Gratitude journal – SeasonedSistah

My Gratitude Journal – March 2017

As I write this post, I feel relaxed and at peace.

A 45-minute early morning walk, joined only by a self-shadow, opened up space to reflect on what has been GIFTED in this season of my life.

This is the first in a series of planned monthly posts for 2017, where I express GRATITUDE for the GOOD in my life, which I failed to acknowledge and appreciate for far too many years.

Gratitude Journal – March 2017

Thus far this month, I have been abundantly gifted with the GOOD and I am, especially GRATEFUL for:

FaceTime with my 8-year-old granddaughter. This is our special time to talk, laugh, listen share and bond. Despite being physically separated by more than 2,000 miles for the past seven years, FaceTime keeps us connected face-to-face for the entire year.

Dining Room Table which was an unused piece of furniture in our home for more than seven years. When the youngest daughter relocated to Florida last summer she: (1) purchased the house next door; (2) moved from an on-site business office to an off-site home office; and (3) decided our dining room was the perfect workplace because there were too many distractions in her home. So glad she made this decision for my days are happier and brighter when I walk by the Dining Room Table and know THIS IS WHERE SHE SITS.

Healing Garden and it has been my nurturing place for more than five years. It is now the learning, sharing, healing, working and bonding place that I, happily, share with the eldest granddaughter.

Week One: Mindful Monday – Healthy Living

Thanks to Colleen over at Silver Threading for hosting Mindful Monday – Healthy Living . Joining her and other bloggers on this life changing journey is the incentive I need to start the new year.

I am in desperate need of a comeback following a healthy living setback from Thanksgiving through the Christmas holidays.

My Healthy Lifestyle Plan

Preparing for a healthier new year, I explored a number of options. Finally, I chose to re-start a program I had tried back in 2010. Even though I completed the eight-week Creation Health seminar, “God’s Eight Principles for Living Life to the Fullest,” I never fully lived up to the eight principles:

C = Choice
R = Rest
E = Environment
A = Activity
T = Trust
I = Interpersonal
O = Outlook
N = Nutrition

Setting weekly INTENTIONS for each CREATION principles is the path I choose to follow on this journey to live a healthy lifestyle.

WEEK ONE – INTENTIONS

CHOICE – take time to stop and breathe deeply throughout the day to improve decision-making skills.
REST – between 7-8 hours nightly and pace my daily activities.
ENVIRONMENT – visit a local park or botanical garden.
ACTIVITY exercise the mind, body and spirit by taking time for mindfulness/meditation practices, workout at my fitness center, yoga, photography, adult coloring and painting projects.
TRUST – through stillness and silence there will be a resolution to conflicts that may enter my space..
INTERPERSONAL – reconnect with a friend and/or extended family member.
OUTLOOK – daily record five things that I am grateful for in my online Gratitude Journal App.

NUTRITION – follow a healthy diet and prepare a meal using a recipe from one of the healthy eating cookbooks gathering dust in a closet under the stairs.

Journeying Toward a Healthy New Year

I look forward to this healthy living journey and the opportunity to share both my challenges and successes in a weekly post.

Happy One-Year Blogging Anniversary to ME

This past year, beginning with writing the first post for this blog, I started down the path of a life-changing journey. In search of peace, love, and happiness” I stepped out of my comfort zone to look for ME.

As I walked this path, I paused along the way to

Publish a Weekly Blog Post
Socialize on Facebook
Practice Yoga
Attend Aqua Zumba Classes
Transition from Windows PC to Apple Mac Software
Meditate Daily
Express Gratitude
Pray and Praise God
Make Positive Affirmations
Perform Random Acts of Kindness

In 2014, I want to continue to release the “unnecessary burdens” of

Negativity
Fear
Self-Judgment
Anger
Low Self-Esteem
Gossip

These things block ME from being the person God created.

In this second year of blogging, I will write about MY continued journey to create a peaceful, loving, and happy life through:

Self-Awareness – “As you become more clear about who you really are you’ll be better able to decide what is best for you – the first time around.” (Oprah Winfrey)
Self-Care – “Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners.” (William Shakespeare)
Self-Acceptance – “You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. The only person who can pull me down I, myself, and I’m not going to let myself pull me down anymore.” (C. JoyBell)

I am a work-in-progress. I grow stronger and wiser each day. I no longer regret what happened in the past or fear what may happen in the future; Moment-by-Moment, I choose to live in the Present. For, this is the only timeframe within MY control.

Why I Blog

Seeking to expand my “Little World,” I entered the “Blogosphere World” in mid-January 2013. Retired in 2010, my husband and I relocated to a new state thousands of miles away from children, family and friends.

Some three years later, blogging “Launched ME” into Cyberspace.” My ever expanding “Online World” has “Opened the Door” to new people, places and things all around the world. Blogging allows “ME to be ME.” Blogging is the “Voice” that had remained silent for many, many years due to my own self-inflicted anxiety and low self-esteem.

Though, I am a novice blogger, my confidence level is growing daily. Why – the people, who have supported, aided and guided me since I embarked on this new journey.

First, thank you to those who “visited, liked and/or commented” on my posts. I am grateful and appreciate your taking the time to enter my “Online World.”
Second, to those bloggers “I follow,” thankful and appreciative for your enlightening and informative posts.
Finally, a “special thank you” to Misifusa’s Blog, http://misifusa.wordpress.com. I look forward to reading your posts. I connect with you on a personal level — a “Sister Breast Cancer Survivor” as well as your February 19, 2013 “What’s in a Name” post.

So to my new Blogosphere friends the following are a few —-

Random Facts About Me

I am one of the 198,682 people in the U.S. with the first name Yvonne

My daily routine upon rising, is writing my “Morning Gratitude Note.” Beginning with “Bless be the Day for ME and Mine,” and generally followed with a word or sentence expressing why I am grateful. This note is placed into my “Gratitude Jar.”

Nightly, just before retiring, I write in my online “Gratitude Journal” five things that happened during the day for which I am grateful. I finish with, “Blessed be the Night for ME and Mine.” If expressing gratitude to a specific person, place, or thing, I attach related digital photos.

Unrealistic FEAR prevents “ME” from performing monthly self-breast exams. For the past five years, I have lied to my oncologist when asked the dreaded question about self-breast exams. Hope, sharing this fact in “Blogosphere” will rid “ME” of this phobia.

I meditate for thirty minutes every day for relaxation and inner peace.

On my special “Sabbath Day,” which can be any day during the week, I choose to do only what honors, pleases and uplifts “ME.”

I blog because it makes “ME” happy.

I took my first Yoga class this past week.

When someone or something enters my space and creates toxicity, my inner voice says either: (1) “This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalms 118.22 (NIV), or (2) “I will not allow anyone to steal my joy.” Then, I will immediately seek a way to disengage.

Loving This Season of My Life!!!!