Gratitude notes for January 2018
- I’m grateful for a full day spending time with people who I appreciate and love spending time with. It really flew by in the best possible way.
- I’m thankful for a great Zumba class this morning (per usual). Every day that I get to jump around with the great people in that class is a real treat for me.
- I’m grateful for having the time and freedom to spend my time on a day like today. It’s freeing not to even have any heavy thoughts that hold me back and remove me from the moment, which is even such a small thing next to not having my health or freedom.
- I’m grateful that I got to have a great time with my friends on my recent trip. I’m so lucky that I get to be with people whose company I enjoy and vice versa. What more can I really ask for?
- I’m thankful for getting to meet so many people during my trip, too, including people I scheduled time with and people I didn’t. In every case, I found myself really enjoying who I was with, and I’m fortunate to have met all of them.
- I’m grateful that I have a skill set I enjoy that also affords me a life without having to worry about survival on a day-to-day basis or almost at all. It’s a real privilege, and I’m grateful that I’m able to engage in my life without fear for my safety.
- I’m grateful for the time spent with my mother’s dog this afternoon. I’d known her since she was a puppy and haven’t spent much time with her in the years between, and it was nice to just relax and spend an hour or so with her.
- I’m thankful for the time I spent at mom’s tonight for dinner. I’m lucky to have people who are happy to have me around and want to spend time with me. I won’t always be with them, and I’m thankful I have them now.
- I’m grateful for getting rid of some of my “stuff” today. My lease on my apartment will be up soon and I’m using it as an opportunity to put another dent in the amount of physical things I depend on.
- I’m super grateful that I finished my little side project in time to get a decent night’s rest. The learning process demands a premium that I often forget about.
- I’m thankful for a good warm rainy run today. It made me feel like a voyager in a strange land, like they appear in the movies. It’s fun to suspend disbelief and let my imagination take over every so often.
- I’m grateful for friends who make an event of gatherings. I consider myself to take time together seriously, but I’m still so happily surprised by friends who just take it to the next level. I’m looking at you, Scott!
- I’m grateful to recognized that everyone’s doing their best. Knowing that has the effect of making any animosity I feel towards anyone (including myself) melt away. It’s very liberating, and I’m glad I heard someone somewhere say that at some point along the way.
- I’m thankful that I get to live as I please in an apartment of my own. Having control over my own space really works for me, and not everyone even has the opportunity (or desire, honestly) to have that. I’m lucky for having that.
- I’m grateful for the patience to continue learning in my life, even though I’ve accrued enough skills that I could capitalize on confortably at the moment. I can’t imagine ceasing to invest in myself with my time, and I’m lucky that my habits and impulses are such that allow me to be productive when learning new things like golang and drawing.
- I got sent a link to Dollar Street today and spent 20 minutes just browsing other people’s living conditions. It obviously made me thankful for my own quality of life, but I also felt how similar everybody is. I’m very grateful that I was able to expand my perspective that way, even if just by a little bit.
- I’m thankful for a great Zumba class this morning. It really does feel good to be part of the group. It reminds me of what it feels like to be “at home” within a community, much like how it felt in my hometown growing up or my campus at university.
- I’m grateful for the patience to learn new technologies on my own time and to not force myself to publish a drawing when it truly stinks. I’m also grateful that my environment doesn’t keep me from pursuing these activities; I’d have no chance of doing these things if I was engrossed in a society that didn’t respect or value these things.
- I’m grateful for spending the morning with my mother. I’m really lucky that I get to spend time with her. She really does love me very much and I know we won’t always have the time to be together.
- I’m thankful that I have as much opportunity as I do to chase whatever it is that makes me tick. It’s a priviledge that my time can be spent doing things I enjoy instead of things I have to do.
- I’m thankful for the phrase “everyone is doing their best”. It’s a phrase that softens my heart when it gets hurt or defensive. It makes me realize that nobody’s ever trying to hurt me, bur rather they’re just navigating the hand they’re dealt the best way they can.
- I’m grateful for a great night at the ballroom studio. It’s great watching everybody grow into fun dancers (and some even rocket past me in skill-levels). I’m very lucky that I get to spend my time doing that.
- I’m thankful for the people in my life who do care about me. I tend to keep just a few people close to me, and I’m very lucky that I have any who look forward to spending time with me.
- I’m grateful for such a fun group of people who get together every few days to do dance class together. It just brightens my day (not that it was even bad before, it’s just better).
- I’m thankful for stepping out of my routine and practicing drawing. I’m learning so much just by doing, and it’s surprisingly rewarding for now low-pressure it is.
- I’m thankful for a comfortable home to come back to each day. Many people don’t have that and that’s the worst.
- I watched a gentleman working at the grocery store knock over a bunch of macaronni boxes by accident and then blame it on “a hurricane”. That made me laugh. It also felt good helping him pick up the boxes.
- I’m grateful for a wonderful dinner with a friend tonight. We meant to dance but got carried away with telling stories. Those are the best kinds of accidents.
- I’m thankful for the combination of new music and the elements on my run today. Together, they carry me into an imagination space that just feels so good.
- I’m grateful that I get to see friends around town. I bumped into Georgie on my jog, and it really makes me feel like part of the town.
- I’m thankful for a good meeting today. During it, I learned about Radical Candor, which seems to be a really clear way to understand how to be effective in a leadership position.
- I’m thankful for my new drawing hobby. It’s simple, can be done anywhere, and can be endlessly rewarding in small doses. I’m lucky that I landed on it.
- I’m very grateful for my health. My body is in a condition where I can use it to dance and run and have fun. I will lose that privilege one day, possibly sooner than later. I’m glad I have it today.
- I’m grateful for the happy people I see out and about who say hi just because. It only takes one genuine one to brighten my day.
- I’m thankful for my favorite brand of peanut butter. The runner up just isn’t the same.
- I was talking with a gentleman named Steve at my local Whole Foods tonight. I’d mentioned how Sam’s Club was laying off thousands of workers. Steve hadn’t heard about it, but he said something along the lines of “but then they could work here—it’d be better.” It made me thankful just hearing him say that so matter-of-factly.
- I’m thankful for my Zumba crowd. They really make dancing for an hour a special treat.
- I’m thankful for keeping this gratitude journal each day. It can be too easy to lose myself in the flow of everyday life without taking a second to stop and think about the things that make my day possible.
- I’m grateful for noise-cancelling headphones. Combined with clearing out all the clutter from my workspace, they help complete a clear-headed state of mind. It helps me focus on one task at a time.
- I’m thankful for great people I meet by accident. There’s something magical about not choosing who I come in contact with, and instead figure out what to do with time and people I’ve been given.
- I’m grateful for lunch with my buddy today. It’s great that we make time for each other while we still live close enough to make lunch casual.
- I walked outside to go to my building’s gym this morning, noticed that it felt warm, and decided to go for a run instead. I’m amazed that 40 degrees fahrenheit can feel warm.
- I’m grateful for getting comfortable with the idea of getting rid of more of my stuff. I don’t have much to begin with, but I’m finding my empty desk to be liberating in a way I hadn’t foreseen.
- I’m thankful for sneakers without holes in them. Old shoes give me blisters, and I don’t have to deal with that now.
- I’m grateful for being able to watch the snow far from my bedroom window. It’s a magnificent view, and I’ve missed the seasons these past five years.
- I’m thankful that I’ve leared to cook awesome food for myself. It’s such a great thing to be able to waltz down to the supermarket and get fresh ingredients. I tend to take that for granted because I’ve never needed to get food any other way before.
- I’m grateful that I got to have a “lazy day” with Mom today. We won’t always have this time together, so I’m going to make the best of it.
- I’m thankful for a phenomenal Zumba class this morning. I’m still learning so much about how dance and attitude play together, and it makes the activity extremely fun and rewarding.
- I’m grateful that food and shelter aren’t an issue for me today. I’m not sure if they ever truly have been in my life, but it makes the rest of my problems seem like rubbish by comparison.
- I’m grateful for the chance to run in the snow today! The snow was about six inches deep and pretty light and fluffy, and the wind was really strong. The tide was the highest I’d ever seen it, to the point where I couldn’t cross over to the secret island. I like to pretend I’m in a movie or video game, and the run becomes a mental journey just like any story like that.
- I’m thankful for the chance to learn a bit about Shopify development today. It took a little time to learn somebody else’s system, but once I did, I felt pretty confident about my changes. Feels good to get something done in one sitting.
- I’m grateful that I’m being inspired to make a new game. I’m working on the mechanics now, and it’s a lot of fun to figure out what the rules should be.
- I’m grateful for music and the ability to enjoy it. I don’t know how humans are the ones who can “bob their heads” to the beat or whatever, but it’s truly a gift of our existance.
- I’m thankful for a good meeting this morning where I learned about a much simpler way to improve somebody’s website. I’d planned on doing something more complicated, but thanks to the person we met with, it turns out my involvment should be much less. I’m glad I learned enough to understand that today.
- I’m grateful for people I can collaborate with and the patience to explore other ideas while still communicating my own. It feels like a tricky balance to hit, but it’s very rewarding once you do. I’m grateful that I get to experience that with others.
- I’m grateful for finding so many great memories on an old hard drive today. There were a lot of great things in my past that haven’t stayed in the forefront of my mind which I’m glad to revisit.
- I’m thankful for my freedom. I’m so happy that I’m safe at home instead of in danger. It may not seem like it, but safety is brittle and I’m happy for it today.