One Day at the time

How many people have the wisdom of a 90 year old, happy, healthy woman to be thankful for? It seems there are two pieces of advice Grandmommy gives repeatedly. One piece is about marriage and the other is more general. In this entry I will just focus on the latter--I'm sure I'll revisit the marriage one. I mean I'll be blogging for the next few hundred days, so there will be time for that.

Anytime I'm anxious, tired, or down Grandmommy takes my hand and says, "Just take it one day at a time." At first listen it seems cliche, but I have watched my Grandmother stay calm in the midst of all the storms life as thrown her way. I believe these are really words worth living by and that the advice can be extrapolated to lots of situations.

On a tough day for me it might be one blessing, one piece of paperwork, one set of reps of a back exercise, one room cleaned out or up, or one item on the minutia-filled "to do" list. The advice is great because it encourages me to practice mindfullness by focusing my mind on one task or concern at a time. This allows me to fully experience completing the task, as opposed to being so intent on accomplishing something else that I can't be thankful for and satisfied by a job well done.

When I had Chip, I became obsessed with getting my pre-baby body back. (I know, I know, how naive was I?) Anyway, I enrolled in a yoga course to reach that goal. As I learned the poses, and began being more aware of my thought process, I realized that I had never stopped to be thankful for the amazing thing my body did, ahem, growing a new human being! I was too quick to move down the list and focus on getting the next thing done--in this case, getting my figure back. Now, I realize that anytime I focus on all that needs to be done, rather than what I'm doing or finishing, I am cheating myself out of being present in and thankful for the moment.

Blessing #42, June 8, 2010

Today I am thankful that I have accomplished one thing (a clean car) on my summer to do list. I am determined not to be anxious about the rest of the mile long list, but to focus on the satisfaction this completed task brings. I am taking this summer--and hopefully the rest of my life--one day at the time.