Monday, January 3, 2011

Day 16,525 Gratitude

Today I am so grateful for ...

What being a beginner is teaching me. I am brand new to sketchbook journaling. I used to draw in my spare time until I became a teenager and, well, I don't know why I put it aside. Why do we put anything that we love doing aside? 1) For something that we think we love more; or 2) lack of time or the appearance thereof. It feels good to play with it again, just sketching for the fun of it. I appreciate that it is turning my journaling habit upside down. It's also pushing the perfectionist buttons that I've put extraordinary effort into convincing myself don't exist. By all indications, I have a problem ... with having a problem. I am so terrified of making a mistake that I should probably go ahead and intentionally make a gigantic, messy one just to get it the hell over with and get back to having fun.

Today I am so grateful for ...

Looking out the front window of my very suburban home and seeing several deer making their way down the street, as if it's a perfectly normal thing to happen around here. I have lived in this area for 40 years and only in the last ten have we had deer living in such close proximity. I love seeing them and yet I recognize the dangers they face in order for these sightings to happen. I don't take their presence for granted.

Today I am so grateful for ...

My first morning walk of the year with my neighbor. We may not be consistent, but we do the best that we can to get out there and take a lap before the crack of dawn. I think that goals are more easily achieved with a partner-in-crime. Accountability is an incredible motivator. I would much rather show up than be the one to bail out. I know that she feels the same way. So, in the long run, we're both better off for not wanting to be the bad guy. Hey, whatever works.

How about you? What are YOU grateful for today?

2 comments:

Beth said...

the tree sketch is beautiful- such nice detail.
I am grateful for others- like you- who share their creative processes and gifts with the world!

Kris G said...

Falalalala lala lala. That just makes me happy. I'm grateful for the warmth that surrounds me and the comfortable cushion under my bem. I'm grateful for all my friends and their love. I'm grateful I can see, hear and walk as there are so many who can't. Happy New Year Julie.

Love the blue earrings too I'm grateful for all the beautiful jewelry you have made that makes others so happy. You are really gifted. Love ya.