ER=100x

Last night we went to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s Holiday Music Show. 

It was great fun and the energy stayed high all evening.  We were the first stop on their holiday music tour and they said they chose Humboldt because they wanted to start in a place that was hip and forgiving.  Interesting way to describe where we live!

Makes me very grateful to live so close to a college town (20 minutes away down the freeway).  We’re so remote up here on the Redwood Coast that the area still remains small.  You can’t go anywhere without running into at least 3 people you know (last night was no exception), and the Van Duzer Theatre doesn’t have a bad seat in the whole place, especially downstairs! 

Yet we’ve seen Joan Baez, David Grisman, Lyle Lovett, the Indigo Girls, Judy Collins, David Byrne (that was a really amazing show!), Leon Russell, Robert Cray, Stanley Clark, David Bromberg, Richard Thompson (coming up Friday), Keb Mo, Leo Cottke, Pink Martini, Dave Brubeck, Martha Graham, Angelique Kidjo, Los Lobos, Alvin Alley, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Ray Charles, Guy Clark (plus many others), and that doesn’t count the performance art of the Peking Acrobats, Momix and the Prague Blacklight Theatre!

In real estate and business they say “location, location, location” is everything.  To us, living in a small town, having a view of (and access to) the Pacific Ocean and having a college town nearby that brings in Artists is probably the best “location” we could chose! 

Today I’m really, really glad I learned that I am the one responsible for my life.  And that I have no responsibility for anyone else’s life, choices, or lack of choosing.

By accepting that I am responsible for my life I have learned that there is no stop and go, there is only flow.  By that I mean that nothing ends until I say so.  If I want to pursue something, then I am free to do so.  Or I’m free to ignore it until it’s something I want to put attention on.  And it’s totally my choice, not anyone else’s.

When I can accept responsibility for myself and my life, I give up forever being a victim.  Christine Lavin had a great song about a man who wasn’t a victim, he was a volunteer.  When you choose to be a victim, you are actually volunteering to let others run your life…you are choosing to give up consciousness and to accept what someone else has determined you are worth.

Phooey!!  The only person who can determine what you “deserve” or what’s best for you is YOU!!  Not me, not the government, not your spiritual leader or guru.  Everyone outside of you is OUTSIDE OF YOU!! 

They can only know what’s best for themselves.  They can never get more than a glimpse inside my brain, so they can only know a small bit about who I am and what’s important to me.

So by accepting I am responsible for my own life, I am free to choose what things mean to me.  I am free to define my own values, to determine when (if ever) I want to go after something or stop pursuing it.  I, alone, am the one who makes the determination.  Not the latest TV personality, the magazine article or the shrink down the street. 

Many people I talk to think that responsibility means credit or blame. That’s ego talk.  Responsibility simply means that I accept I am in control of me, so I am therefore free to move in the direction I want in response to what happens to me.  If I don’t like what’s happening to me (or how I’m responding to it), then I can simply move in another direction or respond a different way.  Nothing holds me to continue a non-resourceful or non-effective response.

So I am grateful that I have accepted responsibility for my life.  I am tempted to take credit for the good stuff and to blame someone else for the bad stuff, but I remember that’s just the ego talking. 

In reality, though, I am pretty satisfied with who I am and how I am in the world.  Mostly because it feels like it’s the “real” me here.  Not a me that acts/responds in a way I believe someone (anyone) else wants me to act/respond.  Or at least most of the time.  I am, after all, human.

Isn’t it great having 4 day weekends?  It gives such a nice extended sense of what we could do if we were only doing what we love!

Today I’m grateful to have finished up some of the tasks I started earlier in the week.

One of the projects is just going through all the extra stuff we’ve accumulated over the years.  I’m grateful that I live in a country where there is so much available…even if it ends up as clutter!

My husband and I are children of parents who lived during the depression.  It’s very difficult for us to get rid of things because of the early upbringing.  And our natural thriftiness.  And it doesn’t help, I guess to live in Humboldt County – home of recycling and reusing.

So as I’m going through things I have to keep reminding myself that this is an abundant world and if I haven’t used it in 2 years, it’s probably time to get rid of it unless it has special meaning for me.

Of course I’m also noticing that the local thrift shops have signs posted saying they are NOT taking any new items at the moment.  So, I’m left with a slight delimma – what do I do with this extra stuff?  For the moment we’re just packing it back into boxes that are labeled.  We hate to throw stuff out, so we’re looking for a new home for it.

If you have any ideas, let me know…..

As I was washing dishes I happened to look up and see the sun shining through the rain.  Not a rainbow, mind you, but this glorious bright reflection on the ocean surrounded by grey clouds!  We are SO lucky to live in this beautiful spot!  Every day I get to watch the dynamic weather hit the coastline, which is about a quarter mile away.  And today they said we are expecting our first snow of the season – down to 1500 feet.  Which is not that high when I think about the trip to see the grandkids (three peaks with 3200 feet at the highest).  I’m glad I didn’t go anywhere this weekend and that I’m already home safe and sound.

I guess I have to admit with all the weather this weekend that I’m also grateful the power didn’t go out.  It happens about 4-6 times each winter for us.  That leaves us in “camping” mode until it comes back on – no water (we’re on a well), and cooking on the Coleman (no natural gas here – just electric).  We already depend on our wood stove for heat, so no change there!  (I’m also grateful that my husband just brought in another load of wood!)

Enjoy your week!

Today I’m grateful that my husband made it home safely – although the 4 hour trip turned out to be 6 hours!

I’m grateful that I had problems with the car a couple of weeks ago which required me to take it in last week for a repair that could have been dangerous on the winding roads he had to travel.

I’m grateful that while he was gone I had the opportunity to go through some of my dad’s old stuff, clean out several boxes and set up my new “play” area.

I’m grateful that when I was ready to buy a kiln last summer my glass bead teacher decided to sell hers – which gave me the chance to do some playing this weekend.

I’m grateful that the raise I didn’t get for the past couple of years came as a lump sum “bonus” so that I could buy several new glass working “toys” and that this last weekend I could play with them.

I’m grateful that I got to go out for dinner tonight and didn’t have to eat more of that excellent turkey stew I made on Thanksgiving Day (which has been really good, but after 2 full days of it, it’s nice to have a change), plus I didn’t have to do the dishes!

And, I’m extremely grateful that my dear husband is in the living room, building a fire, and we have the whole evening together.

Katie

Here in the United States of America, today is Thanksgiving Day.  A day which began with our first settlers giving thanks for a safe voyage.  How fitting for me to start my Gratitude journal on the same day. 

I have many things to be grateful for, and many people in my life to thank.  I know that where I place my attention and my focus is where I create more energy and return in my life.  I know when I appreciate the little and large things in my life I seem to find more of them to appreciate. 

So the idea for this blog came the other day when I was writing in the Prosperity Challenge blog…I was thinking about er=100x, and realizing it was the beginning of my “attitude of gratitude”, my shift regarding abundance, prosperity and manifestation.  It’s something I adopted many, many years ago, and was one of my earliest conscious connections to the Universe.  You can read more about that (and what it means) in the About section.

For now, just let me explain that this blog/journal is entirely about gratitude.  It’s about the people, circumstances and things I notice each day that add to the richness of my life.  I encourage you to join me and think about what you are grateful for in your own lives.  When you start to pay attention to these things, and then to name and celebrate them, you will be amazed at how they multiply.

We can never live in poverty when we are conscious of the many gifts around us.  It has nothing to do with money and everything to do with appreciation.

Today I am grateful that I have the ability to share my ideas with people who care about them, people who are on a similar journey of self-awareness and expansion.

I am grateful for the others like myself that I have met along the way – the teachers who have allowed me to grow incredibly, and the supporters who have allowed me to share that growth with them.

I am grateful my husband made it safely to his family’s home in Oregon for dinner, that his being gone gives me some time to myself to finish up some projects, that he called to let me know all was well, and that he will be back home again in a couple of days.

I’m grateful that I have room in my house to create places for my hobbies – my glass beadmaking and fusing, my silk painting.  And that they are there for me to pursue when I need to re-create myself.

As I was clearing a space today so I could set up a place to cut and grind my glass, I came across some of the stuff left from when my dad lived with us several years ago…things I still need to go through since I want to pass on some of his things to the others in my family.  I was reminded again of how much he meant to me, and I am grateful to have had him as my father. 

One of the things I came across was a polishing wheel he made for me years ago when I was doing scrimshaw.  I realized part of it was perfect for something I wanted to do now that is slightly different – and now I won’t have to spend the $35 they want in the catalogs.  Very cool.  I laughed out loud and said, “Thank You Dad!!”  Just another reason to be grateful for him.

I encourage you to find things in your own life that bring you joy.  Look for what you have that makes a positive difference and embrace it.  Write it in your journal, write it here as a comment, or simply make a mental note to yourself.  But do it every day, several times a day! 

And let me know how your life changes as a result!!

Warmly,

Katie