I am down to my final handful of hours on my very last project. Tomorrow I hand everything in and start my winter break. While I will be working 5-6 nights a week at the restaurant (tuition has to come from somewhere)- I won’t have ANY homework. I have a bunch of clothing from thrift that needs some altering. I am so excited to get crafty and possibly read Grace Coddington’s memoir (the woman is a genius).
Tonight I am thankful for getting 1of 2 final drafting projects done ( when I manage to complete the second- I will officially be on winter break). And I am thankful for the glass of wine and 1 am bath that followed a looong day stooped over the drafting table.
That’s it. Left another decade in my dust this morning. The joys of a December birthday when you’re a student means that there’s homework and studying for finals to be done before (and probably after) the birthday dinner. Been really reflective lately. Really reflective, and the common thread tying all my thoughts together is the act or practice of gratitude. I could go on and on and on about it, but it boils down to this: I am beyond blessed and I am shamefully ungrateful.
In a world where so many things go invisibly right- taps bring clean water, shops serve clean food and electricity switches bring electricity- it is ironically much easier to focus on the things that go wrong.- “Enough” by John Naish
In a culture that leaves me constantly striving to DO MORE, BE MORE, GET MORE- I forget to stop and say thanks for all the great things in my life (family, health, friends, food, shelter). Gratitude in todays culture has to be fought for- cultivated through choice and practice. If there’s a goal to be strived for in my 30’s- it’s to become an unbelievably grateful soul.
This video is worth a watch. It speaks volumes about not giving up, but I also think it speaks volumes about using what we DO have and squeezing every last drop out of it. I believe beautiful things can come from not only be grateful in thought, but also in action (making the most of what we’ve been given).
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. – Melody Beattie
The Den 