Quote of The Day

Friday, August 21, 2015

The gratitude feeling


I created a few cute pieces last week but I can't share them yet!
Instead I'm sharing a few journal pages I touched up and 
garden tags made for Cupcake.
 I have always said my  child is my greatest teacher. But
 I had to be willing to see it!  Cupcake was born grateful for
everything I gave and did for her from a very
 young age. Several times a day she would randomly t
thank me for things completely
 out of the blue. It was always surprising, but made it 
so easy to indulge her. Nothing sweeter
 than a sincerely grateful  child.
What you toss out does it come back?
Sure I taught Cupcake manners...but there is a big difference 
from using manners of thanks and actually feeling gratitude! 
I drove one child to school daily. She repeatedly thanked
me out of habit, afraid of the wrath of her strict parents.
Garden tags before painting them...forgot to take photos...
Another little  girl a few years older than Cupcake  used to
hop in the car and hop out without a word said. 
No matter how I tried to engage she would ignore  me.  
Thankfully her  brother chatted!! Eventually I stopped 
driving her. She has a little one now, I wonder if she 
will teach her children manners or gratitude!
First coat of paint....mounted on my ugly paint stained lap desk...I have two..
 Anyone can habitually thank you because it's  the polite proper 
thing to do. Feeling grateful is what makes you rich.  
Manners matter, but true gratitude is so much
 bigger than courtesy!

Although I've felt grateful the majority of my life there have 
been a few times when I've been thankful but lacking
 appreciation.Thanks paired with appreciation 
goes beyond etiquette to 
the glorious feeling of gratitude. 
Cupcake was so grateful for these painted garden tags to mark her herbs!
I've always been incredibly grateful for my living
 conditions, and the rich country I was fortunate enough 
to be born into! For a long time I never realized my constant practice of gratitude brought
 so much unexpected wonder into my life!

I always felt very fortunate even during toughest times!
 I'd just look around me, past the broken fridge,
the dead dishwasher, the unreliable car, and bills 
to the beauty of colour, things I'd accumulated
 my healthy child, roof over my head, food in 
the cupboard and feel  so blessed!

I'm so glad I live with a gratitude junkie rather than
a doom and gloomer. Cupcake  attracts so many nice
 things things and experiences! Oh sure there are
struggles but it's so much easier to get through
 them when you appreciate everything else.
 Do you appreciate, your skills, your home, your
  comforts, your life, despite your struggles?
Let me take this time to thank everyone who visits my blog
weekly. Whether to spy my art, or read my thoughts I appreciate
all of you so much! A sincere thank you for the amazing comments
you come up with! Those comments, more than not, are the 
inspiration for new posts!! So thank you from the bottom of my heart!

30 comments:

sirkkis said...

Thank YOU for enjoyable post to read and look. Your tags are nice and the frend adorable and fun.
Love ♥

sheila 77 said...

Being happy with what we have is one of the greatest gifts.
You are so lucky to live with a kind person, your daughter.
Love the bright coloured plant markers, what a good idea.

Valerie-Jael said...

Love your flower/herb sticks, great idea, might copy that for my little balcony. Gratitude is something that a lot of people don't seem to have heard of these days - pity! Happy PPF, Hugs, Valerie

PaintingWrite said...

what a great post! And those herb tags are gorgeous - such lovely vibrant colours - a great idea for the garden.
I agree completely that manners and actual gratitude are two very different things. I was raised to have manners and always say please and thank you and it is something I believe is important - it does annoy me when kids don't say please and and thank you or even adults if you hold a door open for them for example and they simply walk on through, I'll always very loudly say 'you're welcome!'
However, that is very different from actually feeling gratitude which is something I really only learned in the last few years - since moving to Scotland really. For me it was all part of learning reiki, reading the Secret and actually practicing gratitude daily and keeping a gratitude journal. The difference appreciating the little things has made to my life is amazing!

Karla B said...

Yes, I do appreciate everything, my friend.Life is a gift.Struggles are part of the game.Let us face them with dignity.
Love your vibrant art!
Xoxo

Karla

Christine said...

Cute plant stakes for your lovely daughter! I am thankful for what I have.

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

Those are the cutest little garden tags I've ever seen. I may have to make some for my wife, who loves gardening. You hit the nail on the head with your statement, "true gratitude is so much bigger than courtesy." As to your question, praise the Lord in thanksgiving, no matter what the situation you're in may be. Blessings, my friend!

Wanda said...

Your posts are always happy place to visit. Love coming and seeing what you are working on, and your messages. The herb signs are adorable and your journal pages perfect. Yes, I do believe what we throw out will come back.....so make sure you throw out good and happy and sweet things.

kat said...

Cupcake sounds like a delightful daughter! I love these colourful herbs stick names you made her, so lovely, they really add colour to the herb garden!
Gratitude is everything, I so agree, keeping it simple and being as grateful as possible for all you have, there is so much to be grateful for! I think we all have to remind ourselves this each day!

Katie Jeanne said...

Blogger must have the hiccups. Couldn't leave a comment for about an hour, but it's back up now. :) I agree with everything you said. We take a lot for granted, and I think we all need to be more grateful for the little things, and big things.

My name is Erika. said...

You are a genuinely happy person down deep, I can tell. Even your garden tags are bright and cheery. Love them!

Ariel said...

Your garden tags look great-:) We should be Thankful even for the little blessings, but most of us over look its value.
Have a lovely weekend
Hugs
Susan

Ayala Art said...

I cannot deal easily with negative people... I always find the good side of things, it makes all easier on us and those around us.
I love those garden tags!

Gillena Cox said...

Luv your bold bright tags. Saw some chives on the garden in need of a tag. Luv your words on gratitude
Ang good manners. Very important.

Much love...

froebelsternchen said...

Fab as always- love the garden sticks !

Paper rainbow said...

Yes manners and gratitude are different but manners to me are compulsory!!! I wonder if it is a British thing but I can't bare rude behaviour. To me not saying please or thanks is rude. Its a generational thing to as I notice although my grown up daughters are polite and caring not all their peers are. To me it is something which children learn by example....THANK you for another lovely post :-)

Jo said...

My daughter and I drove to the beach last Saturday, just the two of us. In conversation in the car I heard her say,"It really gets to me when people do not say thank you." A little voice in side of me said, "You have done a good job raising this person."
Love the herb sticks.
Yes, there is so much to grateful for. Hugs to you.

Carol said...

Love the plant sticks!! So bright and colorful just like their creator ♥ Gratitude is unfortunately not as common as it should be . I am always grateful for everything and everyone in my life and strive to always express that gratitude. Your daughter is an amazing person a reflection of her amazing mother ♥♥♥♥

leekrek said...

I love your post, I hear you about saying thank you, my daughter was much the same, and some of her friends weren't and you know they didn't last long as her friends. Love your posts they say so much.

Janet said...

Thank YOU for always making me think about things, and for sharing your wonderful, bright, happy art.

artbyjune said...

I love your stripey stockinged figure! Being grateful...it is satisfying... Instead of feeling grumpy and miserable!

denthe said...

those garden tags are sooo cute ... no wonder Cupcake is happy with them! I find that the older I get the more I appreciate all that I have, and especially that I was born in a country where women have the same rights as men... So many women all over the world lead horrible lives, and it's only in recent years that I've started to realize the scale of this...

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the reminder. So many of us are so wealthy and we don't even realize it because we tend to look at the glass half empty rather than being thankful that the glass has something wonderful in it. Your bold designs are so daring! I am so timid with my sketches. How wonderful to be able to be so bold!

Julie Lee said...

You are so right about politeness and the far deeper feeling of gratitude. I agree that courtesy is important and I have tried to bring my children up to show politeness and - I hope - to experience gratitude because it is a positive force in our lives. I always get such pleasure from the wonderful colour and character on your blog posts, the wisdom and the fun!

Nordljus said...

Your garden tags look wonderful, and your illustrations make me smile. It is always a joy to read your thought provoking posts, thank you for sharing them with us. I'm still working on being more grateful, maybe because I'm not really where I want to be in so many respects, I find it difficult at times. But I believe that it is so important to be grateful and appreciate the little things, and all we have. Probably even more so when you're really not where you want to be.

Lisabella Russo said...

Aww, thank you! Your posts are so interesting and thought provoking. Your daughter sounds wonderful, like you! Beautiful garden tags!

JKW said...

I love the art you have instilled in your garden. Great idea, by the way. That little girl may have issues that we would know nothing about. We never know what has happened in someone elses life that causes them to act as they do. I have to remind myself of that constantly, especially with so much bi-polar that I see regularly. Blessings, Janet PPF

Abigail Davidson said...

Those garden tags are super cute -- great design!

Kim Dellow said...

Ahhh how wonderful! And thank you for sharing your thoughts, artwork and ideas with us!Just love! Thanks for linking up to Show Your Face and for the shout out too! Kx

Unknown said...

I am grateful for meeting up with your thru ICAD and now Kim's faces. I enjoy the pause for thought you always give and you can tell its with a passion to pass on goodness. I think people need to get in touch with their inner gratitude its a lost art.

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