Most weekends I don’t look forward to the long list of things that need to get done. After a busy week at work and nights spent driving to and from appointments and classes and more, I want to do nothing. Plain and simple. And so I procrastinate and grumble and eventually do my chores begrudgingly, always thinking that as soon as I’m done \u2014 if only that magic moment\u00a0would get here sooner – or ever! \u2014 I will finally have a few minutes to really enjoy my weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But yesterday something interesting happened. As I drove home from the grocery store, rounding the bend with my house in sight, I had an epiphany of sorts, an Aha! moment out of the blue. Suddenly I felt awash in gratitude. I started ticking off all the things for which I should be grateful. Not the usual things, like\u00a0vacations or job promotions or celebrations, but mundane things, the stuff that surrounds me most of the time, the things I typically\u00a0take for granted, or, more likely, complain about. My blessings flashed before my eyes one after another, and even after I got out of the car and dragged the grocery bags into the house, I was still buzzing with the beautiful reality of my privileged life.<\/p>\n
Here’s the Cliff Notes version of that gratitude list:<\/p>\n
\u2014 For the privilege of spending my Saturday morning cleaning toilets and sinks, mirrors and showers in our three bathroom. What a blessing it is to have the energy and time to do the work required, and to have the bathrooms that make life so much easier for a family of five (even if one is away from home most of the time).<\/p>\n
\u2014 For the privilege of going to the store on a Saturday afternoon to pick up some groceries, most of them not necessities (real maple syrup, anyone?) and some of them complete indulgences (hazelnut coffee). What a blessing it is to not only have the money to buy what I want but to have the car to drive to the store, the ability and agility to get around quickly, and the option of choosing between three large supermarkets in my town, all loaded down with everything from soup to nuts \u2014 and patio furniture, just in case you need to pick that up with a gallon of milk.<\/p>\n
\u2014 For the privilege of running up and down the basement steps throughout the day\u00a0in order to do load after load of laundry. What a blessing it is to have a powerful, oversized washer and dryer that lets me clean our clothes any time of the day or night, and, while I\u2019m at it, for my family\u2019s clothes that often feels overwhelming when it is overflowing the hampers but is anything but when we need a warm sweater or a comfy pair of leggings or a dress shirt for a business meeting.<\/p>\n
\u2014 For a trip to the local soft serve ice cream shop with my girls, even if we had to eat it in the car bundled up in coats thanks to the dreary weather. What a blessing it is to be able to drop everything at a moment’s notice and take my family out for a taste of summer on an otherwise wintery day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I could go on and on. So many blessings disguised as chores or burdens or just another item\u00a0on my \u201cTo Do\u201d list. To people who don\u2019t have the means or the transportation or the energy or the time or the ability, the many things that get in the way of what I imagine could be a happier life are the very things that make my life so very easy to manage and, as a result, happier, if only I\u2019d take the time to notice. The blessings are there. Always. We don\u2019t get to happiness after the laundry and the shopping and the toilets; happiness is right there in the middle of it all. How is it that I always seem to forget that?<\/p>\n
#EverydayDivine #MeditationInMotion #Mindfuless #Gratitude #Blessed #MiraclesInTheMundane<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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