1,000 gifts

The list is started! Thank you so much for the supportive dialogue I've shared with many of you. It is helpful to know that others struggle with this online-comparison game too. And it's also grounding to remember that the grass will always be greener, but that my grass probably looks greener to someone else. The only way out of this vicious green-with-envy cycle is to recognize all of the gifts within my own life. And when I do that, my pasture becomes bright green. Feels like a breath of fresh air.

So I started writing my 1,000 gifts. I tried to overcomplicate the process at first. Wanted to go to Barnes and Nobel to pick out a nice new journal. Decided a better idea was to find an old notebook and modge podge the cover. Got the supplies out and realized that I do this a lot...get a good idea and then find ways to make the idea bigger and bigger until it's daunting.

So what did I end up with? Some good common sense (no modge podge, no new journal, no fancy pen) and an old purple spiral bound notebook.

I tend to get high on things quite easily. I should reword that since I've never done drugs... I am excitable and get excited about things easily...and this list is my new love. I'm super excited about it. So excited that I really think you've got to make your own list. You must. It is such a positive, eyes-wide-open, I'm-not-letting-my-sweet-life-go-unnoticed process. Rory has even joined in. I'll ask him if he has any gifts to add and then I write them right in the mix with an R next to them so one day we'll know who contributed what.

It's basically a journal list, a life-is-beautiful list, a God-you-are-so-good list. Focusing on all of the positive, good, lovely and so-small-you-might-miss-it-if-you're-not-paying-attention gifts we have been given.

Now go get yourself an old notebook.