of things into my life that I would never have experienced had I not returned home. I am also grateful for my wife and stepdaughters. My wife is in Arizona teaching and my stepdaughters are pursuing their lives on their own (finally). My wife knew I had to come home to help my folks and she has been a great team player. Is it tough being away from your loved ones? Sure, but our relationship is strong, and we love each other very much.

Well, this is it for today. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and hope you can find all of those things in your life that you are grateful for. Looking at the world through grateful eyes is so much better than seeking out all the things that aren’t going so well. I send good thoughts to all my readers today and hope your life is the adventure mine is.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Post Christmas

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Christmas, Contentment, Enjoyment, family, Friends, Joy, Love, Planning, reflection

Well, the family has gone home! It was a great two days, hanging out with my sister and her boyfriend. It was nice opening presents. It was awesome watching some movie favorites, like Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I enjoyed the holiday season this year because it was so great to revisit Phoenix and reconnect with friends and family there. It was also nice to come home and enjoy family, my Mom’s roast duck and all of the goodies I enjoy eating during the holidays.

Now it’s time to continue the celebration as we approach the New Year. This week, like the previous week will result in altered postings because I want to focus on the holidays and worry about the schedule again at the commencement of 2019.

I hope all of you had a great time with your families and friends and are looking to create the best year yet in 2019. I hope all of you have a safe and joyous New Year’s celebration.

All the best to you and your families during this precious time of the year.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Series Sunday – Character Traits

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Benjamin Franklin, Character, Contentment, Mindfulness, satisfaction, Sunday Series, Traits

January 2018’s character trait will be contentment. I am striving to be more mindful, concentrating my thoughts and efforts on the present, rather than brooding over the past or worrying about the future.

As mentioned before, I am still working on discrimination, tolerance, and forgiveness. Each month I add a desirable character trait to work on, much like Benjamin Franklin did in his day.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday

Tags

Acceptance, Contentment, Grateful, Happy, Life, spirituality, Unhappy

“Even if you are living a nine-to-five life, you can make it an adventure. We owe it to ourselves to live life to its fullest in whatever we do. And the motivation to do this must come from within.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

So many people take life for granted. Life is a special thing. It is a privilege to learn, to love, to experience. Even the hard times prove to be the best teachers.

In a previous post, I mentioned how I always felt like I was losing. It didn’t matter what I did or tried I would always end up with the “short end of the stick”. Then, I changed my mindset and things turned around. When I discovered that the new mindset brought out a part of me that I didn’t like, I decided to not fiddle around with this at all—to simply take life as it comes and just be happy with it all.

Happiness is really about attitude. Are you happy or are you unhappy? If you are happy, why? If you are unhappy, why? It is about creating happiness, regardless of the circumstances. Happiness shouldn’t come from outside. It should be internal. Depending on people, situations, or any outside influence to make you happy or sad will make for a tough time. Lose the dependence. Decide to be happy today.

Get out there and live your life. Don’t settle. Don’t use excuses. Get out there. The whole world is special because of you and your uniqueness. There are so many adventures and experiences waiting for you.

Embracing even the little things is such a treasure. For me, a little thing is a nice cup of coffee on my deck or listening to some good music while I read or working on a writing project. Sometimes I sit and just think. I ponder. I take the time to be quiet and just soak life in.

I enjoy life for what it is. I don’t need some outside thing to make me happy. Life just is and it’s wonderful.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Attitudes

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Attitudes, Choices, Contentment, Gratitude, Happiness, Obstacles, Tools

“We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them.” – William Arthur Ward

What obstacles are in your way? What challenges are you experiencing? Are they really challenges/obstacles?

This quote deals with our attitude. Everything we deal with in our reality and the way we react to these things render our lives happy and content or unhappy and discontent. It is interesting when you can really take account of what is going on in your life and simply say “It’s all good.”

I think the biggest challenge we face is accepting reality for what it is. There are certain things that are just out of our control. You can be angry about them, sad about them, or happy and content. It really is a choice.

It took me a very long time to figure this out. Like many, if I wasn’t making the money I wanted, had the gal I wanted, lived in the place I wanted, etc. life sucked. Then I began to realize that the endless pursuit of “things” was fruitless. That certain part of me that had a hunger for this nonsense would never be satisfied. It would always want more. It would always be demanding and unsatisfied.

Then, one day I came to the realization that we have all we need. I began minimalizing my life. Why did I need a computer, laptop, tablet, and phone, when I only needed one computer and a phone? Why did I need all the clothes I had, when I could only wear one outfit a day? Slowly, but surely, I donated, sold, and got rid of a lot of stuff. Now, I could literally move at a moment’s notice without too much fuss. I don’t have a lot of things to take care of, because I don’t own a lot of things. Life became simpler. Life became easier. I was happier. I was calmer.

I think much of our wants, our needs, our goals, are driven by society and our social relationships. We compete silently to get the same car or nicer one, the same house or bigger one, the same computer or a faster one, not realizing that the companies selling these products influenced us into this never-ending race of purchasing and needing and desiring.

When I decided to “make my own rules”. I began to realize how simple life is and how happy we can be with very little. I have a roof over my head. I have enough food. I have a place to sleep. My health is good. I also realized that the goals I was pursuing were not mine, but society’s.

I don’t need a lot of money. I don’t need a snappy new car or a lot of clothes. I only need the basics to survive and thrive. Now, I wake up each day fresh and ready to go. I reflect on what I am grateful for—and I am grateful for everything. But you know, I could live with even less if I needed to and still be happy. I am happy because I choose to be.

When you wake up and come at life with happiness and gratitude in your heart, nothing can throw you off course. The rocks in your path really do become the tools you use to build the road with.

You have a choice.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Forgiveness

Tags

Contentment, Forgiveness, Inner Peace, Love

“Forgiveness is the final form of love.” – Reinhold Niebuhr

Have you ever held a grudge? Have you ever felt uncomfortable around a loved one you wronged and haven’t made up with? Have you ever thought about something you did in the past and not forgiven yourself for your actions? These are all deep and heartfelt questions.

When we hold a grudge, we hold onto a past transgression as if it happened yesterday. The grudge mindset is self-destructive. This mindset continually relives a wrong, repeatedly. In most cases, it blows the action out of proportion and sustains the grudge feeling even more.

If we’ve wronged someone else and fail to apologize, the situation festers and gets worse with time. When we see that person again, we either tuck that wrong away or avoid any type of talk about it. We feel guilty, we feel ashamed, but we don’t know how to progress. Instead, we avoid, we ignore, we may even cut off contact with the person we wronged because of the shame that arises inside when we think about them or see them in person.

When we do something wrong, something we know is wrong, a part of us dies. Like the situation above, we avoid thinking about it, we ignore it, we put it aside. We lie to ourselves to keep some semblance of internal peace. But, the thing we did is still there, poking and prodding us whenever and wherever it can.

How do we avoid all this trouble? We can simply forgive. We can forgive ourselves for something we did, realizing we are learning. We can apologize to the person we wronged as soon as we recognize we harmed them in some way. We can forgive ourselves.

Forgiveness repairs. Forgiveness reduces tension. Forgiveness expresses respect for those we have wronged and to ourselves for being human.

If you have someone in your life you need to forgive, do so. If you have that “thing” in your past that you know was wrong but did anyway, forgive yourself. If there is someone you know that you wronged, apologize. They may forgive you or they may not. Regardless, apologize and move on. Close the loop.

In the future, move more quickly to forgive yourself and others. Apologize immediately if you’ve hurt someone’s feelings or screwed something up. Forgiveness is about love. Forgiveness is about loving others despite their shortcomings, and more importantly, loving yourself for your own shortcomings.

Forgiveness is the final form of love.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Anger, Choices, Contentment, Gratitude, Happiness, Quotes, Sydney Harris, Ungrateful, Unhappiness

Today’s Quote:

“When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?'” – Sydney Harris

Boy, what a great quote!

This quote really alerts us to our own attitudes. I post and discuss happiness and gratitude quite a bit because these states of mind are nothing more than an attitude. If you are happy, you are grateful for all that is going on. If you are not happy or require a certain fictional condition to be happy, then you will chase that for the rest of your life. I can almost guarantee if you are not happy–you are also not grateful.

Folks that are unhappy are that way because they choose to be. For some, being unhappy is their “happy” state. It’s weird to think of it this way, but it’s true. People choose to be or feel the way they do. It is not an involuntary act. If you are sad, you choose to be. If you are angry, you choose to be. If you are unhappy, you choose to be. The same goes for happiness, contented, and grateful. They are literally nothing more than a conscious choice.

Some folks are unconscious about their attitude, mood, or general outlook on life. This is also a choice. They choose to be unaware. They are an automaton simply moving through life like an unconscious machine. This state is a hell all by itself.

Be cognizant of your attitude. If you are unhappy, it is nothing more than taking a few moments and realizing how great life is to turn that unhappiness into happiness. Everything in life involves choosing something. Choose happiness, contentment, and gratefulness. It is a great way to live a life.

Until next time…

Dave