lara simmons

"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?

"Praise God." --Crazy Mr. Parker A few years ago my sister told me about a sermon she had heard about Crazy Mr. Parker. Crazy Mr. Parker went around praising God all the time, no matter what. If you told him someone was sick he would say, "Praise God!" If you told him someone had just died he would say, "Praise God!" Good news, bad news, it didn't matter, Mr. Parker's response was always the same, "Praise God!" We decided that this would be a great spiritual practice, to walk around in the world praising God no matter what . If you stub your toe, praise God. If you lose your wallet, praise God. If you miss the bus, praise God. This seems more than a little bit crazy of the face of it, but the truth is we really have no idea what is a blessing and what is a curse in the moment that it happens. As in the Buddhist tale, " Maybe ," we often do not know until much later that what looked like bad luck was actually a blessing...

"Have gratitude for the light - in your body and in your life - in spite of the areas that feel blocked. Look and feel underneath for what is true – the light – and feel gratitude for that." -- Grace Waters My gratefuls for today are: 1) Holding hands with my younger son for a few brief minutes while shopping. 2) Date nite massages at Two Smiling Feet . 3) The feeling of sadness that sometimes comes from telling the truth. [This photograph is of the Sun, shining through my fingers, reminding me to have gratitude for the light.]

"Gratitude keeps your heart open." -- Mbali Creazzo Today I am grateful for: 1) My sister, for reminding me what is mine. 2) A snuggle and a movie with my boys. 3) Honeybee Gardens Tropical Lip Balm . The best EVER!

  "A word I've come across a lot during the years is 'abundance'. Self-help books encourage us to welcome abundance into our lives. If we think abundant thoughts then abundance will automatically grace us. The dictionary tells me that abundance is, 'an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply.' In these difficult financial times, is it realistic to expect abundance? Do we really need an 'oversufficient quantity'? I'm coming to feel pretty fond of the word 'enough'. Enough is saving the washing up water and putting it on the roses. It's appreciating every melting moment of a square of bitter chocolate. It's chanting for an extra half hour, even though you're dying for a cup of tea. It's having a terrible morning and then noticing those red berries on a walk to the post-box. Those red berries! Enough feels more realistic than endless abundance. Enough is satisfying. Enough is not-always-what-I...

  "It's the little things." --CJD My college roommate always used to say this when she was pleased with something that had happened. We had a lot of little things to be grateful for back then: a hot cup of tea and chocolate chip scones after a long night of studying, an IU basketball victory over the dreaded Illini (DENY!), or a rock-star parking spot near our favorite bar on a Saturday night. The wisdom still applies and is, it seems to me, what 30 Days of Gratitude is all about. Appreciating the little things each day that make life worth living.  My "little things" for today are: 1) Fran's gray salt dark chocolate caramels . 2) Catching up on two of my favorite food blogs: Gluten-free Girl and the Chef & Orangette . 3) Being done with jury duty. At least for this go-round. [The photograph is of our gorgeous Sun shining through the fall foliage on the IU Bloomington campus. Just one of the "little things" to be thank...

"Just for today, do not worry. Just for today, do not anger.....[Just for today] show gratitude in everything" -- Mikao Usui I am grateful for: 1) My swim buddy who gets me to the pool even on days when I really, really don't want to go (like today....). 2) A very fruitful shopping spree at Value Village. 3) Cold water. There is nothing like drinking a glass of very cold water when you are very thirsty. It occurs to me today that many people around the world have no idea what this is like and it is something not to be taken for granted, but to be savored and enjoyed. 

"What if focusing on the good in our lives could lead to an increase in good?"   --Karen Lindvig, Senior Minister at Seattle Unity As 28 Days of Love began to wind down, I once again found myself asking the question, "What's next?" The word that kept rattling around in my brain was Gratitude . It made sense to me that Gratitude would come after Love, but I wasn't sure until I went to church last Sunday. Reverend Karen spoke about mirrors - how the world mirrors back to us our own internal state - and about how to shift things if what is being mirrored for you is not what you would like to see. She asked this question: "What if focusing on the good in our lives could lead to an increase in good?" And I knew that was my green light from The Universe for 30 Days of Gratitude. The practice is relatively easy, notice three things each day that you are grateful for.  That's it. Just notice three things. You can write them in a journal...