365 Days of Gratitude

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things or more money, in order to do what they want so they will be happier. The way it actually works i the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want. ~Margaret Young

It was the end of 2001. I was a new mom with an almost one year old. I was a new teacher and a newlywed. I lived in a new place with family far away and was desperately trying to rediscover the new me. 

Years prior, I knew who I was: cheerleader, small town girl, high school and college grad, daughter, friend, care-free and trying to find my way to my adulthood. 

Once I became mom, wife, and working woman I felt as though I had no control over anything. I had transformed in many ways and my mind had no time to catch up. I looked in the mirror and did not know myself. Not. At. All. 

I did not feel that anyone understood my struggles. Most of the older women in my life had not had to work full time and raise children. Some waited to work when children were older, others only worked full time briefly, or had a number of extra hands or helpers at their disposal. That was not me. 

So, one day in late 2001, I happened to turn on the TV to Oprah. She was visiting with  an author who discussed the power of gratitude and simple abundance. Thus, my true journey with gratitude began and flourished. 

I went out and bought the book SImple Abundance - A Daybook of Comfort and Joy  ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

Excerpt from Foreword: "I began to barely recognize the woman I once was. Simple Abundance has enabled me to encounter everyday epiphanies, find the sacred in the ordinary. . . fully enter into the sacrament of the present moment. " 

"This book is organized as a walk through the year. The Simple Abundance journey is an exhilarating and earth-rumbling awakening that makes the authentic self visible." 

For the entire year of 2002, I read daily the quotes, ideas, and did the challenges presented. I was disciplined in taking that time for myself. As I did this, I slowly began to watch the extra baby weight pounds melt away, my image of myself took a positive turn, my life became manageable and began to take shape, and for the first time ever I really felt like I was discovering who I really was meant to be. The metamorphosis was amazing and I felt better physically, mentally, and emotionally than I ever had in my life. 

I've decided that I, personally, need to take this 365 day journey once again. I need to challenge myself. I need to remind myself, especially after a new baby, that my children need me to take this journey as much as I need it. 

I've decided to share my journey via FB, twitter (hash tags #gratitude #simpleabundance), and my blog. That in itself is a huge time commitment, but necessarily, if only for me. 

I would love for those of you who joined me for 40 Days of Thankfulness and who are ready to take their gratitude to the next level to join me for this new journey. If you choose to join, please comment, text, message or contact me some way, so that I can make a list of everyone and we can cheer each other on! 

This journey is not for those with a skeptical mind. It is not for those that feel "forced" to participate. If you feel like you are in a similar place as I described above and want a challenge. If you believe it will work, help you, allow you to grow, it will. 

365 Days of  Gratitude and Simplicity for me will begin November 10, 2010.