Heaven

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home
and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”
– Lin Yutang

I love to travel. In fact, when I grow up, I intend to travel often. This world has so much to see and so much to do. I want to take it all in; to squeeze the earth into my head, wrap my cranium around it and never let it go.

Chicago was awe-inspiring. It was amazing to see the bright lights of the big city. To watch a crowd cheer on their home team. To sit on the steps of a museum and listen to a concert. To eat and eat and eat. And to walk and walk and walk and walk.

And yet it was also marvelous to come home. The first thing I did (even before greeting the kids) was to inspect the fruit trees and garden. The plums and peaches were ready for picking. My tomatoes had finally turned red. The chickens were laying on a regular basis. Then kids came streaming out the door, neighborhood friends in tow, and the crisp autumn air filled with laughter.

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The next day I found myself in the kitchen. School was out. Pizza dough was rising. The boys were fishing. The girls were playing quietly. Pandora was serenading me from the computer. My hands were buried in a bowl of oats, butter, cinnamon and brown sugar when this song came on:

Indeed I was in heaven.

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Someday soon I hope to venture out again. But for now I'm quite content to rest my weary head in this house where pet fur abounds, the laundry multiplies like rabbits and the dishes follow suit. Today there is no place I'd rather be.

Learning Gratefulness

Housing prices continue to fall. Household expenses are increasing while annual income is decreasing. This economic recession continues it’s negative spiral with no end in sight. And there is no better time to be grateful. What? Grateful? Absolutely!

Now is the time to appreciate all that we do have - from the roof over our heads to the scent of a fresh-peeled orange. Given the right framework most lives are truly abundant.

“When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears”

Anthony Robbins

Abundance is not the possession of material objects. Instead abundance is a state of mind, a meditation of daily gratitude. And this meditation can make you happy. A 2003 study* by Emmons and McCullough showed that .. “the gratitude-outlook groups exhibited heightened well-being.” These groups were more optimistic about their future, felt better about their lives and exercised more; all a direct result of gratitude.

Furthermore a 2008 study* by Froh, Sefick and Emmons showed adolescents who practiced gratefulness had ... “enhanced optimism, [and] life satisfaction.” Is this not what every parent wants?

But here’s the problem. My children do not practice daily gratitude. They do not see the abundance before them. Rather each day arrives with a litany of complaints (could mom’s cooking be any more boring!).

This morning I became so frustrated with my eight-year-old’s attitude I threatened to make her sleep in the garage (the theory being she would then appreciate the roof over her head even if said roof included sharing a room with her sister).

Short of shoving my kids out in the cold I am at a loss. I want to teach my children gratefulness and thus gift them with truly joyful life. But what’s a parent to do?

Here are some ideas:

1) Start a thankfulness tree. Have each family member make leaves of gratitude to hang on the tree. Periodically change the leaves on your tree and take time to sit down and pour over all the things you have to be thankful for.

2) Volunteer for those less fortunate (a soup kitchen, a nursing home, a pet shelter, etc). Discuss how you and your children could improve these people’s lives.

3)Leave Hope Notes scattered about your town to brighten someone’s day.

4) Lead by example; take the time to find beauty in each day and share this beauty with your children.

5) Have Earth Hour once a week. Learn how people lived before the creation of all our modern conveniences.

6) Routinely donate toys to those less fortunate.

7) Keep a daily gratitude journal with your kids. Nightly write five things for which you are grateful.

8) Turn off the television and monitor computer use. Eliminate those flashy ads which vie for our kids’ purchasing power and simultaneously diminish their self-worth.

Gratefulness is a skill, a skill that can be learned. And the benefits of daily gratitude can be seen in as little as three weeks. Three weeks! A mere 21-days to a happier healthier child and happier healthier family. What’s not to lose?

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Today I'm grateful for warm breezy winter days, hot showers, the scent of a lemon in the disposal and an invite to a knitting group.

What are you grateful for?
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*Emmons, R.A., McCullough, M.E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377-389.

*Froh, J.J., Sefick, W.J., Emmons, R.A. (2008). Counting blessings in early adolescents: An experimental study in gratitude and subjective well-being. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 213-233.