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How can I incorporate gratefulness for everyday items into my daily routine?
Practicing gratitude
has been part of my daily Practice for many years now . . .
at first,
I did it reluctantly
with rebellion in my heart,
but I did it,
on paper,
taking the time to think it through,
even on days
(many of them)
when I didn’t really feel grateful for anything at all.
Something always came up,
even on those ungrateful days,
and gradually
I realized I had much more to be grateful for
than five things.
Now it is a part of the air that I breathe,
and I am so happy
(and grateful)
that I took the time
to take it seriously
because it has turned my life around.
I find so much more to be grateful for
than I did when I started,
including the every day things that make my life easier,
and of letting go of the things that don’t.
It has helped me identify what is good for me
and what isn’t.
My wants have been honed down pretty much to my needs,
which uncomplicates the letting go . . .
I don’t need a pickle extractor
when a spoon does the job just fine . . .
I don’t need a tool for every function
when there are so many simpler ways of doing things . . .
I don’t want or need a better mousetrap.
Someone else can enjoy my former treasures
and I am happy to know that.
Mending and fixing what doesn’t work
saves me the effort of buying new,
which supports my love of second hand shops.
I was taught to take care of my belongings,
and grew up in a time when you could
take your scissors and knives in to be sharpened,
have your shoes or leather bags repaired,
clothing fitted, fixed, or hemmed
(except I could do that myself),
even have your record player or stereo put right . . .
all of those options are gone now where I live.
I was grateful to have those services when they were available.
And now
I do the best with what I have,
pass on things I no longer feel that I need.
I confess,
I do miss the Salvation Army Store I went to for years,
but am seeing what I do have with new eyes now,
and ready to let things go . . .
I certainly can’t take them with me
when I leave this world. ♥
” . . . all those options are gone now . . .” Sometimes when I contact a company for the part I have deemed faulty, one is not available for purchase. The world in which we live, dear Sparrow.
Sometimes
I can improvise,
dear Joseph,
and gerry rig a repair . . .
like I fixed the sprayer on a spray bottle
with a paper clip.
It works fine now. 🙂
Love, love, love this Sparrow.♥️
Thank you,
dear Mary . . . 🙂
My daughter was admitted to the hospital for an obstruction and needs a colonoscopy. I just feel grateful they found it. It has been days of different tests and trying different things. I am grateful for medical staff today.
Thank you, she had a procedure today that helped enormously. Hoping she is out of the hospital soon!
Yikes, glad they found it and hope she heals quickly.
Wishing her a speedy recovery Robin Ann.
I hold your daughter in my heart,
dear Robin Ann,
and hope that all will be well soon. ♥
I can remember to be grateful for everyday items, by just remembering to be grateful. When I remember to look at life through grateful eyes, it’s often the everyday conveniences that stand out to me.
I’ve been trying saying more “thank you’s,” during the day. Examples include grateful for clementines to increase my vitamin C in winter. As I peel the fruit and find it’s dried out or past it’s prime for me, out it goes for squirrel food. Expressing gratitude for gray skies, as the temps are warmer versus cursing the lack of sun light, it’s working! Winter Blessings (or) Christmas Joy to all! ❄️☮️
I can incorporate gratefulness for everyday items into my daily routine often instead of occasionally by stopping and acknowledging the presence of the things or beings intentionally, by being grateful for items or beings for the service or gifts given to me and for all beings who aid it possible for me to receive and use it in addition, to ask the Divine in them and me to continue to bless them and me to receiving and use it wisely and to be good steward of the gifts. Additionally, to be more intentional in recycling and to remember the generations that will come after me and be mindful of my actions.
Kansha, today I was speaking to a fellow along the line of thinking about future generations and the world they may witness. Thank you.
I can ask myself: “What is this item doing?” I’m sitting at a table of delicious imported foods wrapped in plastics. These things are providing the familiar flavors of home. They proffer a feeling of joy, when eaten carefully.
But I bought too many. I did not have time to bake this year, so splurged on these sweets. Their wrappers, the fuel it took to get them here, are toxic waste. I will enjoy them, and feel grateful for every bite, and also feel the underlying pain that drove me to buy more than we can eat. The sorrow that justified my largesse. I intend to become more thoughtful about what I buy and how I use things. I hope that smaller and smaller quantities, and more simple things, will proffer deeper gratitude over time.
You could drop off the extra goodies to a local ER staff or FireHouse.
I never thought of that, thank you Michele! I didn’t realize strangers could just go into those places and offer gifts like that.
I remember people doing that during Covid.
Drea give yourself grace, you bought out of memories of home and even if you bought too much the joy and comfort you received shouldn’t be tarnished . Think of it as a lesson, not an awful mistake.
True, and thank you Deann.
I’m not very materialistic. Or, I try not to be. But, I am grateful for what things can do for me. The functionality and the usefulness are important to me. So, I try to take care of the things that I have and I try to appreciate the part that they play in my life. And of course, slowing down to notice and take a moment to recognize the joy or utility that these simple things bring to me, and to be grateful that I have them in my life, is part of the practice.
I too,
dear Charlie,
try to take care of what I have
so that I don’t have to buy a replacement,
because repair services
are virtually extinct where I live.
It makes me feel just fine
to use my well cared for rolling pin
that belonged to my grandmother,
and my kitchen shears,
which were also hers.
My 12 oz. hammer,
bought with my own money at age 18
is still my favorite tool,
battered as it is. ♥
Charlie, I’m just like you here. I’m not materialistic but try to hang on to whatever I have by taking extra great care of them.
I have a thick furry blanket that keeps Ngoc and me warm during the cold winter months, and I just came up with a Vietnamese poem.
Mền Lông
Tôi mê mền vải bằng lông.
Mỗi năm gần tới mùa đông đắp hoài.
Mùa này ngày ngắn đêm dài.
Ngoài trời lạnh lẽo cả ngày cả đêm.
Đắp vô ấm áp ngủ êm.
Sáng rồi hay ngủ nướng thêm trên giường.
Translation:
The Furry Blanket
I love the blanket with a furry fabric.
Every year close to winter I wear it.
This season has shorter days and longer nights.
It’s cold outside all day all night.
Wearing it feels warm and cozy laying down.
Morning comes I always sleep in bed.
What a sweet poem,
dear Loc. 🙂
I am in the third “downsizing”. As I move these items to another owner, I will thank them.
Giving thanks for everyday items is always part of my daily routine. I do my best to be in the precious present, to remember that it is a gift.
Stop.Look. Go. ♥️
To remember with a bow and gratefulness that so many do not have even basic needs available and so with all things of daily use. So many uncountable gifts Wishing a good day to all full of blessings.
Ose, You express it so well. “Fullness wherever the eyes go” Your post reminds me that it’s easy to practice gratefulness when I am living where bombs are not falling, where I have enough money to buy food, where my family and friends can visit me. I must admit that my gratefulness practice faces few challenges.
I think about this a lot,
dear Carol Ann . . .
how very fortunate I am. ♥
I can pause throughout the day and consciously notice items of convenience and hygiene, acknowledging their existence and the gift they truly are to me.
I’m grateful for my cute, cozy clothes for the winter, and I’m grateful for the pair of slippers my mother-in-law just gave me. My toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, and body wash are daily-use items that bring me comfort by making me feel fresh and relaxed; basic items that not everyone has access to. Happy Friday, everyone!
My Ngoc, I love your pink furry sweaters.
Perhaps by giving them more thought and being more meditative with routine tasks like brushing my teeth, drinking my coffee, using the spreader to put dip on a cracker… there are many simple things we do with items we don’t give a lot of thought to! I’ll be grateful for my toothbrush, my coffee mug, that spreader, maybe even a broom!
Happy Friday!
Yes, Patti, many are waking up without food or water, let alone a toothbrush!