lara simmons

  6/22/23 I am grateful…for an uneventful trip to Paris on the Eurostar…that we eventually got the door, wifi, stove, fans and washing machine in our Paris Airbnb to work…for a delicious (healthy) dinner of Greek couscous salad, shredded carrots and cubes beets. 

  The real-life pub that is called The Crown and Anchor in Ted Lasso 6/18/23 I am grateful…for a lovely afternoon with Cathy in Richmond (aka Ted Lasso country)…for a delicious Indian curry for dinner…for some downtime with the Great British Bake-off.  For Ted Lasso fans, a few additional shots from Richmond :)  The alley where Ted and Beard live.  The famous square with the red phone boxes.  The alley where Ted and Beard often meet on the way to work after grabbing a coffee.  The inside of the pub. 

  6/16/23 I am grateful…for an easy journey to London on the Eurostar…for reconnecting with my husband and having a great chat…for a lovely meal at Nando’s. 

  6/15/23 I am grateful…to have stumbled upon a free art exhibit in The Orangerie of the Parc du Luxembourg…for the consciousness to remember that one negative interaction with one rude Frenchman does not define a people or an experience…for the book “The Paris Library,” which has filled my empty hours over the past couple of days. 

  6/14/23 I am grateful…for two fabulous naps, one in the morning and one after lunch…for time spent on the streets of Paris and reading in the park…that my husband made it safely to London, where I will meet him shortly. 

  6/13/23 I am grateful….for finding a new English-language bookstore in Paris (and a great new book!), The Red Wheelbarrow…for a long walk in Luxembourg Gardens…for a delicious croissant - my first since arriving!  🇫🇷

  6/12/23 Today I am grateful to have my body back from sickness… for a walk outside in the fresh air at Montparnasse Cemetery…for a healthy meal of sweet potatoes and rice. 

  6/11/23 Today I am grateful for Gin Gins ginger chews, Nuun electrolyte tablets, and the ginger turmeric tea which have helped get me through this day with a stomach bug. I am grateful for hours and hours of sleep. I am grateful for a good book to keep me company as I rest  (“The Kunstler’s in Paradise” by Cathleen Schine) and Glen Harrold’s meditations to soothe me to sleep and help heal my body. 

  6/10/23 Today I am grateful that my spiritual tools continued to work through train closures and reroutings, hard to work appliances, and stubbed feet. I am grateful  that within mere hours of arrival in Paris I was mistaken for a native Parisian! I am grateful to be in Paris again! 

  6/9/23 Today I am grateful for the mental and spiritual tools I have cultivated over the past 21 years which helped me to deal with a 2+ hour plane delay while sitting (and walking and doing yoga) on the tarmac. I am grateful  that I packed enough food to make the above more comfortable. I am grateful  for good sleep on the plane so far. I am also grateful for an early morning run and this view from “the spot” near my home. 

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse."    --Henry Van Dyke Every Thanksgiving Day for the past nineteen years my dad has asked us the question: What are you grateful for? But instead of making it general, he makes it specific: What inanimate object are you grateful for? What childhood friend? What live performance?  During the next thirty days I would like to share this tradition with you. Each day on my Twitter page I will post a question asking you to name one very specific thing you are grateful for. Share your gratefuls with me - and the world - on Twitter using the hashtag #whatRUthankful4? Here's to following that impulse and focusing on the good ! (With thanks to my dad for instilling in us the habit of thanks-giving.) 

"What if focusing on the good in our lives could lead to an increase in good?" - -Karen Lindvig I came across this quote recently and thought... Yeah, what if? And then I thought... maybe it's time for another 30-day challenge .... a Thanks-giving challenge! So, if you are wondering this too, or if you are just game to give it a try, join me on Twitter , starting November 1st for 30 Days of Thanks-giving. Gobble, Gobble. #30DAYSOFTHANKSGIVING #whatRUthankful4?

"Pain is an invitation to dive deeper into the human experience, deeper into who you are. Give thanks for any experience of pain - past or present - that has taken you deeper into yourself." --From The Akashic Records Feeling much gratitude for these things today: 1) spring purging. I have been cleaning out my closet, my drawers, my phone, etc. and it feels so good! 2) A very L-O-N-G bath. 3) Watching Akeelah and the Bee with our latest couchsurfing guest. A lovely way to end her stay with us.

"Listen with your heart today and be grateful for the messages you receive from Spirit. They are for you and you alone." --From The Akashic Records Grateful for these things today: 1) the experience of going on a field trip with 300 sixth graders. it was exhausting, but also interesting and informative. 2) a nap (after the above :) 3) staying up way too late with my younger son working on, and then playing, his own board game.

"The Universe is grateful for you today. Pause and feel the gratitude pouring down on you from above like rain falling from the sky." --From The Akashic Records Today I am grateful for: 1) receiving a pass for a free yoga class on our community's buy nothing group 2) gifting a rarely-used Razor scooter on the same site later the same day :) 3) family dinner

"Allow gratitude to fill and expand your heart. Focus on something you feel grateful for and feel your heart expand as your gratitude expands. " --From The Akashic Records Expanding my heart today: 1) a heart-felt gift from a traveler who is staying with us 2) staying with my younger son through a tough time 3) eating my favorite salad for dinner

 "Gratitude comes from the heart, not the head. When looking for things to be grateful for look with your heart. What gratitude is being held in your heart today?" --From The Akashic Records I feel gratitude in my heart today for: 1) Finding a bottle of a discontinued after shave as a gift for a friend's husband. Thanks Universe and ebay ! 2) A productive day of writing and a walk in the sunshine without a coat. 3) Double gong meditation after kundalini yoga at Guru Gayatri Yoga & Meditation Center .

"Be grateful for every little thing today. Starting with the small things, you automatically appreciate the bigger gifts you have been given." --From The Akashic Records   I ran out of gratitude quotes this weekend. The one I used yesterday was the last one I had in my database. I panicked a little and then I remembered that I had asked The Universe to provide and I decided to trust that The Universe would.  During an Akashic Records reading for a friend last week I got an idea - why not ask the Records for some quotes about gratitude? What I received in my reading with the Masters, Teachers and Loved Ones is what I will be posting this week. I hope you will enjoy it and find it inspirational. Today I am grateful for: 1) The guidance and inspiration from my Masters, Teachers and Loved Ones through the Akashic Records. They always come through for me and I am so grateful. 2) Hearing " The Gambler " at church on Sunday. One thing I love about the...

  "This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond." -- RUMI Grateful for these things today: 1) A sub at yoga who taught an amazing class. 2) A six-kid play date so fun that not one of them asked for screen time, not even once. 3) Octopus bolongase at the new restaurant in the site of our wedding reception. The mingling of old and new happy memories.

 "I think you should be in gratitude." --The Universe via PCQ (Lawn Dude) Sometimes the Universe sends us messages via unexpected angels.  A couple of summers ago I was having one of "those" days - the kids were restless, the day seemed unusually long, the summer hot and endless - when our lawn guy showed up to mow.  He has been mowing our lawn for years now so if I am home I often go out and say "Hello," offer him something to drink or shoot the breeze for awhile.  On this particular day I started complaining about the day and my life. When I was done he took a look around - at the freshly mowed yard, large for a city neighborhood, at my kids playing on the stairs nearby, and dropped this load of wisdom on me right out the blue.  Immediately I realized he was right and it changed my whole day. Suddenly I saw my life through his eyes and it didn't look so bad. In fact, it was a life to be in gratitude for. And so I was.  M...