10 Things I am Grateful for Today

It goes without saying that the awareness and expression of gratitude is one of the best ways to connect with positivism and the spirit. In particularly unpleasant situations the expression of gratitude can be a means to pull oneself out of minute obsessions and anxieties. It doesn't mean that feeling sad/depressed/scared/anxious isn't valid; it just means that other things are still happening, too. Gratitude to attitude, that's the translation I'm working on. So here goes todays':

1.) My grandmothers and the fact that we all have birthdays in the same month.
2.) Yoga studios that have so many students that they don't notice if someone sneaks in for free.
3.) People who are curious. Just simply, purely, curious.
4.) Leaves falling.
5.) Little sisters. Talented, loving, strong, little sisters.
6.) Roommates who shop at Costco and can't finish all of their edamame beans.
7.) Planning vacations, no matter how short.
8.) The recognition that I am self-absorbed.
9.) Sunshine.
10.) Entrepreneurial spirit.

There exists a particularly difficult corollary to the expression of gratitude. That is the expression of things that one is proud of or likes about themselves. My bad days almost always relate directly to my self-absorbed obsession over all the ways that I haven't done everything well enough, all the ways I feel inadequate, or the things that I feel hopeless to alter. This list is a lot more difficult to publicize. I want to ask you not to judge me and I'm judging myself for doing so.

Ten things I like about myself:
1.) That I have finally accepted that my hair will always be short.
2.) I do not let life run me over.
3.) I'm creative and a problem-solver.
4.) I'm doing my best.
5.) My best is pretty good.
6.) I make really good food concoctions that I call "casseroles."
7.) I like going places alone and meeting new people.
8.) I love learning new things, especially if they're complicated and scientific and I've really got no hope of retaining any of the information.
9.) Sometimes people think I have an accent.
10.) I like my big Tonelli nose.

Now, it's your turn.

In a final act of positivism-building this is a picture of my best friends at the wedding I recently attended. The blushing bride is the gorgeous angel on the right.