Mindfulness

On Saturday I had one of those days at work that just ends in chaos.  I came home cranky and angry and exhausted, feeling like the world must be out to get me (I'm known for a bit of dramatics when I have a bad day).  All I wanted was to sit and knit until I could make myself feel better.  Maybe even eat an entire tub of ice cream.  But as I looked at my knitting basket I thought about how wound up and stressed out I was and about how I would be putting that energy into whatever I decided to knit.  So I decided to go for a run and as I ran I tried to focus on all the things I am grateful for, rather than all of the things that drag me down.  I totally blame Amy Beth and her Gratitude KAL for this idea and the very lengthy list I came up with.

For example,  I am grateful for a job that I love that helps me pay the bills and provides me with insurance.  I am also grateful that my husband has a job, so that we cannot only pay the bills, but also go out sometimes or splurge on that extra bottle of wine.

I am grateful that even though it has been freezing cold it was just warm enough to run in shorts and a tshirt and the sun came out just for those few hours I would be outside.  I am grateful for the gorgeous trail on which I get to run and the trees that are beginning to trade bare limbs for flowers and flowers for tiny leaves despite the cold weather.

I am grateful for all the people you see outside on a nice evening.  For the sweet old dogs who trot on over to say hello and for the little kids who point at my blue hair and their moms who smile and say "Yes, isn't that cool?"  I am grateful for the retired couples out for a walk holding hands, who demonstrate that life is still beautiful as you age.  And I am grateful for the elementary school kids who are also out running and who tell me how much they like my Avengers tshirt.

I am grateful that my body will allow me to push myself, even when it isn't necessarily happy with me.  For the fact that runs get easier, mentally, after the first mile.  And for little moments when it seems God put something in my path to help me keep going.

And I am grateful for our craft.  That I live in a world in which I can come home, pop a pizza in the oven, and crash onto the couch to watch The West Wing and knit all these good things into a pair of neon socks.