To the sunny side of the street
It must have been a day like today when those lyrics were penned: "leave your worries on the doorstep", and just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street. I mused as I walked this morning that sunshine and the sunny side of the street are most attractive when you are feeling a little cool. The season has come, with cool Fall mornings, when the sunny side of the street is where I want to be walking. I'd have to change the lyrics for the high Summer temperatures we had.Warming up the gratitude muscles
It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada (and some other countries around the globe, too, just not in the US). I generally use the six weeks from Canadian Thanksgiving to US Thanksgiving to strengthen my gratitude muscles. This tradition began back while my son was first deployed, when one of my sisters started doing the exercise on Facebook. Each day in November, the "meme" said, one should post at least one thing one was grateful for, that day. Since early November is a hard month for me, I backed up the starting line to Canadian Thanksgiving so I could have some easy days leading up to the tough ones! But, the down side is that makes the exercise longer... and it makes it harder to stick to the uniqueness rule: no repeats over the course of the exercise! They do not have to be big, can be little things, but there should be no repeats... so I can only be grateful for my morning brew on ONE day!
So for the next three days, leading up to Monday, I'm starting to contemplate the exercise, and "warm up" those gratitude muscles!
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| Yes, Alicia, it WAS a Canadian flag! |
Oh, and I made myself stop walking until the wind blew the right way so I could take this photo on my walk, in honor of the holiday. Three holidays compete for the date: Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, and Indigenous Peoples Day. You can see my avoidance of conflict in choosing to celebrate Thanksgiving!😁
And of course the pep talk
Onward! Let's do our best with this one and only Friday, October 8, 2021 we'll ever get, making decisions that support our health: physical, mental, and emotional. We're worth taking care of, each and every one of us. We can let the day go, knowing it was enough. Life is good! Namaste 🙏 And Spark on! ✨🎇💖🔥
Beautiful sky, the same here.
ReplyDeleteI miss my Canadian Spark Friends.
I have some contact with a few of those Canadian Spark friends, but not all. I really like having those cross-border connections!
DeleteGorgeous sunny crisp day here too. H woke up, looked out the window, and announced that today we are at “peak color” in our yard.
ReplyDelete🍂🍁
Peak color... I don't think we are quite there yet here. We're still getting 90F high predicted this weekend! It's unusual this time of year, but there we have it!
DeleteYes, it always helps to exercise those gratitude muscles.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the sunny side of the street. I am, too
Like all our "mental muscles", they benefit our moods!
DeleteCool morning & hot afternoons here in Central Texas (highs in low-90's this week).
ReplyDeleteSo change sides of the street as mid-day approaches? Seriously, I seek shade in the heat, too!
DeleteI had mentioned to someone that my bf had a 3-day weekend and they thought I meant Sat-Mon, but I meant Fri-Sun. I dont even think my nephew has Mon off from school🤔
ReplyDeleteThe natural assumption would be "holiday weekend"... but not always the case. Hope it's a good one. We never got Columbus Day off school when I was a kid, either... in fact a lot of the "Federal Holidays" we learned about at school, but still went to school. The whole 3 day weekend thing is a relatively recent thing.
DeleteOur weather is getting cooler here in Colorado. There's snow up in the mountains and a possible dusting next week down here.
ReplyDeleteJust saw a weather forecast my cousin shared from Montana that has snowfall predictions for the next 3 days... it's a-comin', this Winter thing! Keep it in the ski areas, but blanket us down here on the prairies so the ground water gets replenished... kind of arid in Western Nebraska at the moment!
DeleteGood morning! I am waiting for the sun to rise so I can go walking. Caught up with your blogs as I pass the time.
ReplyDeleteLoved the “as we ripen” turn of phrase to describe aging. ❤️❤️❤️
Hee-hee, bet you've already had your walk, and I just finished breakfast... after 10 a.m.! OK, I was up by 8, but had things to putter with! I'm starting to think about my walk now.
DeleteGreat picture of our flag and thank you! What a great idea about the gratitude muscle workout from our thanksgiving until yours. I may tell my sister about it - she lives in the States and we could do it together ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun little bonding thing, as you try not to copy each other, yet family similarities might lead you to be thankful for many identical things even on the same day. I made it a game to avoid reading my siblings' status before I posted my own gratitude point... then go read and see if we'd had one of those moments.
DeleteSome years ago, I remember Oprah saying that people can be happier if they find 5 small things, at the end of the day, for which to be grateful. Not big things, but small things, like crossing the train tracks just as the lights come on and the gates come down. I've practiced that strategy since then. There are days, which thankfully are rare, that it's difficult to find even one. Most nights I fall asleep soon after counting my blessings. Another song to accompany your post.
ReplyDeleteHappy Saturday! It's going to be a hot one here and I have to/get to spend the day mowing, for what I hope, will be the last time this year.
Oh, yes, it's a well-known practice. Some folks say three, some say five... and just about any good therapist will put you to the task as you work on anxiety or depression! But there is something about a "season" to remind oneself, if you've become a little lax about it!
DeleteHappy Saturday to you as well!