Gratitude isn’t just for the good days. It’s for the messy ones. It’s for the mornings when the coffee spills, the text you hoped for doesn’t come, or when your heart feels heavier than you had wanted it to.
It’s for the days when all you can say is, “At least I’m still here.”
Sometimes, the bravest thing we can do is whisper “thank you” in the middle of the storm.
Find one thing today, one tiny thing, and hold onto it like a lifeline.
“Adult.” I’m starting to believe that this is the word that makes us forget that the above two words are still possible.
I love being called a “dreamer” even though some of the people that call me that don’t necessarily mean it as a compliment, but more as someone with no grasp on reality. That’s so not true. It means that I still believe that all things are possible.
And “magic?” I believe in it. I have seen it on the faces of two people in love, and heard it in the laughter of a child. I have tasted food that reminds me of my childhood and smelled the familiar scent of a loved one that’s passed on. Those things are magical!
And” adult?” This is a term used to depict our age but I believe that we’re as young as we feel. All too often the labels we’re given dictate who we are, what we do or even what we believe in.
I believe that growing old is a gift and believing in dreams and magic is a blessing.
I am a person who is grateful to be growing older as a dreamer who still believes in magic.
My desk is in front of two large windows in my house, giving me a wonderful view of the neighborhood. This morning as I sat here writing with my windows down enjoying the cooler weather, I saw a neighbor from down the street come walking towards another neighbor walking their dog. Their exchange was right in front of my windows.
The neighbor down the street walks up to the woman walking her sweet Bichon and hands her something that she dropped in her yard. The woman, who recently moved in here, thanks her with a smile.
I thought that this was a nice encounter between two neighbors, but it wasn’t. The woman begins to lecture her in a very nasty tone, telling her never to walk through her yard again and that it’s against the rules. The woman apologizes yet the other one keeps going at her.
This is a person that lives a few houses away that has a negative and nasty attitude towards her neighbors, including me, and for no apparent reason.
Why do people have to be mean and unkind?
I feel incredible sadness when people are not kind, whether it’s to me or to someone else. I truly don’t understand why anyone would choose to be cruel to another human being but they do.
I will never understand how someone can find pleasure in intentionally hurting another. I know that there are plenty of reasons WHY they’re like that, but they have a choice NOT to be like that. Life has handed me some painful and hurtful situations but I never let them turn me into a mean person. I don’t care what has happened to me in my life, I would never intentionally hurt someone else. I know how it feels and it’s extremely painful to be abused, be it emotionally, mentally or physically.
Be kind as often as you can.
And to my neighbor down the street: “If you can’t be kind, please be quiet.”
And that goes for anyone else who is unkind to others.
Do you make a list of things you need to do? I do and I don’t have just one! I have the shopping list, the list of bills that need to be paid, a list of doctor appointments that need to be made and so on, and so forth. I must go through all the lists I’ve made at least once a month to check off what I’ve done and what still needs to be done.
But what about this? What about making a list of things you need to do each day just for YOU? Why not make a list of “reminders” of important thoughts and actions you need to live your best life?
Here’s a “life list” I started making for myself for this new year of 2025:
The moment my eyes open in the morning, and before I get out of bed, I stretch and say a prayer of gratitude for another day to do things better than the day before.
Each morning that I have my first cup of coffee (or tea) I sit and meditate for the day. I keep my thoughts positive and remind myself that I am worthy of all good things.
I want to devote time each day to reading a book with a cup of tea and relaxing.
When my thoughts start racing into a negative direction I will stop and take some deep breaths and refocus my attention on something positive. (This is an important one while dealing with PTSD)
And each day I want to embrace the gift of another day to laugh, to dance, to hug another and to count my blessings.
The list can go on and on but you understand what I mean. We tend to get so caught up in life that we forget to enjoy it and it’s time that we change that!
I wrote this poem a few years ago and you can find it published in my book, “Each Breath Along the Journey.” My apologies for not posting it on New Year’s Eve but the message still holds true even after.
My wish is that 2025 holds magic and adventure for all of you, that the lessons your learned from last year hold true in this year and that all your wishes come to fruition.
Happy New Year! Happy 2025!
And thank you for your love, support, and for sharing your life with me. I am forever grateful!
Today is a day of sadness for some and happiness for others, yet we need to remember that no matter what, we’re all in this together. We don’t have to agree on everything but we have to respect our differences. The world would be a boring place if we all believed in the same things but the world isn’t boring. It’s exciting, it’s filled with promise and opportunity and made up of people that have a choice to make a positive impact in this world.
We don’t have to agree on politics but we can agree to do our part in making this world a better place.
I’ve seen so many people telling others that unless you agree with their beliefs and follow along with what they want then you’re not their friend and that you don’t love them. How can anyone say that?
I don’t agree with everything that my friends and family say and do but I would NEVER tell them that they had to agree with me or else I wouldn’t want them in my life. That, to me, is judgment and control. Why would you tell someone what they should feel and what they need to believe in?
The bottom line is this: we all live in this world and it’s up to us to work together to make a difference in it. Politics are politics. They don’t control how we, as human beings, act towards one another. Politics don’t make us unkind or unloving toward one another and politics don’t make us hate one another.
We do that all on our own and WE ALL HAVE THE CHOICE to NOT let politics split us apart.
I understand that today may be a difficult day for some but at least we have the day. We’re here. We’re alive and we can continue to move forward in this world in the best way humanly possible.
Please, be grateful that you woke up today.
Spread love and kindness, not hatred.
And remember this: spreading love and kindness is 100% in your control, NO VOTE NECESSARY!
I am incredibly excited to let you know that I have started my own podcast called “Here’s The Thing” with Anne Dennish.
“Here’s The Thing” is about this crazy little world we live in and how we are all trying to keep it together, get it together and do it together. I’m bound and determined to help people and make this world a better place in spite of the people trying to ruin it. On a side note, my life is an OPEN BOOK and “here’s the thing:” I’m not afraid to read from it!
You can find me on Spotify, Amazon, Apple and iHeart radio! Take a listen and follow along, and don’t be afraid to send me a message or comment on my podcast. I value your opinion!
News sure travels fast when a person wants to spread it.
It’s similar to the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” in which each life touches another in a positive way except this type of gossip is in reverse and with a much different outcome. Each story and negative opinion that they share with other people touches another in a hurtful way once it’s been found out.
I call it “The Domino Effect” of gossip. We’re all dominoes strategically positioned in such a way that the person that pushes the first one does so knowing how to take down the rest.
The difference is that we’re not dominoes, we’re human beings that trusted a person who broke that trust by sharing our intimate conversations and their opinions with other people. Most often, we don’t even know that they’re doing it until we hear about it.
Do we tell the people that are the topic of the gossip, knowing that it will hurt their feelings? I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings but then again, isn’t that how we can protect them from gossip?
What do we dominoes do without lowering ourselves to their level?
All I can say is to distance yourself from them and if you haven’t already stopped all communication, you probably should be extremely careful in what you say to them.
Everyone is a loser here, and the biggest loser is the person spreading it all. After all, nothing good comes from idle gossip.
I say that we “dominoes” should leave it alone because I truly believe that what we put out into this world will inevitably come back to us. It’s only a matter of time before the hand pushing the dominoes is seen for who they are.
Don’t be one of the pieces in “The Domino Effect” of gossip.
Do you know what that picture below represents? It’s the face of a happy person. It’s the face of someone who received or was treated with kindness from another, maybe even a stranger. Can you imagine what the world would look like if we lived in a sea of smiles? I think that it would be absolutely beautiful.
Who wants to join me in making a commitment to spread kindness wherever we go? Who wants to join me in trying to share an act of kindness with someone every day?Who wants to join me in putting in the effort to make this world a better place?
If you’re in, type “yes” below or share a comment.
All of you that follow me are amazing and I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without your love and support and I am so grateful for each and every one of you.
And today I offer my kindness to all of you by telling you just that, because it’s the truth.
Here’s to happy faces and happy people made possible by all of us that want to make this world a better place.
I was upset when I went to bed late last night and tossed and turned for
hours. My heart was hurting terribly and I just couldn’t shut off the thoughts running through my head. I gave in and let the tears flow, asking myself why it all happened? Why do people intentionally hurt one another?
It was then I decided to have a long chat with God and the Universe. I begged for an answer as to why this happened and to understand why it hurt so much. I prayed for a sign.
I decided to turn off my phone in the morning and have my coffee on the lanai and I’m grateful that I did. I looked to my left and saw this beautiful rainbow. There was no rain in sight and rainbows never appeared in that part of the sky. They’re always to the right of me.
And just like that, there was my sign. The rainbow is a sign of promise, hope and love and I really needed the reminder this morning. It was a sign that God and the Universe were very much present in my life and that I wasn’t alone.
Did I get my answer as to why the pain of last night happened? No, but after seeing that rainbow I know that the answer will come in time, just as time will heal my hurting heart.
Anne Dennish - Writer/Author 