Inspired Simplicity: Living a Grateful Life

The season of gratitude is upon us...Thanksgiving is just around the corner. For me, living a grateful life is living defined...not just a season, but a way of life. The photo above is a wall art in my kitchen serving as a daily reminder of grateful living. The Inspired Room has a great list of 20 Little Attitudes of Gratitude. I have my usual top three to share that have helped me cultivate an attidute of gratitude essential to simple and joyful living.

3 Ways to Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude

1. Journaling

I used to have a dedicated blogsite for what I call my {Simply Grateful} posts (they are now consolidated here for simplification). They are my personal journals of thanksgiving, which are normally entered as bulleted lists, as there are numerous things I am always grateful for everyday.

Here is my {Simply Grateful} list for this week:

pumpkins on the pier

having the company of DH Russ and DD Isabella at church

a wonderful message on marriage (note to self to make a separate post for this topic)

sharing in Isabella's joy when we took her to watch High School Musical 3 after church

for the grace of being able to find joy in days that may not be as joyful

There are days when we are thrown a "curve ball". It happens to all of us every now and then. It's the enemy's way of trying to steal our joy. But when we are centered or balanced from joyful living brought about by an attitude of gratitude, we can hit even a curve ball. That's when you give the enemy a black eye. That's when you show the enemy you're a powerful woman.

Tuesdays are normally my "creative" day and I look forward to well, doing something creative...be it writing or organizing or decorating. I also look forward to attending my body flow class, my holistic workout of choice. Well, this particular Tuesday, our son Ian called from school and the school nurse advised I take him to a doctor as she suspects a pink eye. Most of the day was spent at the Urgent Care and at Rite Aid. So I decided to use the time as precious bonding time with my highschooler. Ian is taller than I am now and yet the pharmacist at Rite Aid thought he's an 8th or 9th grader. She said he has baby face (I quickly reminded him that it is from good genes:) and something to be very grateful for). We had a nice mommy-son time as this particular son enjoys teasing and tickling me. I even got him to do some chores with a smile. I think it was one of my best "creative" days...I think I hit the curve ball way out of the ballpark...and I am {Simply Grateful}.

2. Quiet Time

See my post on Once Upon a Solitude where I shared 3 Inspirations for a Rewarding Quiet Time. I cannot stress enough the importance of a personal quiet time in my life. I can see and feel the difference in my day when I am not able to make time for it. I don't feel centered and therefore I am easily thrown off balance by some of life's "curve balls".

3. Walls of Gratitude

Like the inspirational wall art in my kitchen, I love surrounding myself with reminders of grateful living. I also made an inspiration wall in my office area in our masters bedroom (still in progress), which I placed intentionally as the first thing I see the moment I open my eyes when I wake up in the morning.

This inspiration wall is filled with things that are close to my heart, like memories of precious family togetherness, faith notes post-its, and other things that serve as reminders of a joyful life. It's a great way to wake up, stretch, and say a quick thank you for another day with wonderful possibilities.