Reflections

Please log in or Create a Profile to post a comment.

  1. D
    Deborah Baynes

    During my meditation feeling the comfort of taking a deep breath and exhaling. Listening to a piece of music that takes me back to a very special time in my past. Watching my cats ears and whiskers flicker as they are dreaming soundly.

    2 months ago
  2. Dolores Kazanjian

    A good meal. Friends. Music. A warm house to come home to. My husband. My dog. So many things to be grateful for.

    2 months ago
  3. Robin Ann

    Caring and loving family and friends , a great employer, A safe place to live and a house I can call home.

    2 months ago
  4. Yram

    Getting a close parking space in a crowded garage.
    Words, spoken, written or sung.
    Professionals that take time.

    2 months ago
  5. Antoinette

    Along with everyone else here who are so fortunate to have our necessary resources I would like to add – peace.
    Peace is another necessary element we need and not everyone gets to have. Everyday I wake up and it’s peaceful where I live . No one carries weapons (at least not many anyway) I live in one of the world’s top safest countries to live in and it’s a blessing. We’re not far from Russia which is indeed scary.
    Now that the doomsday clock was set at 90 seconds before midnight last week, I am ever more mindful of what I consider to be ordinary is so precious.
    I pray for us all and deeply appreciate peace. Let’s do our best to coexist in peace with each other.

    2 months ago
  6. pkr

    Most of the “ordinary” in my life seems to me to be “extraordinary” as someone else here wrote.
    Electricity, hot water to make my coffee, toast, clean water, a working toilet!, a roof over my head…..& so much more. I am blessed.✨🌟🙏🏻

    2 months ago
  7. Avril

    Br. David was the first person ever to present the magic of the mundane to me. At least 20 years ago I heard a talk with him on college radio discussing the importance of water. He spoke with such love and appreciation for the ease with which we access this resource. Then, he pointed out how many people didn’t have this luxury—or worse, their water may blind or kill them. A few years later, I learned about Thich Nhat Hahn’s pithy haiku-like aphorisms on the mundane, the Gathas. Between these two enlightened masters I’ve learned to appreciate: my breath, my body, the water, the electricity, my home, personal space, a meditation room, my safety, paved roads, trash collection… I can go on and on. The ordinary is the extraordinary. I mean how often are you having a peak experience, like a wedding or birth. All of those moments in between are where the magic happens. Thank you God.

    2 months ago
    1. Elaine Patricia

      What a wonderful piece of writing. You said everything I wish I had said. God bless you.

      2 months ago
      1. Avril

        Thank you

        2 months ago
    2. pkr

      I wholeheartedly agree Avril.🙏🏻

      2 months ago
  8. J
    Jenifer

    When people spell my name correctly. I understand it’s common to spell it with two N’s, but I find it kind when someone puts in the effort to spell it correctly in emails, texts, etc. To me, it shows the person is being mindful and respectful.

    2 months ago
    1. Michele

      100% agree with you Jenifer. I am a one ‘L’ Michele – it annoys me when I see the 2 LL’s, especially in emails when my Signature is right there [work].

      2 months ago
      1. J
        Jenifer

        Thank you for sharing Michele 🙂
        Our name is a big part of our identity so it makes sense that we get annoyed when someone doesn’t take the time to spell it correctly. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt though, it’s a common mistake that I’ve learned to accept and not get too hung up on.

        2 months ago
  9. Barb C

    I’m picking up on what Charlie said. Attention transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, or at least into that which I can appreciate more because I’m truly tuning in and thinking about it–which, after all, is the point of these questions for me.

    I rounded up a collection of links to poems celebrating the everyday that seems appropriate to share here for those who appreciate poetry. https://biketoworkbarb.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-quotidian-poems-celebrating.html

    2 months ago
    1. Elaine

      Thanks for linking your fun blog Barb! I share your preoccupations 🙂 . Lovely roundup of poems!

      2 months ago
  10. sunnypatti

    My bed. The coffee maker. The washer & dryer. And yes, the toilet & shower & running water!

    2 months ago
  11. Carol

    When I think about the ordinary things that I enjoy, I’m reminded that they are not enjoyed by all nor are they available to all. Water, some have to walk miles to get water. A warm shower, some have never experienced the joy of warm, cleansing water pelting their skin. The sound of my furnace blowing warm air over my feet as I sit here at my computer sipping hot coffee on this chilly morning. So many ordinary things that I take for granted would be extra ordinary luxuries for a large percentage of others.

    2 months ago
  12. Nannette

    I appreciate a warm dwelling, (or a cool one in the heat of the summer!) a comfortable bed, running water, my hot tea in the morning …and the fact that I can get up and move from one place to another without pain or assistance. As someone said…the ordinary becomes the extraordinary. I am grateful for all of that….and one more -the ability to read- a wonderful gift.

    2 months ago
  13. Josie

    Today’s quote from Eudora Welty speaks far more to me than the above reflection question.

    So, my answer to this question is my appreciation for how God provides moment-by-moment guidance if I am able to listen discerningly.

    2 months ago
  14. Charlie T

    When I think about the “ordinary” things,
    they are immediately transformed into
    extraordinary things. Isn’t that how this
    works? A greeting as I pass others while
    walking or riding, a delicious cup of coffee,
    a smile from a stranger, a hot shower,
    a clean kitchen, another dawn.

    Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.
    – John Lennon

    2 months ago
    1. Barb C

      Exactly! Attention transforms.

      2 months ago
  15. Mary Mantei

    Laughter
    Acknowledgement as opposed to indifference
    A good night’s rest
    A handwritten note in the mail
    Quiet
    Comfortable clothes
    A great cup of coffee in the morning
    Solo time
    Fresh snow.

    2 months ago
1 2

Subscribe to Grateful Living

Give yourself the gift of free bi-monthly inspiration including uplifting articles, diverse stories, supportive practices, videos, and more, delivered with heart to your inbox.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Customize your subscription