Today the sun is shining after several stormy, rainy days. The darkness of winter affects my mood and I always feel better and more lighthearted with sunny weather so I am thankful for this. It also reminds me that light comes after darkness. Nature shows us every day and it's also true for the dark times in my life.
Sometimes, when I listen to really good music, it doesn't matter if it is techno, or chill out, or just a regular song, it really touches me and I feel so thankful to God for creating music. This probably sounds like a 7 year-old-speaking but I have this gratitude for giving me something that I can really enjoy.
It's been a while since I've been in a really really good, excited mood. I realize now that it's a blessing in itself -to be really happy.
I do some design from time to time through my little studio citroand while I love it, I realize that there is so much I still need to learn. About a week ago I received a call from some really upset customers who said that their business cards have printed blue instead of black.
Usually I would get upset but I would not have the reaction that I had this time, I was in bed crying for 2 days straight. I accept the fact that it wasn't just the business cards, I think it was just a nice topping to the job-less cake I've been eating for a while.
Anyway, I didn't have the money to re-print them myself and they made it clear that they want new cards. The printer said I didn't do the black color in the correct proportions and didn't want to re-print them at their cost.
Today I finally called the printer and chatted with a lovely man. I explained to him what has happened and he checked the files and said it was a complete fluke and was not really anyone's fault, it just didn't flatten the file correctly and --- said they will re-print the business cards at their cost!!!
I have been blessed with some wonderful friendships! Some I've had since childhood. Some I've only recently met but they quickly became a kindred spirit!
Despite these wonderful people in my life, I sometimes look at other friendship circles and feel... lacking. I'll look at their close-knit little group and think it's better than my group. There are any number of reasons why I might feel this way on any given day.
I think I've always wanted to be a part of the gang from the T.V. show "Friends." I want all of my friends to also be friends with each other. I want all of us to be young and hip, to have everything in common, and to live near each other too!
That's not how it's been for me. My friends are of every age. They live all over the globe (now - they didn't when we met). We're not all "cool" or "hip" or "fashionable." We wouldn't make a very good T.V. show!! Some of my friends I actually have very little in common with. We don't see eye to eye on many things. Many of my friends are actually quite different from me! Most of my friends don't know or don't hang out with the other friends in my life.
As I stated above, this can leave me feeling sad. Like somehow my "posse" isn't as good, not as valuable.
But when I really think about it, it's this diversity that I love and cherish! It's what has helped me grow. It forces me to look outside myself and understand and even appreciate different view points, ways of life, etc. It's helped make me who I am!
Although we may not have lilacs and peonies down South, we do have pink magnolias. The sight of their blossoms delights me every spring as they burst forth from the bare branches before any leaves arrive. Their deep pink petals stand out in great contrast to the seemingly dead branches they spring from. I feel blessed every time I look out my window and see them!
I’m delighted to be a part of this experiment of hope, and am looking forward to the framework it will provide to help make a hopeful attitude a bigger part of my life!
In my mind, I know that God has blessed me greatly and that I have many reasons to be hopeful. It’s very easy, however, for me to forget all of these blessings and become consumed by my fears and doubts. Recently, though, I’ve been astounded at how much difference can be made in my outlook by the simple act of writing down my many blessings. Often it’s the smallest things that, when added together, seem to mean the most: spotting a new bird in the park, a phone call from my sister or friends, the slant of late afternoon sun, the sound of leaves blowing on the sidewalk. We are surrounded by beauty and have so much reason to hope. And so, I am eager to continue the journey towards hope through The Hope Experiment.
I have a very fledgling blog here. I’m in my early thirties, have lived in a (somewhat) southern state for two years, and do a bit of freelance editing. Like the rest of our contributors, I enjoy getting my hands into all sorts of creative things. Lately I’ve been studying Byzantine icon painting, working on simple quilts, and enjoying paper crafts. We hope you will join us as we venture onto this new path!
I'm really looking forward to be a part of the wonderful journey this is going to be!
My basic attitude is to find something positive even in bad experiences. But often it's a struggle to get there. I have to remind myself again and again to re-adjust my focus. To see the blessings in disguise, to trust God that he has only good plans with me, to get the whole picture. It's so easy to obsess about the stuff that goes wrong, about my faults and shortcomings. Sometimes my own strength is not enough to pull my self out of the hole of hopelessness. I, too, want to count my blessings - especially when I just don't feel blessed because I know that I am blessed inspite of what feel. I want to hold on to faith and hope.I want to encourage others and be inspired. I want to be amazed by what is possible, by what God does in our lives. I want to give him credit for the small things and the big stuff.
You can find my blog here. I a 30-something assistant editor living in Germany and I love everything that has to do with being creative. Right now my favorite creative pasttime is photography but I'm also into sketching, cooking, reading, travelling, art exhibitions, ... and trying new things.
When people talk of hope, often times it is in the context of a tragedy or sadness or unexplainable things. From time to time we all need a little bit of hope to get through just an ordinary bad day. On my ordinary bad days I often have to remind myself to look out and up, I tend to concentrate on the in and down.
I don't want to keep taking all the beauty around me for granted. I want to celebrate it, I want to thank God for all the blessings that He gives me every day, I want to focus on the good because that creates faith. So I am counting my blessings and hoping for wonders.
My blog is here. I love to take pictures and do a little bit of design from time to time. And I love people, and also I like to drink a good cup of coffee in the morning, while reading blogs and emails. It's those little things that make life big. I like to notice them.
