Grateful for starting my workday on a sunny Friday in a room with a view like this. At Wise Consulting, CPH.
0 Comments
This picture is taken two seconds before I was picked up by one of my dearest friends, who was going to take me out for - what became - 5 hours of non stop gratitude.
Walking & talking 6 kilometers in sunshine and spring-flower-explosions, towards the restaurant. Being served delicious Italian foods and wines, and listening to a an absolutely fascinating band, playing a music genre that neither of us would never have chosen deliberately, or maybe ever again, but performing in a way that stuck the smiles to our faces during the entire concert, and made bubbles of joy float through our bodies, just by watching the way these musicians got totally lost in their own world, obviously very talented however. Leaving the restaurant joyful and saturate, stepping outside and immediately getting drawn in, surrounded and entoxicated by the sweet spring-night-fragrance that has been absent for so so so long. And now it's finally here again. Walking back home, along the coast line. A clear sky, and stars all over. Beach-walking, listening to the small gurgling sounds of the waves, greeting a couple of swanes in the sea, and even taking the time to walk down the pier to say Sweden goodnight by the lighthouse before returning back home. Every single moment of these 5 hours has been gratifying, and I wouldn't know which one to pick, if I had to chose. Woke up this morning in the middel of a dream.
Dreamt that I was told that a friend of mine was seriously ill. I knew I was just dreaming, but 3 hours later the feeling still wouldn't let go of me , so I had to reach out just to make sure. Sometimes your 6h sense is a gift. Sometimes intuition is priceless, and it is indeed your best counselor. At other times, being reassured you were absolutely wrong, is nothing less than gratifying. Sitting outside in the late afternoon sun, pressing my body up against the warm black planks of my house, feeling the wonderful warmth of the heated wood flowting throughout my entire body, closing my eyes, just to notice a fat bumblebee passing by right in front of my face. I revive the gratitude of not being anything close to clairvoyant this time ;-)) Three moments of gratitude melted down into one pleasurable half hour this evening.
Needing crutches for my football-injured daughter. Placed a post on Facebook, searching for crutches to lend. Less than 15 minutes later, I am walking back with my catch. Suddenly noticing that I am being accompanied, every step of the way, by a blackbirds Summer tune. Feelings sparkels within!! And when returning back, I just have to grab a scissor to finally remove the old dry, dreary stems on the lavenders in front of the house. Two seconds after; Intoxicated by their smell! Twosomeness is wonderful sometimes. Solitude can be really nice as well. But waking up at 8 a.m. to a shiny silver-sparkling day like this, knowing that two more are returning back home today, that is absolutely awesome and gratifying as well!
I am still absolutely not considering myself "a runner"! However, gratitude today goes to my 8th run in three weeks, and today I actually really enjoyed it, also while running - at least 2 out of 5 kilometers.
Running in the forest with anemones peeping out everywhere, the warm sunbeams reaching my body between the naked trees, and the music in my headphones creating the illusion that a concert is going on right there next to me. For a moment I almost felt 21, totally energized and ready for a Summer full of outdoor concerts! Went down to the beach afterwards, laid down flat in the sand for a minute, wishing I had brought a towel. The water was absolutely alluring, and I was the closest I have ever been to a runners high ;-) Gratitude doesn't have to be correlated to excellence. Sometimes just doing is all it takes. Exactly 3 years ago on a beautiful sunny day like today, at this very moment, I was sitting right next to this beautiful woman, either holding her hand or playing a game with my - at that time 9 year old - son, who had bravely decided to join me on a trip to the West-coast of Denmark to say goodbye to my rolemodel in many ways; my grandmother.
When we arrived to her room, and my son was hiding in the hallway, scared what death would look like this close, she woke and called to me, while citing a Danish hymn that goes somewhat like this; "Come join me, last Nightwatch, dressed as one of my dear ones. Sit down right here, next to me, and talk with me, friend to friend." We spend 3 hours with her that afternoon, witnessed her cheerful and playful as always, sharing memories from my childhood, and witnessing how she enjoyed listetning to us while playing a game right next, "there is nothing I want more right now"; she said to my son, smiling, "than to play that game with you right now." She dazed away before we left her room, never to wake up again. And she died the coming day. She would have turned 101 three month later that year. I have been thinking about her all day today, and my gratitude moment is in her memory. I am extremely grateful for having had her in my life, as well as having had the chance to say goodbye, and sharing that moment with my son! While having send the 12-year-old to Holland for football today, and the 14-year leaving for out-of-country football tomorrow as well, gratitude today has been related to the opportunity of hanging out and hanging around with the eldest. Just inhaling her presence. Like in this café where she was constantly playing with her straw, and it suddenly just seemed charming.
But wait a minute. That said, I suddenly realize that right at this very moment gratitude does indeed reappear. The fact that the kids are "only" 12 and 14 - well soon to be 15... hopefully means that they will stay in this "nest" for a few more years. Even though their "flights" are getting increasingly longer and more frequent. The first 12 and 14 years actually passed by pretty fast. And I do genuinely enjoy having them around!! Finding gratitude was pretty evident today. 90 days out of 364 gratitude-practice-days completed, and it seems as if my experiment is working well.
Scientists have found that gratitude has the power to reshape our neural pathways. Like an emotional reset button, we can sort of hijack our emotional system. Especially in hard times, or during transformations that requires a lot of our energy, it really is of great value. After three month of practice plus another 24 days in December, I can detect how the brain is indeed left with less power to focus on the negative. It doesn't mean that you'll reject or avoid reality, it just means that you rest less with what drains your energy when it's needed the most, and instead you load yourself with more of what builds you stronger. Gratitude does take practice like any other skills, I have noticed that as well, but it does for sure get easier after the four to six weeks of practice. Even on the most difficult days. |
Archives
January 2016
GratitudeGratitude is a 2015 Project that was launched January 1. 2015. You can read more about it by following this link. I would absolutely love for you to follow this blog. If you feel the same way pls. go ahead and enter your e-mail here below:
|