Gratitude For Every Routine
Posted by Kaileen Elise on September 16th, 2009
Serenity is not freedom from the storm but peace within the storm. -Anon
Life is full of twists and turns. You can be cruising along and before you realize it, there is a fork in the road. As a control freak, these surprise curves and bumps along the way can really throw me off course.
I have discovered that when all else fails, there are two easy ways to get me back on track – settling into my routine and remembering to be grateful.
This summer has brought with it so many reasons for gratitude:
- I discovered twitter, my unquenchable thirst for blogs, social media, and all things pretty – hence, the start of this blog
- Yoga found its way back into my life and I covered some ground on my journey to a smaller and more fit Kaileen Elise
- My mister and I took a few wonderful trips including a drive to Charlotte and IKEA, a quick pilgrimage to NYC to celebrate 1 year of love and a trip out west to Vegas/AZ
- We enjoyed a few memorable visits by out of town guests, including college buddies from Ohio and my best friend from Vegas
Life is good. It can be easy to lose sight of this fact, especially when you are plagued with a terrible head cold and your car refuses to start when you’re trying to get home from work.
When I feel like the world is swirling around me, I try to ground myself in routine and gratitude. That being said, I am committing to these small changes in the next week:
- Unpacking from Vegas and doing laundry
- Cleaning the apartment… really cleaning it
- Going to bed before 11:00 pm and waking up at 6:00 am
- Writing in my journal daily, even if it’s only a sentence
- Attending yoga class at least twice
This list is nothing momentous, but if I can manage to force myself into some of my better habits – the rest will follow.
Do you have any tricks you use when things start to come crashing down? I say stick to your routines and remember to be grateful for all you have and life will balance itself out when it’s good and ready.
photo credit: faramarz
Tags: Everyday Life, Friends, Gratitude, Twitter, Yoga
I love this idea of thankfulness. When I start crashing, I like to sit with the memories of how I got to this place in my life. The night you took me in and let me sleep in your apartment during my really difficult summer – those are reasons why I am here, and I am so grateful.
Love the post!
Sounds to me like a launching-pad for great things to come.
Great post. And so true
When at a crossroad, I make a choice and stick with it. I like to see where it leads me, I am not one who lives in should have, could have, or what ifs. At a crossroad lives the possibility for an adventure. : )
You are off to a great start as a blogger!
Routines are definitely good things to go to when times get rough.
I find organizing, unpacking and doing laundry seems to put things in perspective.
If all else fails, I make lists.
gratitude can help turn everything around. i always tell people when they are feeling down or especially if they are feeling sorry for themselves to grab a pen and paper and write down at least 3 things that they are grateful for. my lists can go on & on
we do have upsets that come to us in life but that is part of life! but we have SO much to be grateful for!! i don’t know where to attribute this quote but i LOVE it. “life is full of setbacks. success is determined by how you handle setbacks.”
When the world comes crashing down around me, I find that I need to retreat and do many of the things you have listed. I need solitude, or the love of only close friends and family. I need lots of sleep and nourishing food, my journal and perhaps some yoga. It’s so nice to shut out the world sometimes.
P.S. I have been S-U-C-K-I-N-G with my abundant am’s. Let me know how your 11 pm/6 am times work out!
carolyn – i will have to be more diligent on the 11/6 plan next week. i’ve been so excited about the blog and other good things to really be faithful to this goal. monday, i promise you, it will all begin!
thanks to all of your for your thoughts on gratitude and routines… lists & laundry do put things into perspective!
tweetnica, you are the reason why you are here. i was happy to be your friend that night.
I love your post….great encouragement just when I was thinking life is hard. It is refreshing to sit back and think just how blessed and lucky I am. <3 you, miss you!
[...] the time I settled back into my routine, September was half over. The second part of the month went by quickly. I launched my blog, [...]