Tell me, how did you wake up today? With dread or anticipation? Worry or joy?
There are indeed days when I wake up feeling negative. I'm anxious. I'm rushed. I'm not smiling and I'm not in the now of what is right – just troubled by what isn't lining up for me or bothered by the length of my to-do list.
Do you ever feel this way? Usually these mornings follow a rough day and I carry that anxiety with me over into the daylight.
But there are also days when I wake up feeling light and full of joy. Like I'm just six and it's the morning of my birthday. I feel that so much goodness is coming toward me. The day holds magic and promise. I wake smiling and nearly dance out of bed and into the day.
Have you felt this way too? Maybe the day you leave for a trip or the day after you got some outstanding news? That can carry over into the next day as well.
Yet sometimes how I wake seems to have little to do with the day before. It's just the energy that I am beginning this day with. It that inexplicable smile or brimming laughter that I can't explain. It just is. (Or on the flip side it's that sour attitude that colors everything I do.)
The two types of mornings lead to very different days. Which path do I choose? The more grumpy or worried I am the more messes I make of my day.
The difference is in my perspective. And my perspective is my choice.
~Did someone use up all of the hot water or am I blessed with clean water that flows from my tap?
~ Is it a messy craft table or the sign of my children's creativity?
~Is it a sticky kitchen floor and filthy stove top or evidence that there are pickles in my pantry and breakfast in my family's bellies?
~Is it a weed-filled hopeless garden or proof that the rain fell in abundance?
~Is it more laundry than I can comprehend or evidence that we played in the rain until we were soaked through and had other adventures that left our clothes and towels caked with mud and sand?
~Is it me still living in town and not yet in the country or is it my family in a safe, beautiful home where my daughter was born – a home that keeps us warm and dry and a home that we love?
Today I am choosing joy.
I am choosing gratitude, appreciation, and presence in the now. Because now is all that we have.
I am choosing to not look too far down that to do list as to get overwhelmed but instead find gratitude and appreciation at every turn. Because we've had a hard few weeks over here, but the reality is that life is so sweet and so good and our blessings overflow.
If you want something to get you moving in the right direction, this does it for me. I've shared it before but I just can't get enough of it. While the photos are lovely I often just listen while I go about beginning my day.
I want to hear from you. What blessings do you see today, however simple or however small? Please share them in the comments. I so love hearing your thoughts.
Love,
Rachel
Yesterday was a fantastic day for us- at the beach- simple- fresh- and that feeling I am holding in my heart. I’m choosing that instead of focusing on something negative that happened. I am so blessed by the beach joy of yesterday and the promise of rainy indoor fun today.
This is what I watch to uplift me. Although I’ve heard this song for 20 years, it still makes me get misty every time:
Feeling a little not so positive but also grateful for the voices that came last week calling for me to be in the light side, trying to listen to that, and enjoy this and now. The quiet, the mountain view from my balcony, the brownie in the oven.
I have seen more than enough contrast these past few weeks and it feels so good to just drop all those stories and be here, with my kids in the kitchen. Music on the speakers and thunder outside and fixing lunch. Thank you for your sweet words. You are a blessing as well.
Oh thank you thank you thank you! I have been feeling so overwhelmed lately by the mess and chaos that is life…it is so easy to forget how truly lucky I am. Thanks for the reminder.
it has been really hot and humid here for the past several weeks. the air is thick and gross. however, i woke up this morning and the air was so crisp and light and so refreshing! it felt wonderful on my skin during my morning run!
each day i wake up and go for my run around our quaint little town on a nature trail. its a great way to start the day. i usually pray and give thanks for my blessings. one of my most favorite parts about my morning run is the “smell” of morning — its so fresh and green and dewy and just delicious! i flare my nostrils and try to breathe in as deeply as possible to soak in as much of that smell as i can! i also enjoy this time because its my only “alone” time throughout the day … i am a stay-at-home mom/homeschooler to a 5 and 3 y/o.
its the simple blessings in life that i am so grateful for! thank you, rachel, for the reminder to slow down and give thanks!
Our house is in disarray awaiting the movers on Monday, to begin our trans-Atlantic move back to America, a part I’ve never been to-never wanted to go to… I. Am. Freaking. Out.
That being said, we are making this move with friends. There is a house waiting for us on the other side, and surly old and new friends will be there to greet us. I am able to clear out the house and start anew, with a new perspective and a light step that I didn’t go into this house with years ago.
I’m happy with that.
Thanks for asking us to share, I hadn’t thought of much but how difficult this has been lately. 🙂
Bravo, I love this post.
My husband has lived away to work during the week for the last 20 months – my youngest sons whole life – It is his last day today.
Thank you for your lovely post. As my elder sons says, I lost my mind, I must find a new one. The choice is ours.
I’ve been missing you. I want you to write the book if you really want/need to, but your posts are real highlights in my life (and I just don’t have time to read whole books right now)! Sorry to hear about the bumps. Would it help to write more about them? Writing is a good way for me to see the brighter side of things.
i believe we can choose how our days go by choosing our mood. its not always easy but i think that by acknowledging how you feel is a great start. i know when i accept that i feel grumpy and crummy i usually start feeling a lot happier right away because i have given myself a little time and acknowledged and accepted my negative feelings.
You should become a life coach. I come here often for perspective and you always provide in a way that is understandable and approachable! Thank you Rachel!
Today, I feel so happy to see your previous post on making pickles – just as I’ve ordered my first bushel, and it’s dawned on me exactly HOW MANY cucumbers are in a bushel.
The universe sends what we need, even if it’s just advice about pickles.
I love all of your posts, but this one really spoke to me. I’ve thought about it all weekend long and each time I started to get overwhelmed it calmed me down. The dishes that are piled up on the counter, it’s evidence we’ve had homemade meals. The toys all over the floor, active little boys who love to play. Even when life is stressful, there are so many blessings to count.
great post. it reminds me of Louise Hay’s advice that “how you start your day is how you live your life” and her recommendation to develop the practice of directing your attention to gratitude for the first few minutes you wake up before getting up out of bed. powerful practice.
i am grateful to have support and guidance along the path.
thanks!
Thank you Rachel! This and your post on the beans are actually just what I was looking for when I went to your blog this am. I was listening to this and my 7 year old daughter came running up to the house with a big bouquet of flowers saying, quick their wilting! She handed them off and went running away again. What better reminder to be totally present than our children! Thanks for your openness and putting it all out there.
Beauty! Thank you.
What a wonderful quote. Thank you Lauren.
I’m so glad.
Oh, yes! Happy canning.
So kind. Thank you KC.
That is so true, Jo. I agree fully.
Thank you for sharing this. Sometimes when there are few comments I wonder if anyone is out there, reading and absorbing it all. I’m glad you said so.
Hooray!
Big hugs on your journey Kari. Remember to breathe….
SO wonderful. And I didn’t realize you were homeschooling Katie. Fun!
Lovely. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing. I’ll give it a listen.