There is always something to be thankful for

One of my facebook friends posted this today.  She is actually a celebrity in  her own right and it is admirable that she tries to use her celebrity by spreading some positive vibes through social media to her thousands of followers.

Indeed.  We often let ourselves be overwhelmed by our burdens instead of counting the many things we’ve been blessed with.  I know that it’s hard to always focus on the positive and not let our troubles weigh us down.  It is, after all, easier to laugh than to deal with the many questions that life throws our way.  Yet we let ourselves be overwhelmed and be taken over by the puzzles we cannot put togehter.

Guilty.

Every day, I try to find something to laugh about.  I try to find something to smile about.  When I wake up in the morning, all I have to do is reach out for my little guy.  He has grown so much that I am afraid that he will soon be too big to pull close to me.  I would have to pull closer to him.  When I get home he positions my slippers just so I would have to literally slip my feet into them as I go up our humble home.

When I walk outside, I try to find something simple and part of the every day to pay some mind to — things most people just ignore.  I take note.  I snap a picture when I can. (Yes, even when I know i’m running late and trying to catch the next bus!)  I have found that it helps to walk out into the world with a positive outlook instead of dragging a fear of anything and everything that can go wrong with you into a new day.

It helps to acknowledge the many little things we should be thankful for.  It reminds us that there are positives no matter what obstacles might be in our way.  There is always something “good” in all the “bad”. There is always something to be thankful for.

Friday Five – Shifting gears

When I started writing this post, I didn’t feel good at all that I thought I didn’t have much progress to report this week.  But then I am here proofing the post and I realize I didn’t do so bad after all.  Last week, I aimed to:

1.  Write more letters.  Yes and no.  One of the letters I had hoped to mail got stuck with me, so I did write an addition.  Does that count?

2.  List new items. Not quite there but I am working on it.  Photographing and editing the pictures for posting can take a while.  I’ve photographed them and am halfway through editing.  Maybe this weekend?

3.  Create more polymer clay beads and additional pieces for posting.  I have another batch that has been baked and another set ready for baking.  I’m experimenting with the transluscent variety and am really liking the end product.

4.  Sort and store away the postcards that are “out” in the open.  They are still out in the open.  (Obviously didn’t get to this one.)

5.  Work on a THANK YOU POSTCARD PROJECT blog post and continue on with the project.   I feel like this should actually be struck out in bold because I did manage to make substantial progress as far as creating the postcards, but writing has been difficult to make time for.  Did you see my badge on the widget bar to the right?  So proud of that!  Again, more this weekend.  (I am hopeful.)

Should I be worried that I keep repeating the list and not being able to tick off what’s enumerated there?  I might have to rethink what I list down.  Where it was supposed to make accomplishing my tasks during the weekend easier to accomplish, I haven’t been making much progress.

So let’s try another tack this week.  I’m making the list very specific.  Measurable, as they say.  Here’s my new Friday Five:

1.  Write on the postcards I meant to send out to friends in Manila.  I have the postcards on my desk, just have to find my stamps and the addresses.

2.  Work on the hem of at least one pair of pants.  What can I say — I’m cheap.  I don’t see the rationale behind paying someone close to $10 per pair of pants when the nuns taught me how to sew well.  (Plus, I just bought some pins to help me keep it together — “aspile” as we used to call it back home.)

3.  Create my first THANK YOU POSTCARD PROJECT teaser video.   I have over a hundred slides to play with but I am being too meticulous with the timing and in picking the slides to actually use.  (Too much going on with this project!)

4.  Create a pair or two of earrings from my polymer clay discs.  I actually can’t wait to do this for myself!

5.  Go back to reading and praying with my daily Kerygma literature.  At the end of the day, this one is ready to be ticked off the list.

Not bad, after all.