I have been nominated for the Gratitude Challenge by the lovely @trucklife-family who is one of my most favorite people on all of steemit. If you haven’t checked out her posts, you are so missing out. She is an incredibly heart-filled, loving mama who is all about encouraging us to love and appreciate ourselves and our amazing, beautiful bodies.

I have loved watching this challenge go around. I love seeing people swim around in the gooey goodness of life. I love hearing what’s good. To be clear, I love gratitude. For day one, my gratitude is …

Gratitude

In case you didn’t know, I believe gratitude saved my life. I have been in a practice of making a list of things I am grateful for each day for the last 4 or so years. Each day I type up 25-30 things I am glad for in my life. I actually started calling it my "glad heart list" because I began to have a bit of a distaste for the actual word gratitude. I always love the concept, but the word itself feels like it comes a little from a place of lack, like we have been gifted something we don’t really deserve. I decided “Glad Heart” felt better, and I begin most statements on my list with either “I am so glad for” or “I am so excited about.” I think language is important. Of course the sentiment is more so. Whatever you want to call it, I have lists on all the different devices I have had over the years of thousands and thousands of things that make me glad.

Through a big chunk of that time, I have dealt with depression. While my glad heart list did not bring me out of my depression, I feel like it’s a big piece of what kept me from slipping off the edge. Depression is becoming a bigger and bigger topic. It’s consuming a whole lot of people it seems. The world is so intense right now, and there is a lot of change and a lot of shadow shit coming to the surface. I think it would be good for those of us who have dealt with depression to talk more about what has worked to help us keep our heads above water.

My glad heart list can be really simple. It is important for it to not become too routine, but that doesn’t mean it has to be earth shattering. It also changes with my mood. Some days it is what I can muster to be glad for the softness of my bed, the breeze, the birds. Some days it has to be small, straightforward stuff. I think it’s important to say that’s enough! Other days I can feel more deeply into the depths and minutiae of what makes my life so incredibly beautiful. Both are perfect. It's all a matter of where I am emotionally and keeping my focus in the best place I can see from where I am!

I also bring in a practice I learned from some native american teachings. This is also found throughout many metaphysical teachings. I speak my gladness for the things I am manifesting in my life, even when they are not yet physically present. The native teaching was that they knew The Creator would care for them and bring that which they asked for, so they just went ahead and expressed their gratitude for it. In metaphysics, the idea is that we must energetically line up with that which we are manifesting. The easiest way to line up with something is to feel it emotionally, and gratitude is a powerful emotion for most people.

So, for example, I am itching to go to the UK. My oldest daughter is moving back to the states in August to live with her dad and go to a Sudbury school for her last two years of childhood. She really wants to eventually live somewhere in England or Wales, and I very much want to take her there before she goes to her dad. Most of you know how close we are, and I can barely think of her leaving! I really, really want this last big adventure with her! We also want to see a load of things there, including many of my steemit friends. So every day my glad heart list has things about trains and castles and gardens and beer and friends and Harry Potter and Peppa Pig and tea and whiskey and music and museums. It’s a powerful energy, and I highly recommend using it for the things you are wishing to manifest.

In general being glad for the things and people in your life, for the breath in your lungs, the trees, your feet, it’s a good practice, so do let me know what you’re glad about! What makes your heart sing?! Spread some love and some joy!

As far as I know, pretty much everyone has been tagged for this, so I am only going to tag one person each day. That’s right. I am a hardcore rebel! SO! @misslasvegas! You’re up!

What are the rules of this challenge?

• Write a post about something you have to be positive about today - this could be anything from being thankful for your current situation, someone being nice to you, being thankful for your friends and family, or even being thankful for the opportunity you have been given here on Steemit - just keep it positive :)
• Try and do this for 7 days in a row if you get nominated.
• Mention three people who should do this on each day.
• Tag it with #7daypositivitychallenge and include these rules at the bottom of your post.
• Include a picture of something positive (related to your story if possible).

Much love, y’all!

As always, all pics are mine or pixabay unless otherwise noted.

Also, check out @tribesteemup for more information on how to follow the curation trail or delegate. This allows you to help yourself and empower a beautiful, positive community of world changers.