Quote from Parenting the Gratitude Habit

“The richness of gratitude is not in the use of words but in the heartfelt response to something, someone, or some experience. Words can be the messenger but the heart provides the power and the source of light to the thankful.”  ~ Wendy Meg Siegel, from Parenting the Gratitude Habit.

First, there is a prompt that engages our heart and we find ourselves in a state of gratitude. This may have been triggered by a personal experience or as a witness to someone else's words or actions. We might be responding to the beauty of an image or a piece of music, or reacting to seeing a newborn, a sunset, or the crashing of ocean waves.

Meaningful feelings develop within ourselves as we experience the grateful moments of life. Acknowledge those moments and allow yourself to fully experience the gifts. Feel the way your inner-being processes thankfulness throughout the day. Let it light you up. This is where the true power of gratitude resides. And then, by sharing those grateful feelings, with your words, you are spreading the gratitude habit to others.

The words I wrote in the last post seem to beautifully describe some of the ideas expressed in this quote.

Gratitude Quote: Quoting myself

“Gratitude lights up my inner world and I feel as if I glow.”  ~ Wendy Meg Siegel

What can I say, but when I fully allow myself to get caught up in a state of gratitude, I feel as if I am filled with light. The glow begins at the heart, as it's center, and then it grows from there until I am fully lit from within. In those moments, I know my being cannot contain the expansiveness of that light and it seems as if it must be radiating out from my core to my entire world.

True gratitude begins with and flows from the heart.

Gratitude Quote: Stendl-Rast

"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hand, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy - because we will always want to have something else or something more." by Brother David Stendl-Rast

Gratitude is an easy path to happiness. Grateful people find greater satisfaction with their lives and experience a higher level of happiness. They are able to find the good in the ordinary and difficult moments, not just the wonderful times. Their perspective on life has them looking for the positives even in the most difficult of times.

To learn more about Brother David Stendl-Rast visit: Gratefulness.org

New Gratitude Quote: Richards

“Grateful souls focus on the happiness and abundance present in their lives and this in turn attracts more abundance and joy towards them.”  ~ Stephen Richards

A positive attitude is the natural result of gratitude. It generates a greater sense of optimism. Grateful people are better able to see the positives even in the challenges. They are able to focus on and appreciate what they have rather than on what might be perceived as missing. Grateful individuals become more "attractive", attracting more to be grateful for because it is in alignment with the way they view their lives and the world around them.

Good News: James Shaw Jr Raises Money for Families of Victims

James Shaw Jr.

Image Credit: Larry McCormack/The Tennessean vía AP

Good News:

Just weeks ago, James Shaw Jr. faced a mass shooter at the Waffle House and disarmed the gunman. Now he is raising money for the families of the victims. Shaw established a Go Fund Me page to collect donations to help support those families. In over a week, he raised over $200,000.
Read about it HERE.

One of the amazing parts of this story is that Shaw started the Go Fund Me page just hours after the shooting, on the same day Shaw managed to wrestle the gun away from the shooter,

To learn more about the Shaw's act of heroism, visit: this article at The Week Magazine

End of an Era

Tomorrow is the final day of posts on The Gratitude Habit Facebook page. It's been five years since I began daily sharing of gratitude oriented material, links, and images on that page. Wow!! I can't believe how much time I spent through the years on Photoshop, creating the square posts from my photos and added text! How many stories I read in order to pick news items to share on the weekly Good News Saturdays!! How many wonderful people that joined the page, commented, liked, and supported the page over those 5 years.

It all started while on a walk. I got the clear vision of creating a gratitude journal for others to use. I couldn't ignore the idea when it returned with even more clarity the following year. So I became determined to produce and publish The Gratitude Habit, a journal and workbook. And of course, once I had the book in hand I had to promote it on Facebook. But what I was really promoting, through the years, was gratitude. The number of followers grew and gratitude has been an ongoing focus, with another journal published a couple of years ago: Parenting the Gratitude Habit.

Now, I am fired up about my promoting my art and need to step away from my time and focus on gratitude and Facebook. Gratitude will continue to touch my life and fill my days no matter what I am involved in. I have so appreciated the journey I have been on and the opportunity to share my Gratitude Habit.

I will be spending my time on Instagram @WendyArts66 sharing my artwork and my creative process. Stop by and say hi.

Thankful for the Moon

I am thankful for the light of the moon and the stars in the sky. If it weren’t for the naturally occurring sky light we would be in total darkness in many places around the world. There is something calming about being out in nature at night and having these space orbs lighting our way. And when I get a glimpse of the moon in its many stages throughout the month, it’s as if a light within me twinkles with delight.

I love the consistency of how the moon cycles through a repetitive pattern of change. It's regularity is comforting. At any stage in the process, we know where it is in the cycle. The ever changing quality of the moon is something we can rely on and maybe learn from in the way we view our own patterns.

I love that wonderful beacon in the sky which lights our way and reminds us the earth is not alone. The moon becomes our constant companion… and for that I am thankful. We may not see every stage of its changing shape but we know for sure it is up there, effecting our oceans and possibly our moods. Did you know that the presence of the moon and it's gravitational pull has the effect of slowing down the speed of the earth's spin?