I am grateful to be at the end of the weekend and looking hoping to starting a new week from a better space than I ended the last one. In spite of my difficulties, I did manage to get some work done today. One thing I’ve learned is that when I’m feeling bad I have to keep myself moving, because once I sit down it’s all too easy to park myself for the rest of the day. I have a lot of work to do, organizing and packing and preparing for a move. Even though I don’t know where I’m going, I do know that I’m going, so it pays to get busy. And when one is chasing the blues, getting busy is just the thing.
I may not write much tonight. I am a bit tired from my exertions–moving dozens of boxes around my storage unit today was exhausting–and, my energy level is still a bit low. Still, I am grateful for all the little things that kept me afloat today. The beautiful sunshine that penetrated the gloom of my mood this morning, the audiobook that kept me entertained off and on throughout the day, and my own sheer determination to keep putting one foot in front of another, loading one box after another, put my shoulder to the wheel and work. It wasn’t an easy day in what has been a string of tough days, but as much as it sounds trite to say it, I’m still standing. For that I am grateful, after all, one can’t do a whole lot sitting down.
I am less than three weeks away from reaching 365 days of writing this blog. I think about it from time to time as that time approaches. I’d like to move strongly toward it; it seems like I’ve been dragging of late. But I look forward to celebrating, both when I hit the one year mark as well as when I write the 366th blog entry. They won’t happen on the same date. Regular readers of this blog know that after 227 straight days of writing, I took a brief hiatus from daily blogs. I only missed a few days before I got back to it, only missing one or two more since then. Periodically when I feel like I don’t have anything to say I wonder if I can keep writing. But as I think about it further I realize that I started writing this blog because I needed to remember that in the midst of turmoil and tumult in one’s life there are always things for which I can be grateful for. I needed to express that gratitude in a way that brought others in with me, both to keep me company and, to a certain extent, hold me accountable.
Some days, writing this blog is the one thing that gets me through a day because no matter how trying and challenging it’s been, I can always find a spot of gratitude and grace that keeps me going. Someone asked me if I will stop writing a daily blog after I reach the one year, 365 day mark. I am not sure what I’m going to do. My guess is that I’ll keep writing, as much to strengthen and encourage myself as for any other reason. I’m grateful to have regular readers along for the journey, but I think I will be writing whether I have readers or not. Thank you for reading these words on a regular, semi-occasional, or once-in-a-great-while basis. If these writings cause you to think about all the things in your life for which you are grateful, that is a really, really good thing. What are you grateful for this evening?
