catching the gratitude and the everyday

Today, I want to share one way that I'm using the lens of gratitude to catch a few of the everyday stories around here.

Back in April, I watched a live-streamed talk that Brene Brown was giving at Omega. In the talk, she mentioned that one common theme among people living wholeheartedly is a practice of gratitude. This might mean that they literally keep one of those gratitude journals that Oprah helped make popular in the 90s, but it could also mean that they are able to access gratitude as they move through the day-to-day stuff.

[I want to be one of those people. Even though sometimes the word gratitude bugs me. But then I remember how I've learned that gratitude isn't an invitation to say everything in your life is fine but it is an access point to joy.]

I've kept gratitude journals a few times in my life. Inspired by Sarah Ban Breathnach, the first Christmas after college I made gratitude journals for all the women in my life - from my close friends to my grandmother. In the first few pages of the journal I explained how to keep the journal (write down five things you are grateful for each day) and then I wrote a few pages of the reasons why I am grateful for that person. I remember being so happy to give them to my loved ones that I practically vibrated. They were my first truly handmade gifts since ornaments I made when I was 10.

When my grandma died, that journal came back my way. I'd like to say that she had filled the pages with her stories and everyday gratitude, but the other pages were still blank. This did not surprise me. I think this can be a difficult practice to begin and then maintain, even though the evidence is there that it can literally change your life.

Over here, when I am neck-deep in the toddler stuff and the life stuff, it can be a bit challenging to remember that sometimes moments are full of ease...that sometimes the day goes just the way I hoped...that often there is more joy than intensity. 

My mom keeps saying, "When you have a good time at a restaurant with Ellie, write it down. When she says, "Juice," write it down. When she tells you she wants to take a nap, write it down."

And when she's said this, I often think, "I'll get right on that. Right after I tackle all the other stuff that is on my list like planning next year's retreats, writing tomorrow's blog post, and trying to remember to take the clothes out of the washer before 24 hours passes and I have to rewash them."

Here's the reality though: My mom is actually inviting me to do what I already do, notice the simple moments and the beauty found within them, but to come at it with more awareness to how much Ellie is growing each day so that when the day has more frustration than ease, I can still see the bigger picture. (When you have a toddler, your world can get really really small.)

When I was having one of my "okay, maybe I could start writing this down in more of a mindful way" moments, I came across the new "documenting" section at Paper Coterie and found this "Daily" journal. 

At first I thought I might be making just be another excuse to get another journal (ahem), but the simple layout intrigued me as did the ability to personalize it. I added my own photos (there are a few different photo spreads inside like the one at the top of this post) and I was able to remove the quote in the inside cover and add my own words. 

And I've been using it for a few weeks now. I keep it out in the living room so I can grab it at the end of the day when Jon is reading to Ellie, and I just make a simple list of what today looked like. Everything from the bliss of taking a nap when she does to the joy of a meal with all of us together at the table to honest statements like, "Today was kind of crap as the electricians left a huge mess in the backyard, but I am one day closer to having my new studio." 

What I have noticed so far is that when I see the photos on the front and inside of this simple book and I turn to the page to make my list, my mind clears just a bit. I begin to breathe from my heart, and I come back to myself. Plus, the notes are a great place to find stories to add to Project Life.

Edited to add: And this is what I know: If you peek in over here at my site you know that I notice and document the everyday through my photos and words, whether on my blog, at Flickr and Instagram, and through other projects I do. It is kind of my thing (as my new website tagline suggests). But there is something about documenting in a simple list that is helping me, the mama of a two year old, drill down to the even simpler moments to celebrate: when she uses words, when Jon and I connect through just sharing a bowl of popcorn, when Millie rolls her eyes at Ellie...the even simpler moments that push me to know we are doing okay over here. Sometimes you just need a simple list.

Do you keep a gratitude journal or daily list of sorts? How? What do you use? I'd love to know.

***

This weekend, Paper Coterie is having a pretty incredible "Christmas in July" sale on gift cards; the intention being that you buy gift cards now knowing you will be purchasing holiday gifts (like cards or other fun things) in a few months. You can use them for anything on their site. I'm thinking about creating a few new gratitude journals and sending them out into the world to my kindreds this holiday season. 

Note: Because I'm using several of their products almost everyday, I decided to become an affiliate for Paper Coterie, which means the links to their site are affiliate links. 

a poem

I'm sharing a poem over on Chickadee Road today.

You can read it over here...

around here

in the kitchen tonight

Around here, I can almost hear the kitchen calling me...I long to cook more. I am hungry for meals made from fresh food that we eat together at our table. Even though I want to just dive in (like I tried to do in January), I'm starting slowly. Last night was a simple pasta dish. This morning I want to make toast with an egg in the middle because I've been craving it since reading Tara's post. [When trying to find a recipe, since I thought I needed a recipe, I discovered this dish is called "Toad in the Hole" by many. Crazy. Pinned this recipe.] 

Around here, Ellie is obsessed with shoes. My shoes. Her shoes. Daddy's shoes. She tries them on. She puts them on the wrong feet. She giggles. She gets super frustrated. It is equal parts awesome and oh my gosh I hope she figures out how to put all her different types of shoes on soon without so much frustration. 

Around here, I am continuing to update my website. If you read in a reader, I hope you will come over and look around. The colors of this site feel like home. And I have a new banner that I LOVE that was designed by Liz Kalloch. She did such a beautiful job with the design of the pieces of The Gift of This Moment, and I love how she integrated those designs in the banner. The photo in the banner was taken by Vivienne McMaster. More photos and more about our photoshoot soon.

Around here, I'm counting down the days until we start construction on the garage that is going to become my studio/office. Everything is going to change around here when this mama is able to go out of the house to go to work...even if out of the house just means to the backyard. I can't wait.

Around here, I'm adding a few new pieces to my offerings, including mentoring sessions that I'll start scheduling later this summer. Find out more details over here.

Around here, I'm staying open to creating space for more community...in-person community. Ever since it was the topic of last week's Inner Excavate-along discussion, I've found myself seeing different ways to connect more here. I'm kind of giddy about it.

Around here, the rhythm of summer seems to have finally arrived even if it has been cool enough to wear flannel pajama pants to bed.

i didn't take a photo...

I didn’t take a photo of a little girl’s determined face as she insisted on music, no this song, right now.

I didn’t take a photo of joy when the little girl’s arms swayed overhead finding their own rhythm as she moved her hips and stomped her foot, right then left, repeat repeat repeat.

I didn’t take a photo when she giggled and ran into her mother’s arms so they could rock back and forth during her favorite part.

I didn’t take a photo of a little girl beginning to sing as she twirled in circles, her face raised toward the sky.

I didn’t take a photo of a mother’s face filled with so much love that it surrounded them like a forcefield.

I didn’t take a photo… 

I stayed right there soaking up every second. 

*

Sometimes people ask me how I balance capturing “this moment” with experiencing this moment. Often, I just let go of the need to get the photo. I try to open my eyes and heart to take in as much as I can: what I see, hear, feel, hope, know in that moment. When I do this, sometimes I even sense that there is something greater than me shining a light on it all…trust perhaps…love for sure. And then later, if I remember, I try to write down all that I can…letting my words tell the story. 

*

A few songs on our current favorite playlist: 

Don’t Stop Believin’ [Glee version]

Rumour Has It [Adele]

Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard [Paul Simon]

Stronger [Kelly Clarkson]

Love You Like a Love Song [Selena Gomez and the Scene]

The Cave [Mumford and Sons]

Somebody that I Used to Know [Goyte]

Graceland [Paul Simon]

Happy Feet (Musica per i vostri piedi, madame) [Paolo Conte]

Rockin’ Robin [Michael Jackson]

truth (write it)

write your truth . soul mantra locket

I'm sitting in my favorite Starbucks, the one with the big windows looking out on 6th avenue that seem to let in just the right amount of light to push me to write write write. We keep coming back here almost every Sunday because I am convinced this light is magic somehow.

As I eat bits of lemon poundcake and drink coffee because the air is wonderfully crisp today, I'm answering a few interview questions about why I do what I do. And in the midst of that, I'm reminded again that I come here to this silver box and write the truth so that I will know, so that perhaps you will know, that we are not alone.

Where do you write your truth? In a journal? On your blog? Through your photographs? Where does the truth come out in your world? Or does it feel trapped within you? Do you share it? Why? Why not?

Today, take a moment to think about what stories are waiting within you waiting to be told...and know that the next time you decide to put pen to the page that you are not alone. Just keep putting pen to the page and, as my friend Jen says, "Just be true."

Blessings,

Liz

this is what i'm holding close

walking in the woods . photo by jonny

The cuddles and the carrying and the giggles.

Friendships and how they are born and then ebb and flow and how this truly can be beautiful if we choose to see it.

Making more space for clarity and love.

Gentle self-talk about letting go of the comparisons and choosing not to click sometimes.

Piles of blankets on the floor with books and stuffed animals as our companions.

Remembering I am not alone as I continue to create space in my home and let go of what I no longer need...others (perhaps you) are doing this too. Every single day. 

Putting the laptop away and sharing a bowl of popcorn while watching some smart tv.

Several hours alone in my home to work and dance and just be.

Growing our collaboration at Chickadee Road.

The simple act of dropping my shoulders and finding my breath and then letting myself feel rooted to the earth, to home, to what I know. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

poem it out

poem it out

Maybe it is something about summer and the way my senses feel so intensely aware of the season or maybe it is how tender I feel some days as I try to find my way alongside a determined, super smart, but not talking a lot yet toddler or perhaps it is simply because working through Inner Excavation alongside a group of people has brought it up for me almost daily...but for some reason, I am turning to poetry even more than usual as a lifeline these days.

There is something about poets and the way they just get to the point. And then there is the way they hold up a mirror with their rawness and honesty and I am forced to let go of the "shoulds" and the "I thought I was the only one assumptions" because I see myself reflected.

And when I give myself the gift of just one minute alone to breathe deeply and try to get out of my head, I find myself hearing a line of poetry within that quiet. Sometimes I rush to get it down; sometimes I let it pass through me and travel out the open window.

Tonight, I sifted through a few pages of Pablo Neruda and felt a hunger to write more, to listen more to those words when they rise to the surface in the quiet, and honestly, it made me so glad that writing poetry in community won't end when Inner Excavate-along ends because the next session of Poem It Out begins July 30.

Creating Poem It Out broke me open. I let all of my love of poetry fly out of me from the place where I had been keeping it a bit too contained for one reason or another. It flew out of me and onto the page where I rearranged it and created an outline that became a course for others to join me in a poeming adventure. 

And as we worked through the class together, I began to realize that poeming feels like a way of living. It is a way to be present and open to this moment right here. It is way to sift through what has been. It is an access point for joy, beauty, and truth.

Here are a few words from participants of the last session:

So many things are coming to the surface for me as I soak in each lesson. So many doors opening inside me. Stories emerging. I have taken so many notes and have scribbled things down I don't want to forget...This is a whole new approach to writing for me and I am digging deep in my dig site. It is a comfort to know I am not alone...I love your videos and love hearing your voice. I wish I could hear you read a poem every single day. I feel so safe here. My heart is opening; my stories are emerging. I knew this class was going to be good, but I had no idea I would go so deep. 
Jennifer Belthoff, Spring 2012 participant

I took this course to renew my love for poetry. I thought it would ignite a spark that was lying dormant within for quite some time...It did all that and so much more. I look at things more deeply, I listen carefully to words spoken around me, I look at the beauty of my world, I read more intently, collecting thoughts and words along the way. This course came at the perfect time in my life and gave me my voice back, thank you for that. 
Donna Wynn, Spring 2012 participant

And one of my favorite middle of the night emails I've ever received:

It's 1:02 AM and I am snuggled in bed with my husband asleep beside me (hardly ever awake at this hour; at least not by choice) searching for and reading poetry on my iPhone. I just thought you might like to know this as I wonder whether Poem It Out can just go on forever.

Paula Moritz, Spring 2012 participant 

I'm telling you all of this today because this is what I know: You are a poet.

Yes.

You.

(Seriously.)

And if you are looking for a safe, fun, real space to begin to or continue to explore the world of poetry, as a reader and a writer, I would love for you to come along.

Read more about Poem It Out, including the FAQ over here.

shop update

betty in layers

This weekend, I had some time to gather up beads + lockets + a few happy butterflies + a few other good things to create a new collection of Soul Mantra necklaces and bracelets that are now in the shop!

new soul mantras in the shop

Whenever I wire-wrap beads and hammer these whispered soul mantra phrases, my hope is they will be companions for you and remind you that you are not alone as you walk on your path.

May your day be full of peace and light,

Liz