Walking in the Yard

I love going for walks, but am not a fan of walking in my neighborhood alone. I also absolutely love being outdoors. I will occasionally watch/do walking videos because I need to move, but walking in place (or back and forth) in front of a TV screen really isn’t my favorite walking environment; I prefer going somewhere when I walk.

After a couple of days of heavy fog, it was extremely refreshing to wake up and see the sun this morning. So after a morning of sitting and computer work, I grabbed my jacket and decided to head out back, thinking I’d maybe take a book out there and sit outside for a bit. My backyard isn’t incredibly large, and we haven’t done too much yet to make it an “outdoor living area” as such, but it is definitely outdoors and contains flowing air that is much more fresh than the recirculating air inside. Once outside I knew I didn’t want to just sit since I’d been doing that all morning, so I just started wandering around the perimeter by the fence.

I truly believe that exercise/movement and breathing fresh outdoor air sparks creativity and imagination. For a long time I only saw the limitation of “I really want to be outside, but there isn’t much to do in that backyard, and I don’t want to go on a neighborhood walk alone.” Once I got outside and started breathing the fresh air I was inspired to make a game out of it. I’d walk zig-zags this way, and then weave around that way, I found myself making patterns in the way I was walking.

Whatever environment you find yourself in, try to think about the possibilities instead of the limitations. Learning and expressing creativity isn’t limited to children. Give yourself the freedom to explore and create, in any and all situations, no matter your age. (As my grandfather says, “you have to grow old it’s just part of life, but you aren’t required to grow up”) 🙂

Gratitude Monday is Back!

Happy Monday! I realized yesterday just how much I look forward to Mondays now. Monday is now my time to regroup, clean up from the weekend and get back on track after a couple days of going off track from the typical week routine (note to self, need to make a weekend eating plan!).

I started Gratitude Monday when I was in the corporate mentality, working for “the man”, as a way to readjust my attitude after the weekends. It was a way to focus on the awesome people and things in my life so I could crowd out the negativity that threatened to invade my day with “not good enoughs”. It is amazing how just taking 5 minutes out of the day to be thankful for a couple things outside yourself can change your mindset. What you focus on is what you create.

What are you thankful for today? If you need some inspiration, read my list below and then go make your own!

I am grateful for:

• The opportunity and availability to sit in the sun while studying and coming up with awesome ideas for Abundawonderful.
• My part-time “adorable office assistants” part-time “sharp clawed terrors” 😉
  
  
• The funny little sparrows, boldly fluttering around the outside tables at one of my favorite coffee shops.
• Wonderful, supportive colleagues and friends.
• Spending time with my sister playing Nancy Drew computer games, solving puzzles and getting so wrapped up in the story and each other that time just flies.
• A fun new haircut!
  

As always, this is not an exhaustive list, as I am so totally blessed with so many people and so many wonderful things in my life that I couldn’t possibly list them all!

If things in your life are looking bleak right now and you’re reading this thinking “you have no idea about the real world, my life sucks, what could I ever be grateful for”, please know that I’ve been there. I actually go through phases like that often enough that I completely understand your mentality (even if I don’t know exactly what’s going on in your particular life). If you would, please give this a try: think of one thing that has made you smile, either today or at any point in your life, and write it down. Try doing this every day for one week, at the end of that week look over your paper and see what happens. Remember, what you focus on is what you create.