Grateful Sunday – May 3, 2020

And here we are in May. My has it just snuck on up on us. Before you know it, it’ll be Christmas!

I’m grateful for another week of digging in deeply into my own self care. I’m grateful I’ve been able to sit still in meditation for 30 minutes five days in a row. Now that’s a miracle in and of itself. I’m grateful for doing five days worth of yoga and breath work, something that when I started I was counting the minutes until it was over, and yet, when I finished, I felt like I was walking on water. Adding yoga and meditation to my daily practice has allowed me to feel so grounded lately. Another miracle with all the chaos and uncertainty going on around us.

I’m grateful for my online network of support groups. I’ve got my SAA meetings on Zoom, my writing group (which has now gone to a more intimate paid format with more lessons and tighter connections to come), my online church group (one member calling in at 2am his time from Africa), and I’ve signed up for Tommy Rosen’s 8-Week Awakening coaching series that I’m looking forward to start next week.

I’m grateful for continuing on the #75Hard Challenge, today being day 13 with 62 days to go. I’m grateful that it has gotten me outside (I was just staying in doors not even taking a walk) and I can feel myself getting back into shape. I’m grateful our county opened up the city and regional parks for hiking, biking, and jogging. It’s been awesome riding my bike and jogging around one of the parks.

I’m grateful for the beauty I see in nature on those outings. The new born geese huddled close to their mama’s, the fathers standing protective around the family as people go by. The multitude of bees and hummingbirds in my back yard. The green spring leaves on the trees and bushes splashed with color from the blooming flowers. The rolling creek burbling under two chattering squirrels chasing each other in the tree tops above. The one turkey that tried to hide behind a small bush on the trail I was on not moving believing he couldn’t be seen.

I’m grateful for my close friends who continue to stay in contact with me through Zoom, Marco Polo (which is a really cool app I just learned about), text, Facebook Messenger, and via phone. I’m grateful for sitting on the porch next door with my new neighbors, practicing social distancing while eating dinner and drinking Lagunitas Hoppy Sparkling Water (a great supplement since I’m refraining from beer for 75 days). I’m grateful my roommate and I took her 18 month old son on a walk. And I’m grateful for the bike ride to my ex’s house followed by a wonderful conversation and coffee.

I’m grateful for time to myself, for finishing a book and starting a new one, and my time spent in prayer. I’m grateful that my attorney has almost completed my estate planning, one more item to check off a To Do List that’s been years in the making.

I’m grateful for time with my daughters, watching movies with them one night this past week. Although one movie was scratched and we weren’t able to finish it, I’m grateful that it gives us something to look forward to when they come back over. Speaking of looking forward, I’m grateful that my oldest daughter’s paint by numbers is on the way (we ordered it over a month ago) and can’t wait for the three of us to sit and be crafty together.

I have no idea where life is taking me. I’m grateful for new opportunities such as Hosting an online church group starting the middle of this month and starting back up the training I had signed up for to revamp my blog so I can reach more Fledglings. There are so many new people and connections in my life, as well as the tight friendships I’ve built over the years, that I look forward to where they will lead me in the future. I feel as if I’ve stepped outside my paralysis of daily life, fear of the future, and am starting to just live.

Optimism can be extremely hard during this pandemic. And my heart goes out to each and every one of you who are struggling or who fear the uncertainty of the future.

Keep searching for the gift that is being given to you.

Keep writing down what you are grateful for.

And take a dip, just try, a bit of prayer, meditation, and yoga. I can attest, this has been the most calming part of my daily routines and something I am the most grateful of.

Love you all!

Rising from the Ashes

~ Phoenix