Filling our Gratitude Cup

Gratitude flows with just a little extra ease this week. 

Connect with that energy and add your own.

Through deep breaths, self-care, and slowing down, let us show gratitude for life this week.

And if this week meets you with a heart that is grieving or hurting, may this week bring gratitude as part of your healing journey.

Now, some words from wonderful people who shared on gratitude in the last week…use these as a spark for your own.

 

My gratitude cup is filled with… 

Love and support for those around me, the opportunities I've been blessed with and the strength to grow through challenges. 

Our new baby grand-daughter and her laughter

The small moments in life. Watching my dogs enjoy their walks.  Every day is a new adventure -stopping to smell this and that, each step is different than the day before, every sound is a riddle and of course, what does this taste like. Advice from my pup: “Listen, quite your mind, let everything go and enjoy this moment through my eyes!”

Appreciation for my family, students, friends, and community.

Acknowledgment 

Love from family and friends 

Enoughness

 

I try to fill my gratitude cup each day by… 

Expressing my appreciation towards others and thanking the universe for all impactful moments, no matter how small. 

Meeting life’s stress and difficulties with the courage to say, “But look at ___________ “ (and I name something that makes me smile), a little bit of peace descends upon me.

Praying, taking time each morning & night to be thankful for all that is good in my life!

Remembering that gratitude is an important part of my healing. As I feel grateful for all my body can still do, I focus my attention on my health and, more importantly, on my wholeness, the spiritual truth of me. 

An attitude of gratitude will keep your life in balance. If you can't think of something to be grateful for, be grateful for something you don't have that you don't want.

Observing the beauty of the trees, mountains, and sky. Even on a rainy day, there is much natural beauty all around.

Breath and silent moments

Expressing my appreciation to everyone I encounter

 

Listening more than I speak

Sabbatical

A beautiful Thursday to each of you. 

Make time to connect with yourself and with others today.

I am a few weeks into a sabbatical journey. Six months to find the meaning of life. And the clock is ticking.

In university terms, a sabbatical is a chance to push back from the regular work and focus on scholarship. Not exactly the vacation that people think when they hear the word, but definitely a chance to lighten the load for a bit.

In my case, I am going to work on writing more around the importance of finding a strengths-based approach in our clinical work. Turning “What’s wrong with you?” into “What’s right with you?” Finding ways to pay as much attention to people’s strengths as we do their deficits, problems and health conditions.

When my patients asked what I was going to do on my sabbatical, I also added that I was hoping to slow down. In fact, more than anything I may produce while on sabbatical, I asked them to ask me how I did at slowing down when I see them next.

I live a life of perpetual motion, and while I think that has some positives to it, I also value the idea of slowing down. I think a slow-down would be healthy for me, and for most of us. How to put that into practice? I will get back to you on that. The clock is ticking.

Leading up to November 1^st, the beginning of the sabbatical, I walked into beautiful moments and conversations. Patients who shared wisdom. Friends who texted wise thoughts. I thought I would share three of those here today, expecting that they will be meaningful for you as well.

A text I received on 11/1:

Thrive with moments of nothingness. They are often filled with somethingness. 

                        – Jill Sanders

A conversation in which I shared my fear that things might implode when I am gone:

Trust that it will all work out.

                        – Peter Holter

And in a conversation around why it is so hard to put self-care as a priority:

It is a marathon. You have to stop at a feeding station every now and then. 

                        -Ted Rocafort

(Extra credit for using a running analogy with me - he knew this is a language I understand)

May each of these pieces of wisdom enhance your journey today. 

And thank you for being a part of my journey.

Snow has won!

This just in: APS has called the race.

Waiting for a few more precincts to report, Albuquerque Public Schools had delayed their decision until about 7am, but now they feel confident in announcing that Snow has secured the 270 electoral college votes needed to win.

There will be no school today.

“I was really feeling confident that we would be able to get kids into school. We made a last push with campaign stops that included me using my most gruff voice with our City of Albuquerque Snowplow Department to plead them to work faster,” remarked one school board member as he wept.

In the end, Snow just had more than what APS could handle. Attack ads and their campaign “Don’t let Snow ruin your child’s education” just didn’t seem to resonate enough with voters or Mother Earth this time around.

Snow, for her part, is excited to take over, even if only for a day.

In a press conference just moments ago, flanked by her allies – Wind, Rain, Hail, and Really Bad Wind – she spoke to an empty auditorium in downtown Albuquerque:

“I am so honored to stand before none of you today. You have been given a chance to breathe deep and sigh, as I have made the roads un-passable. Enjoy time being not here, not in school, and at home with one another.

It was a tough campaign. We had a few last-minute hiccups on the campaign trail that made me wonder if this day was going to be possible. The temps threatened to be above freezing and just yesterday my campaign staff huddled, wondering if we should concede the race to Rain and put our support behind her.

But you, the American People (and the Atmosphere and all the little kids who prayed for a snow day), have spoken and have spoken loudly. You wanted Snow and we delivered – in fact, that was our one and only campaign promise and I am not really sure where we go from here. Like, now that we defeated Albuquerque Public Schools, do we just melt away as past Snow victories have done, usually in a matter of hours?

And before I go, I do want to address our friends at the Snowplow Department. Just let us be for a moment, would ya? Let Snow have its moment!"

Lots more to come, and we will make sure to keep you all updated.

Signing out from a snowy wonderland,

Anthony.