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Category: 7 Days of Gratitude

Against a background of prismatic dandelions, the words say, “When you become grateful for small pleasures, your outlook changes and opportunities seem to open up everywhere in your life.” The background is an image licensed from 123rf. The quote is courtesy of Kerri Richardson’s blog post, “Keep the Gratitude Going.”
The “Gratitude Series”

The “Gratitude Series”

The “Gratitude Series” first saw daylight on this blog 10 years ago. Recently I’ve been diving deeply back into the archives of this blog, and finding all kinds of interesting things – but they’re “antiques” from a contemporary point of view. Ten years ago, in 2015 we did havesmartphones. The iPhone had been introduced eight years earlier. But back then, bloggers knew that most people would be reading our posts on desktop computers with what we now consider slothlike modems….

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“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” — Brian Tracy
Gratitude isn’t only for one day

Gratitude isn’t only for one day

By Jan S. Gephardt Here in the United States, we recently celebrated Thanksgiving. As I noted in my last post, it’s supposed to be a time to reflect upon the blessings in our lives and be grateful. My purpose today is to make the point that gratitude isn’t only for one day a year. It’s better understood as a lifestyle. It’s my lived experience that when one looks at the world with gratefulness, it’s easier to see the blessings that…

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Meet me in Des Moines?

Meet me in Des Moines?

This weekend is DemiCon 29 Weekend. What’s a DemiCon? It’s a literary sf/fantasy convention held each year in Des Moines, IA, most recently at the Holiday Inn Northwest, on Merle Hay Road in Des Moines, IA. My son Ty and I have gone to DemiCon for several years, now. It’s what you might call “intimate,” but they have some interesting events and panels, they’ll have a nice art show (look for a photo of my display), and they really know how to provision a consuite, as well as throw…

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For the Arts

For the Arts

Day Seven: Gratitude for the Arts I suppose it is not terribly surprising that an artist, writer, and career art teacher would be grateful for something that has been such a vibrant force throughout her life, but I realized that I’ve heard very little being said, recently, about the value of the arts in our lives. I think we’re missing something important, by such an omission. There’s a quote from C. S. Lewis that I’ve seen popping up with fair frequency: “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…

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For Companion Animals

For Companion Animals

Day Six: Gratitude for Companion Animals When placed up there next to some of the other massive issues (yesterday I was talking about global food security, for example), the blessing of having a companion animal in one’s home at first doesn’t seem to be in exactly the same league. But human-animal bonds are ancient and strong. I have argued on this blog in the past that the history and development of humans would have been considerably different without domesticated animals–especially dogs (dogs are my ultimate…

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For Food Security

For Food Security

Day Five: For Food Security I feel more conflicted about this one than I have about my previous gratitude topics. Not that food security is not a marvelous blessing–it truly is, in every sense of the word.  But I’m aware that all around me–in my community, across my nation, and around the world, there are many, many people who do not share this blessing. To express public gratitude for it, in the knowledge of such widespread lack, almost feels like gloating….

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For my Callings

For my Callings

Day Four: Grateful for my Callings The idea that one has a “purpose” or a “calling” on one’s life is another one of those universal thoughts that many different spiritual traditions have identified. I’ve connected to mine through my Christian faith, but you don’t have to be a Christian to know you have gifts and talents, or passions in life that call to you. I think it’s part of human psychology, deep-rooted in our social-animal nature, to want our lives to make a difference in the world….

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For Peace

For Peace

Day Three: Grateful for Peace Peace is a slipperier concept than you might at first think. For starters, what kind of peace am I grateful for? Do I mean inner peace? Yes. Do I mean domestic peace? Yes. Do I mean peace in my community? Yes. Do I mean peace in the world? Yes. I am grateful for whatever moments, or fragments, or aspirational visions of peace I can grasp. It seems ironic to me that everyone seems to want peace, or at least they say they do–but still there actually is so little of it to be encountered in…

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For my Family

For my Family

Day Two: Grateful for my Family We humans are shaped and often defined by our families, for both well and ill. We can inherit everything–and anything–from our forebears, including any or all of those listed below: Genetic vulnerabilities or resistances to diseases Family recipes (be they sublime–or dreadful!) Attitudes (political or otherwise) Catchphrases (do you ever hear your parent’s or grandparent’s voice coming out of your own mouth?) Childrearing practices (boy, can that be a two-edged sword! For you, and your kids!) Knicknacks (from worthless dust-collectors to priceless heirlooms) Traditions, (for holidays, special occasions, or anything at…

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For Religious Freedom

For Religious Freedom

Day One: Grateful for Religious Freedom On many calendars, this is the first day of the week, so I figure this is a good place to start my Seven Days of Gratitude project for the week of the US Thanksgiving holiday. Throughout my life, gratitude and thankfulness have repeatedly come up as important themes. I welcome this holiday each year as an opportunity to explore them once again. My daughter recently started a “Gratitude Journal,” a daily recording of at least one thing each day…

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