A Year of Living Gratefully

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." ~ Denis Waitley

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A Year of Living Gratefully turned 1 today!

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December 31, 2013: A New Year

            I am grateful for a new year.

I am excited about the possibilities, energized and ready for hard work, good work, and a better and stronger me!

My resolution is "If I can't be kind, I'll be quiet -- and to ask before speaking: Is it true, is it kind, is it necessary?"

I always loved starting a new school year when I was teaching for the same reasons that I love January 1 every year....it's a fresh new beginning for everyone.  

               I enjoyed this journal, I've learned a lot....and I will continue to live, and learn, and laugh and love...and celebrate my many blessings for which I am so thankful.

I am grateful for a new year - Welcome 2014!!  ~ Carole (Cookie) Everhart ❤

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December 30, 2013: What Tickles My Soul

             I am so grateful for the realization of what tickles my soul, and what I need to be happy. 

Art, music, movies, meditation, learning, reading – not necessarily what pumps up other people’s dopamine levels – but those things are what my “feel-good hormone” needs. 

  As I have written daily in this journal over the past year, I have also explored my individual character traits, strengths and weaknesses…and that consciousness has led me to find new and better ways to apply what I do well, and areas to work on for improvement. 

I identified my passion – education – I understand where it came from, and how blessed I am to be able to follow that passion in a profession that allows this natural love to boost my life’s satisfaction.

I am thankful for this year of practicing what research tells us is a proven mood-elevator – showing gratitude.  I know this will have a long-lasting effect on my happiness, and I know this habit will always be a way of life for me…always, always finding something to be grateful for….every day.   It is such a relief to realize you don’t have to be as successful, creative, or compassionate as siblings or neighbors or colleagues….

You can just be you….understand you…understand your past, come to terms with who you are, accept and love yourself, embrace your originality and uniqueness, and live for the moment.  Be happy for what you have right in that very minute. 

Know yourself well…understand your passion…know what you need to tickle your soul…and attend to that need daily.

I am grateful for this understanding and for knowing exactly what tickles my soul. ~ Carole (Cookie) Everhart ❤

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Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.

Gail Lumet Buckley

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December 29, 2013: Heritage

I am grateful for my heritage.  I have seen in this year of introspection and reflection, that the things that ground me...that make me feel safe and self-confident come from home and family....from all of the stories of the past....woven together to form my values, my outlook...my ability to take risks...my passion...

and because of that strong background...I have added layers of experience and lots of time learning new things...that have broadened that base like the limbs of a tree....

for the strong roots that gave me my start....I am forever thankful...and I count as one of my most precious treasures...my heritage....and I am very grateful.  ~ Carole (Cookie) Everhart ❤

P.S. 7 Things Americans Can Learn From Italians: 1. Eat slowly, locally and with others. 2. Drink a little bit, but not too much. 3. You should indulge a little every now and then... perché no?? 4. Stop hurrying, start relaxing. 5. Having family nearby is the best thing ever. 6. Gather and spend time outdoors. 7. Maintain a "bella figura."

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“When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching -- they are your family. ”  ― Jim Butcher

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“That's what people do who love you. They put their arms around you and love you when you're not so lovable.”  ― Deb Caletti

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December 28, 2013: Family

I am grateful for my family.

...knowing that everything is temporary...hearing about many people my age that have lost siblings and parents and even children....I count every day that I have had ...and do have with family as a treasure....

I love that my daughter is 5 minutes away...that I can pick up the phone and meet her for lunch on a whim...that I can drive down the road to see my son, or spend holidays with sisters and brother and their extended family....that my parents have retired close enough to join our celebrations...and that we are all healthy enough to be able to do that...

and I love that despite our differences  -- we are family...and we have a bond that no amount of time or space can change...we have history....and memories...and each other...

and I am grateful.  ~ Carole (Cookie) Everhart ❤

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"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together."  ~ Erma Bombeck

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