I'm headed home in the morning to spend the weekend with my family for a belated birthday celebration. As I go I am distinctly aware of the blessing that this moment is. Holidays and birthdays and anniversaries tend to flag a reminder: you're in a different place than you thought you would be. That can be good, and it can be bad. A few months ago I was afraid of my birthday. I was afraid that it wouldn't be celebratory, because at that point my mom was in the hospital, and we weren't sure if and when she would leave. But this birthday has turned out differently, beyond expectations. She's home, and the distinct cheer in her voice leaves me speechless, deeply grateful beyond words.
It's this gratitude for life, this gratitude for grace that is my motivation and inspiration for the project I'm working on, soon to be revealed. And so I ask you, as I often do when we reach the end of another week, what is it you're grateful for? What inspires and motivates you? What makes you laugh? Cry? Create? Demonstrate your gratitude.
I touched briefly on this topic in my guest post this week, but next week I want to go in depth with you about the experience of traveling abroad and how it changed the way I approach life, my writing, my dreams and my goals. If you have had a similar experience, I'd love to read about it. Please email me at shewritesandrights[at]gmail[dot]com to share a guest post next week about traveling as it relates to personal, creative and spiritual growth.
Until then, here are a few lovelinks from around the interwebs this week...
What do Elvis Presley, Nelson Mandella, George Washington and Picasso have in common?
Happiness or Holiness? What should really determine a good relationship.
"The times I argued I was an adult, I was a child. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the fervor nor the interest to make my point." No Children in New York.
I love Missy Durant's imagery here about holding the door closed. And also this quote, "...That’s because I wrote a book. Which was a good idea, until I realized people would read it. " Um, yeah.
2 comments:
Go you! And thank you for linking me. I'll be back to read more.
Angela
I hear you on the "You're in a different place than you thought you would be". So true - also that important dates are a big reminder of that.
Glad you had a good birthday, friend. I hope we find out soon about the art. Curiosity is killing me. I must have been a cat in another life.
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