THE EVERYDAY TO-DO LIST

Fort Macon, Bogue Shores, NC

• Feel gratitude for your blessings.  Today when I woke up my worsening back felt stable.  I feel immense gratitude for every day that I can focus on all the wonders ahead and not my boring back. 
• Do something that makes you happy.  I met with knitting friends this morning.  Being with friends always makes us happy.  What would you like your happy thing to be tomorrow? 
• Live one day at a time.  Of course.  "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."  Matthew 6:34. But more.  When we live in the present our days are longer.  I want that. I don't want to miss a minute of my day, do you?  I tend to ruminate sometimes.  Things that I have already survived or am surviving daily come back to steal my energy.  Noticing blessings helps with this.  Praying helps.  
• Try to be content.  Content, at peace, those calm emotions.  Awe is wonderful.  Exuberance is a delight.  But mostly content; I'll take that.  
• Stay close to God.  And the peace of God which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in the love of God.
• Do all things with love.  How else would we ever want to do something?  Carelessly? Angrily? No, with love. 
• Take good care of yourself and those whose care is entrusted to you.  This includes spouses and partners, not just children. Someone who loves us deserves our attention and to feel safe in our care.
• Think of positive words to describe yourself.  Right off the bat I thought of friendly, intelligent, thoughtful, empathetic, attentive, loving, eager and creative.  What about you?  I bet a list comes quickly.  Believe it.  Accept the good about yourself.  Nothing can be achieved by someone who is down on themselves. 

THE NEXT 10 TINY PLEASURES OF THE NEW YEAR

Enjoy the outdoors

Continuing our could-do list of hopes (Post, Jan 4, 2023), both big and small and somewhat random, for this year:

29.  When you or I are feeling broken remember that we have been repaired.  If you (and I) have endured something devastating, think about why we survived.  Seldom do we survive on our own.  For me, God is always there.  

30.  Start or keep a mindfulness practice.  Be present in awareness without judgement.  Mindful.org is free.  Great free anti-ruminating tools are abundant. 

31.  Remember that it's hard to be happy when someone is mad at you.  That someone may be us.  When we are reminded of something hard that takes us out of the present, don't berate ourselves for remembering.  Some things we don't "get over."  We just get better at bearing--lots better.  

32.  As well, remember that we are not our thoughts and they do not define us.  

33.  Find silent places to come home to. Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) says that she would like to be in a place so silent and work so slowly that she would be able to hear herself living.  Me too from time to time.  I have a book, Quiet London by Siobhan Wall that can be a guide to the gentle and serene in other cities as well. One trip we found all the quiet places that she listed, a visit not on any tourist agenda. 

34.  Sit by a fire as often as possible, by the firepit or around the hearth indoors.  Winter is lasting long this year in most of the country.  Wood fires are the best of the season.  Enjoy the hypnotic dance of the flames. There's a reason the four elements are earth, air, fire and water. 

35.  Spend more time in parks, gardens and nature reserves.  Hang out by waterfalls, ponds and rivers.  Make these spots for mindful noticing:  willows, waterfowl, frogs and fish, children playing . . . .  

36.  Make the outdoors a second home.  Create outdoor rooms.  Add chairs and tables: on the lawn, under a tree, by a pool, on a patio.  Eat al fresco.  Set up a hoop, kick a ball, play tag, sit in the treehouse and read. 

37.  Garden:  herbs, veggies, flowers.  Forsythia in spring, Impatiens in early summer and Zinnias in high summer, pansies in the fall and Hellebores in winter.  

38.  Rely on your body.  My body almost always knows what's best even when my mind is not helpful.  Where does love reside?  In the body.  Where tenderness? The body too.  Where do we feel our emotions?  In our bodies.  Same with intuitions.  If all is not well, your body will know before you do.  If you're having an argument, your body will tell you to stop and make up.