The Breeze Coming Through My Window Right Now

I thought someone was at the door, but it's just the wind blowin'.

IT'S SPRING!

Thank you for this warm day!

My Dad

My father is a beautiful, loving man. I consider myself deeply blessed as I constantly find more of his features within in myself. In fact, I have received almost all of my dominant traits from my father. From our calm, gentle spirits to our love of history, music, and literature, I'm my father's daughter through and through.

As a kid I always felt especially close to my dad as we are the only blonde haired, blue eyed members of our family and we would play games together: Blondes vs. Browns. It never mattered who won the games, what mattered was I got to be on dad's team all by myself while both of my brunette sisters had to share our mom.

Today is my dad's birthday. It's a day to celebrate his birth, his life, and his never failing love. Today I celebrate the look in his eye when my sisters and I make him proud and the sound of his laugh when my mom's around. We are a blessed family to spend so much of our time together in tears of joy, laughing and loving.

Thank you Dad for always leading by example, for loving deeply, and for laughing often.

Happy birthday!

New Music

Music is a powerful means of communication. For me, as a dancer, it is the epicenter of my life... it is the breath, heartbeat, and emotion that fills my day to day activities and is crucial to how I express myself. New music is refreshing and exciting, it shakes up my day and leaves me inspired and uplifted. I can't get enough.

Thanks new music for brightening this already bright, sunny Monday!

Lazy Sundays

Spent lying around with good music, great conversation with friends abroad, and lots of laughs.

Thank you for this day... it was beautiful.

P.S. happy birthday Aimee!

This Guy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7Of_2ykZpQ&feature=player_embedded

Thank you Jason Connell for finding a new, better, more loving way to fight hatred and to stand up for human rights.

Home

I love having a place to come back to. It's nice to be home.

Thanks.

Long Car Rides

It's a time to straighten out your thoughts, to talk to friends, pray, to sing at the top of your lungs, or to see the sites... and if you're a passenger and you sleep the whole way you can wake up in a new location and it's just like teleportation. Awesome!

My Mama

She may be totally crazy with her intriguing combination of paranoia and spontaneity, but she's also the most giving woman I've ever been privileged enough to know. From the wacky gifts she buys in bulk to give out to random people just to make them smile... to the time she bought a house, a whole house, for deserving families to live in, paying for only the utilities (if that), for as long as they need. My mother loves to give and for that, among a million other things, I love my mother.

Thanks Mama K.

My Cell Phone

After a few days with little to no cell phone reception I'm more aware than ever how grateful I am to be able to easily stay in touch with the people I love the most. The constant flow of love sent and received via text message and phone call is a reminder of how many awesome people are in my life.

Thanks phone.

Clean Water

It's so easily taken for granted.

Read about it here...

http://freshnessfactorfivethousand.blogspot.com/2010/03/wets-deal-yo.html

Happy belated World Water Day!

Getting Deeper

Recently I had the chance to get to know some friends on a much deeper level than I knew them on before. It's amazing the stories that come with everyone you meet. Even the most light-hearted of people have experienced powerful things that have shaped and changed them. When I hear these stories my respect and awe for the teller deepens immensely and I find myself even more grateful to have them in my life.

Thank you.

Belly Laughs

There's no better ab workout than a really good laugh.
Thanks to those who crack me up. You're the best.

When People Surprise You

It's always nice when the person you've least expected to pulls through for you. You're going about your day and you have a need... maybe you send out a cry for help, maybe you don't and they just know. Either way, the result is awesome and you might just have a new friend.

Thanks!

Vacations

As amazing as life is, sometimes it's nice to get away for awhile, see new things, get to know people better, disconnect, and let loose.

Thanks Spring Break.

Health

Today I'm feeling good and I hope you are too (and if not, get well soon!)

If you're a generally healthy person, rejoice in that even on days when you're a little under the weather. You are blessed. Don't forget it.

Thanks immune system!

Time to Heal

Sometimes people from your past try to fight their way into your present. They used to affect you negatively... but now you've grown, you've learned, your life is good.

And suddenly there's that moment when you realize they can't break you down anymore! You're over it!

Thanks time, you're a great healer.

Daylight Savings Time

Growing up in central Indiana I didn't have to deal with Daylight Savings Time until just a few years ago. It's definitely taken some getting used to and I'm not going to lie and say that I've liked it. But, whenever I find myself cursing something or using the non-productive, negative phrase "I hate (fill in the blank)" I stop myself and rethink it... "what about this thing can I be grateful for?" There is always something.

The other night as I was walking through campus around 8pm I looked around and noticed that the earth was still glowing with the golden remnants of sunlight at the end of the day. A week ago, at that same hour, I would have been shaded in darkness, the sun long gone.

There's an extra hour of sunlight! No more sketchy 8pm walks in the dark for the next few months!! Thanks DST!

Accomplishing Goals

For every one I cross off the bucket list, I have more hope and faith that I'll accomplish another.

Thank you, ever-growing-ever-shrinking Goal List, for keeping me striving for more all the time.

Dance Marathon

24 hours. Awake. Standing.
All for the kids. All worth it.
I'm so blessed for the opportunity to be involved in something so big that will change lives.

Thank you, Miracle families, for making it easy to keep standing. You're amazing.

Namaste

There have been several defining things in my life that have forever changed me for the better. Some have been events, both bad and good that have opened my heart and eyes to new possibilities and some have been people who have challenged me to reframe my thinking. But, ultimately, I'm a words person. I love words. I write often as my primary way of understanding myself better and expressing my feelings. My love language, I've recently discovered, is "words of affirmation." (http://www.5lovelanguages.com) And I am not the least bit surprised, as I find so much joy in writing to those I love and expressing how they have changed and improved and brought light to my life. I keep several journals because my brain is usually overflowing with words in need of a permanent destination on paper. And, just as many people and events have, there have been several words, and the concepts behind them, that have changed me.

One of these words is "Namaste." Namaste is a greeting that essentially means "I bow to the divinity within you that is also in me." It is a great equalizer, an acknowledgement that we are all divine beings. What is divine in me is also divine in you, we are equally divine. Nothing about you makes you less important, worthy, or powerful than I am. And when I acknowledge those that I admire with Namaste I am empowering myself by reminding myself that I am just as awesome as they are. I am equivalent to them because God made us all in his beautiful image.

So remember Namaste and know that no one is better or more worthy than you are. But also remember that no one is worse or of less worth either. No one.

My Bed

Because I'm tired and nothing beats the comfort of my nice warm bed after a loooong week.

Thanks bed, for a great night's sleep.

Rain

I love the rain.
I've never seen the rain as something to run from and I refuse to use an umbrella under nearly all circumstances. The first rain of the year is a gift that cleanses and rejuvenates the earth... like taking your first hot shower after a day out playing in the snow. And the results of rain are nice too, with puddles to jump in and pretend to be a kid again.

Today it is evident that spring is on its way.
Thank you refreshing reminder rain!!

Talents

The more I focus on my talents the more talents I realize I have. Even little things: the ability to listen or being the life of the party is a talent; and they are only recognized through use. There's a reason God gave you your abilities, whatever they may be, and the reason is for you to use them. You are most helpful to others when you are the best version of yourself and your best self knows, loves, nurtures, and uses all of your beautiful, quirky, God-given talents.

Thank you for using your talents to brighten lives today.
Remember you are blessed.

Support Systems

We can't get through this life alone. Period.

I have been blessed with a shoulder to cry on for every tear I've shed, a word of advice for every question I've asked, and arms to fall into every time I've tripped up. It's only recently that I've begun to think about how rare that kind of support is.

Next time someone is there for you, no matter how small their actions may seem, be thankful for their support and pay it forward. Because, bottom line, we need each other.

Thanks supporters. You're awesome.

Stress

That's right, I said it. I'm grateful for stress. I don't love stress, I don't even like stress. But I am thankful for it.

Stress is my biggest motivator. Because I was so stressed and busy this past week I was forced (mostly by due dates and time constraints) to really buckle down and get stuff done. I worked and worried and even cried a little, but the results were so rewarding. Without that tightening in my chest and the weighed down pressure in my shoulders I wouldn't have written a rather eloquent speech (if I do say so myself), I wouldn't have studied for my exam, or choreographed a dance. And, most importantly, I wouldn't have as much free time in this coming week.

Thank you, motivation in the most forceful of forms.

Now it's time to catch up on sleep...

New Friends

Nothing beats an old friend that knows you better than the world and can read you like a book. A friend who can do next to nothing and still make you smile. But there's also a lot of beauty in the potential that new friendships bring.

So excited to see where these new friendships will go.
Thanks friends.

Weekends

After a week like this one, I am so grateful for a few days off. Even if I'm busier between Friday and Sunday than I am Monday through Thursday. Just the idea of a weekend makes me feel like I have a little more free time on my hands and for that I am so thankful.

Thanks Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!
Have a great weekend everyone.

Life Stories

I'm a sucker for life stories. Biographies, autobiographies, history, mystery, pain and heroism. Overcoming obstacles, making a name for yourself. I once sat for hours with a 63-year-old man as he recounted stories of his youth. I was entranced. What a life. What stories. What incredible love and adventure can be accumulated in 63 years.

SuperForest said the other day that "Over six billion stories are being told at once" and I was completely struck with the statement. Every person has a story and every one of them is worth being heard. SIX BILLION life stories are being written and told right now. Six billion different lives weaving and intertwining in countless combinations of relationship. Billions of peoples lives are being forever altered right this second; people are falling in love, meeting their new children, they are dying or holding loved ones as they move on from this earth. People are climbing mountains, fighting for their lives, deciding it's time to give up, reframing their mindsets. Right now they are changing, growing, improving. Six billion. Six billion potential future world changers, six billion possible CURRENT world changers.

We are at a turning point in history. Our generation no longer accepts the destruction of our earth, the discrimination of the weak or different, we refuse to believe that using war is going to solve our problems. We don't accept doing things they way they've been done in the past, because we've learned from those who walked this earth before us. How incredible to be among the six billion people sharing the world at this moment, our hearts beating the same as everyone elses, breathing the same oxygen, crying the same saltwater tears. It's impossible not to be in awe.

I am grateful for the lessons other have learned that help me to live my best life.
Thank you for living your story right now.


P.S. check out superforest.org

Sunshiney Days

Because who can be sad when it's gorgeous and is beginning to look like spring outside?!
No one.
Not me!

Thanks beautiful today.
Here's to a beautiful tomorrow!

People Who Change Your Life

I have been blessed with a large variety of complicated relationships in my life. The worst of them have forced out the best in me. This has happened time and time again. Now I know anytime I'm hurt and heartbroken to give thanks for the lessons I will learn through the process of healing and the better person I will be in the end.

The most positive relationships in my life have cultivated, shaped, and nurtured the best of me. There are countless more people in my life to affirm me and support me than there are to tear me down. And for that I can't express enough gratitude.

Thank you life changers!

Grandparents

Grandpa "O"

Last night I had a discussion with a friend about the importance of grandparents. You see, my friend was raised in a different state than the older generations of her family and didn't understand the beauty that comes of having present grandparents. I began telling her all of reasons I love having grandparents around. I found myself filled with joy for the memories and gratitude for the chances to know my grandparents well. Even imagining my life without grandparents is heartbreaking. I have grown up in the same small town as my extended family, with all four of my grandparents attending every recital, concert, awards show, school function, etc throughout my life.

Grandparents hold your family history. They are often the closest tangible direct connection you have to your family's past. (Unless you're lucky enough to have great-grandparents, of course!!) Because of their choices and their parents choices, and on and on down the line, you were created.

So, next time you get to see Granny or Gramps give them a great big hug and thank them for every decision they made that led to you being on this earth now. And remember, one quarter of you comes entirely from them!

Thanks, grandparents!

Mission Gratitude

I recently got a new tattoo, my second, the word "gratitude" forever etched into my skin. I got it as a reminder to be ever thankful for the blessings this life has given me. It is a constant note meant to keep me living a life that is actively grateful, no matter the circumstances. It's a challenge to myself, really. Can I actually be aware every day of the rest of my life of things I am grateful for? Even when everything's falling apart, even when school is hard and relationships are ending, and family members are dying? Am I living up to the statement I am making with the fresh ink in my skin?

And so, I am embarking on a mission. Mission Gratitude. Every day I will find something of importance that I am eternally grateful for. I will focus on why it is a blessing, on what makes it special. And every day for the next year I will write here about that person/place/thing/idea and I will celebrate it. When you focus your energy on something, it grows. I pray that by focusing on my blessings I will be exponentially more blessed and more able to bless those around me.

Now I ask you, readers, WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?