January 22 Challenge: Be a Metaphysical Detective for an everyday miracle

recognize your neighborhood?  maybe if you live in timberhill

Oh my-- I had such a nice day.

black and white world

Made good on a couple of earlier challenges that had slipped away from me.  Never too late to catch up.

budding trees caught the moon

Worked til mid afternoon but knew if I didn't see the sun I would start howling at the fog, which has descended over our valley for so long I wasn't sure the sun really even existed anymore.  So my sweetheart and I headed into the dark, frosty black and white hills and climbed and climbed until we saw a miracle.  Saw my shadow and thought about those facebook posts that say:  "Are you old enough to remember THIS?" and then show you something like an 8-track tape. It's been a long time... 2012? since we had shadows in the valley.

Today's challenge is meant to fire up your observational skills and gratitude radar.  I want you to be hypervigilantly on the lookout for tiny little miracles.  Or ordinary things in extraordinary places.  Or pieces of unexpected beauty.  Getting the idea?

brave explorers find the elusive sun at the end of the world

It may be something you've never seen before.  Or it may be something you've passed for days without truly noticing.  If you've a camera handy, capture the evidence.

And notice how it makes you feel when you are a detective for little bits of serendipity and wonder.

Here's what I saw-- A forest so devoid of color it seemed I'd used black and white film to photograh it.   Lichen encased in frost.  The sun coming through the trees like God in a Monty Python movie.  The moon in a blue sky, with Jupiter as her companion. Our town buried in a sea of fog, with Timberhill forest poking up like an isolated island.  Mountains in the distance. Two runners and a biker dancing in the light taking pictures of that elusive star.   See the evidence below!

See you tomorrow,
Jana

January 17th Challenge: Thankful Thursday

Got Gratitude?
Being thankful is a logical step towards an "increase in general life satisfaction and contentment" (read: happiness).  Studies find that people who kept a gratitude journal a few weeks, noting three things per day that they were thankful for, had significant improvement in happiness levels (and symptoms of illness!) over a control group.  Interestingly, the effect appeared to increase over time, even after participants stopped keeping the journal.  Other studies have shown positive benefits for relationships, decreases in depression and anxiety symptoms, and improved sleep.  Some of these involved writing just five lines a week. 

More recent research had participants relate how they were involved in the grateful event they described.     Examples: 
"My triglyceride levels are down; I have been exercising more regularly."  
"I'm thankful for the good time I had with my friend/I am thoughtful to my friend".    
"The sunset was lovely/I took time out to appreciate it." 

grateful to have adventuresome friends and that i said yes

 Adding in the factor of personal agency greatly enhanced the reported sense of well-being. 

As in several of the previous challenges, this one takes little time and can easily be incorporated into your regular daily life.  Whether you do or not, just for today:
Write down what you are grateful for, big or small, about your day, and what if anything you had to do with it.  Or choose one of the deeper challenges mentioned in this article in the New York Times about the many benefits of cultivating thankfulness.

grateful rosie let me try her camera

In other news, I am happy to report that despite some unexpected obstacles on Wednesday, I only had to turn my bracelet 6 times.  That's about as good as I get.    See yesterday's challenge if that makes no sense.  Going complaint free is a good habit to try for many days in a row.  Visit complaintfreeworld.org for inspiration.

Quote of the day: 
 I am grateful for what I am and have.
My thanksgiving is perpetual...
O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches.
No run on my bank can drain it
for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.

                   Henry David Thoreau