Tag Archives: gratitude

fabulous friday #23

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Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you are enjoying the sunshine and have fun plans for the weekend! Before I get into the rest of this post, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has served and is currently serving our country. Yes, Memorial Day weekend is typically associated with BBQ get-togethers and amazing shopping sales, but let’s make sure we remember the real purpose of this holiday weekend: honoring the bravery and sacrifices that our fellow Americans have made to keep us safe.

To veterans, current military servicemen and women, and your families: my deepest thanks for your service!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. Your kind comments and enthusiasm for my birthday kindness chain! Today I’ve been busy working at my computer, so I’ve done a handful of kind acts from my desk: sent an email of praise to a coworker, wrote some thank-you notes, posted three positive reviews on Amazon, and reached out to an old friend I haven’t been in touch with in a long time. More proof that you don’t even need to leave the house to make the world a better place!

2. Starbucks work sessions. I have a big cup of green tea w/honey, I’m surrounded by the hustle and bustle of people, there’s light jazz in the background … perfect ingredients to power through my to-do list!

starbucks

3. This inspiration from Nicole @A Life Less Bullsh*t to quit being afraid and just get started already:

a year from now

4. I won the Swanson Vitamins giveaway that Danica hosted on her blog!! I can’t ever remember winning even a raffle, so this was a huge surprise and I am so excited and grateful. Happy early birthday to me! I’m going to buy myself some nut butters and baking supplies. Thank you, Danica!

I won a giveaway

5. Phone dates, Skype dates, Google Hang-out dates, and in-person dates with people I love who make me feel loved. I talked with Holly, Allyn and my parents on the phone yesterday, I’m Skyping this afternoon with my friend Chidelia, Greg has called me via Google Hang-outs twice from Thailand {so thankful he is safe and having fun!}, I saw my aunt Annie and cousin Arianna for dinner last night, and I’m seeing Dana for dinner tonight. Nothing warms my heart more than time with so many amazing, loving and generous people I’m blessed to have in my life. ❤

P.S. Look at how cute my Grandpap was in his choir concert last weekend! I couldn’t resist sharing this photo I snapped of him!

grandpap choir concert.jpg

Questions of the day:

  • What are you loving this Friday?
  • What are your plans for the weekend?

mid-week meditation #2

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It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for my new blog series: mid-week meditations! Each week, I’ll try to post a quote or question to think about as you go about your busy day. I hope it brings you solace and gratitude as it does for me!

This week I’d like to share one of my favorite poems — I have the closing lines taped up on my bathroom mirror, where I see them multiple times a day. This poem always makes me feel energized and inspired.

the summer day.jpg

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean–
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down–
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Question of the morning:

  • What do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

a year of Wooden: week 9

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Hi everyone! It’s March, which means it’s time for a new month of my “year of Wooden” challenge! This month we are focusing on Coach Wooden’s creed to help others.

a year of wooden

  • January: Drink deeply from good books.
  • February: Make friendship a fine art.
  • March: Help others.

Last week, the challenge was to send a thank-you note to a friend. And my fortune cookie agreed:

fortune cookie

I sent notes to some friends who especially meant a lot to me this past year, when I was going through a tough time and they went above-and-beyond to be there for me. Writing down in words how grateful I am made me even MORE grateful. Isn’t it amazing how gratitude expands the more you practice it?

Another thing I’m grateful for: my sweet cousin Julie! I had the nicest note waiting from her when I got home from Seattle. Totally out of the blue, totally made my week. I love you, JuJu!

On the dance floor at Amanda's wedding this past summer...

On the dance floor at Amanda’s wedding this past summer…

This week, to kick off our month of helping others, the challenge is to help a perfect stranger who has no way of repaying you. This might mean corralling a stranger’s shopping cart in the parking lot, leaving an especially generous tip, paying for someone else’s public transportation or paying the toll for the car behind you on your daily commute.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite-ever quotes by Coach Wooden:

recite-9136--1816980306-1wiza5s

Questions of the day:

  • What ideas do you have for helping a stranger?
  • When was the last time a stranger did something kind for you?

a year of Wooden: week 8

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Happy Wednesday! I’m off to Seattle for the AWP conference — so excited to be surrounded by tons of writers and reunite with some dear friends. But before I leave, it’s time for final February “year of Wooden” challenge!

a year of wooden

This year I am doing “a year of Wooden” following the teachings of Coach John Wooden, and in particular his 7-Point Creed.

  • January: Drink deeply from good books.
  • February: Make friendship a fine art.

Last week, the challenge was to reach out and do a favor for a friend. I brought a chai latte to my friend Michelle who is recuperating from surgery. We usually have a Starbucks date every Wednesday, but she was in too much pain to leave her apartment, so I thought I would bring the Starbucks to her! She was so surprised and happy, and we had a wonderful long visit. I’m so grateful to have met her!

starbucks

This week, the challenge is to send a thank-you note to a friend. Tell them what specific things you are grateful for about them and their friendship. What details do you love most about them? What special traits do they bring into your life?

I’ll leave you with wise words from Coach Wooden on making friendship a fine art:

wooden friendship quote

Questions of the day:

  • Have you done a favor for a friend lately? What was your experience?
  • What are you most grateful for in your friendships?

gratitude jar

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Hi, friends! A quick post today about a new habit I’ve started this year that I’m really loving so far. I’ve kept a gratitude journal in the past, which is a terrific way to cultivate awareness of the many blessings in your everyday life. As I learned last year doing my kindness challenge, gratitude is such a major component of happiness. I sincerely believe that a grateful heart is a happy heart.

This year, instead of keeping a gratitude journal, I am using a gratitude jar! Every time something large or small happens in my life that I am grateful for, I write it on a slip of paper. Then I fold up the slip of paper and drop it into a glass mason jar.

This is a wonderful visual reminder of all the blessings in my life, and I know it will be such a fun and moving exercise at the end of year to dump out the contents of my jar and relive all the happy memories.

Here is a neat website where you can virtually share what you are grateful for, and read the gratitudes of others: http://www.thegratitudejar.com/

gratitude quote

Questions for the morning:

  • Do you keep a gratitude journal or gratitude jar?
  • What is something you are grateful for today?

year of kindness challenge: wrap-up + reflections

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year of kindness button

Last week’s kindness challenge — the final challenge in this Year of Kindness — was to forgive someone. I am a fierce believer in forgiveness. When you forgive someone, you set yourself free from the cage of anger and pain and bitterness. As I mentioned before, this past year was a tough one for me at times. There was so much love and growth and laughter, but there was a lot of pain, too. The hardest part was knowing that I caused others pain, in particular two people I cared for deeply. I can’t know, and can’t control, whether they ever forgive me. But this past week, crossing the bridge from 2013 into the sparkling new year 2014, I knew I had to forgive myself.

Sometimes, real life is messy and difficult. Sometimes, being true to yourself and listening to your gut creates collateral damage. Sometimes, you are confronted with a decision and there is no pain-free choice to make. But I know in my heart that I made the right one. Sometimes, pain is necessary to avoid a much greater avalanche of pain in the future.

So this week, I finally wrote a letter of forgiveness. To myself. And I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It was a fitting end to this year of kind acts: being kind to myself.

I learned and grew so much from this year of kindness challenge.

kindness collage

Here are my top 5 take-aways:

1. Aesop is right: “No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” This year has solidified my belief that even small acts of compassion and joy — smiles, cards, a few minutes out of your day to help someone — can make a big difference. You never know how very much your kindness might mean to someone!

2. Want to be happy? Be kind. I learned that if I’m in a sad or grumpy mood for whatever reason, the quickest way to turn my day around is to do an act of kindness for someone else.

3. Little by little, big things can happen. This time last year, the idea of doing 52 unique random acts of kindness seemed like a huge, overwhelming task. But by focusing on one act per week and integrating it into my routine, doing acts of kindness became a habit — something I soon looked forward to every week! I was also so inspired by the support and encouraging words I received from readers and fellow bloggers. Special thanks to Lauren, Lindsay, Danica, and Gayle for contributing kindness act ideas for the project!

4. Being brave and putting yourself out there is SO worth it. There were times I was nervous to do acts of kindness. Striking up conversations with strangers, buying coffee for people in line behind me, reaching outside my comfort zone … it can be scary to put yourself out there! But every single time, I was left with a huge smile on my face and gratitude in my heart.

5. Have faith. It’s a magical world we live in. Time and again, I have been blown away this past year by the wonderful connections and coincidences that have happened — and by the acts of kindness that others have done for me! Keeping track of acts of kindness has also made me more aware that we are all connected.

bday girl

As always, in love & kindness,
❤ Dallas

P.S.: Head on over to this Year of Kindness Challenge page to see all the archived posts from the entire year!

Questions of the day:

  • What is something you need to forgive yourself for?
  • What are your final thoughts & reflections on this year of kindness?

year of kindness challenge: week 52

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And just like that, we’re into our very final week of this year of kindness challenge. What a magical journey it has been, friends! Thank you to everyone who has participated along with me, suggested ideas for acts of kindness, and sent me encouraging emails and comments on my posts.

year of kindness button

One year ago, I started this year of kindness challenge as a way of trying to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Now, looking back, I believe it made the biggest positive difference in my own life. 2013 has been a rollercoaster of a year for me, with some of the biggest challenges I’ve ever gone through, and these acts of kindness were my lifeline. The people I’ve met along the way are now invaluable friends. I’ll be sharing the top five lessons I learned in next week’s wrap-up post, but for now, I just want to say this: THANK YOU! 

kind note

This past week’s kindness challenge {inspired by Martha Richards, the Executive Director of the WomenArts Foundation} was to reach out to an artist whose work touches you and tell him or her what you love about their work. I sent cards to two of my favorite local artists and teachers, Patti Post and Rima Muna. {Click on their names to visit their websites and check out their stunning artwork!}

artist notes

with rima

My brother and I with Rima at one of her art shows, a couple years ago.

The Week 52 Kindness Challenge, as we head into this sparkling new year, is to forgive someone. You can write a letter of forgiveness; you don’t even need to send it. You can have your own ceremony of letting go: burn a slip of paper in the fire to symbolize your release of anger and hurt. The person you forgive might even be yourself.  

As always, blog about your experiences and include your links in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an email at dallaswoodburn AT gmail DOT com.

Oh, and before I wrap this up I also wanted to share this fabulous article that I came across thanks to Danica at It’s Progression: http://www.wellnesstoday.com/beauty-inspiration/8-messages-to-teach-young-women-and-girls-about-happiness

Savor these final hours of 2013, and let’s ring in 2014 with kindness!
-Dallas

P.S.: Head on over to this Year of Kindness Challenge page to see all the archived posts from the previous 51 weeks!

Questions of the day:

  • What are you doing to celebrate New Year’s?
  • What acts of kindness happened in your life this past week?

year of kindness challenge: week 45

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Before sharing this week’s kindness challenge, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of the veterans who have served our country, risking their lives to keep up safe.

thank you veterans

Including the World War II navy veteran in my life, Gramps!

love my gramps

I’ll get to see Gramps on Thursday when I head home for the long weekend … I haven’t seen him since August and it will be so nice to visit and give him a great big hug! I might even whip up a batch of his favorite lemon bars.

Moving on to the kindness, I came across a couple kindness-related links this past week that I wanted to share with you:

year of kindness button

This past week’s kindness challenge came from my blogging friend Gayle Greeley, who has an amazing blog “Be the Difference” where she is chronicling her volunteer efforts for 40 different charities in order to celebrate her 40th birthday. Her idea was to create a card and send it to our troops. My dad sent me a link via Facebook for a movement called “Holiday Mail for Heroes” so I sent in a holiday card, thanking a soldier for their service for our country and wishing them a joyful holiday season. It’s not too late to send a card if you would like to join in!

holiday mail for heroes

holiday card

card to mail

The Week 45 Kindness Challenge, in honor of Veteran’s Day, is to visit a Veteran’s Home and spend time with the veterans there. Alternatively, if you know a veteran, do something kind to show them how much they are appreciated.

As always, blog about your experiences and include your links in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an email at dallaswoodburn AT gmail DOT com.

Have a marvelous week!
– Dallas

P.S.: Head on over to this Year of Kindness Challenge page to see all the archived posts from the previous 44 weeks!

Questions of the day:

  • What kindnesses happened in your life this past week?
  • Are you doing anything special on this Veteran’s Day?

year of kindness challenge: week 44

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It’s a new week, friends! Hope yours is off to a lovely start. The weather has been SO amazingly beautiful here lately and I am soaking it in. It is really starting to feel like the holiday season is upon us … is it too early to start listening to my Christmas music station on Pandora??

year of kindness button

Last week’s kindness challenge was to take a batch of Halloween treats to a place that could use some Halloween treats, not tricks! I whipped up some double-chocolate brownies and brought them to the nurse’s station at a local senior care facility … everyone seemed surprised and grateful for the homemade treats.

halloween treats

The Week 44 Kindness Challenge comes from my blogging friend Gayle Greeley, who has an amazing blog “Be the Difference” where she is chronicling her volunteer efforts for 40 different charities in order to celebrate her 40th birthday. So inspiring! She writes: “I think a great act of kindness would be to create a card and send it to our troops. There is an organization called Operation Gratitude. Here is a link I found with more information. I think this would be especially important as we move towards Veterans’ Day.” I agree, Gayle! This will be a great kindness challenge for this week.

As always, blog about your experiences and include your links in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an email at dallaswoodburn AT gmail DOT com.

Have a marvelous week!
– Dallas

P.S.: Head on over to this Year of Kindness Challenge page to see all the archived posts from the previous 43 weeks!

Questions of the day:

  • What kindnesses happened in your life this past week?
  • When do you begin to break out the holiday music?

fabulous fridayyyy

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Happy TGIF, friends! I’ve noticed a lot of my favorite bloggers doing “things I love Friday” type posts, and they always get my weekend off on a good note. So I thought I would join in on the fun!

Here are five things I am loving today:

1. The wildlife in my grandparents’ neighborhood! It is not uncommon to see families of deer nibbling at grass as I drive past on my way to morning yoga. Every time I see them, I squeal with excitement. Earlier this week I finally pulled over and snapped a picture, not even caring that I looked like a tourist in my own neighborhood. Look at these cuties!

deer

2. Speaking of cuties … my grandparents are so adorable! I am so grateful I get to have this year living with them. They make me smile every single day! Here’s a photo I stealthily took of them the other day when my Grandpap was trying {unsuccessfully} to teach my Grandma how to work the Google Maps app on her phone:

gparents

3. These s’mores pancakes from Peanut Butter Fingers. I WANT.

4. The other day when I was driving I heard the song “I Hope You Dance” by LeAnn Womack that I remember loving in high school but had not heard in ages … what a great song! The lyrics all came back to me and I was belting it out. Now that I’m older, the wisdom in the lyrics rings even more true.

5. I get to hang out with these two lovely ladies all weekend…

celine and jess

… and tonight we get to see Jess in The Producers! I can’t wait! I know she’s going to break a leg!

Questions of the morning:

  • What fun things do you have planned for this weekend?
  • What old songs always make you smile when you hear them on the radio?