#365Gratitude Day 305: Casabilities

You know that old saying, "mi casa, su casa."

Totally true.  I was laying in bed yesterday morning down at Michael and Maya's, warm, and comfy.  One of their cats was hanging with me.  She's super nice, and was very happy to snuggle up to me.

I had this lovely moment of feeling very at home, there.  It was great.

Later that day I got on my way, and drove back home to Virginia.  When I got home, Missy was there, and Richard too, and we all cuddled in bed and watched Big Hero 6.  (I've seen it lots and lots, it was Richard's first time.)

It felt good to be home.  There's no place like your own house, right?

I'm really very lucky to be able to feel so comfortable and welcome both places.

#365Gratitude Day 304: Merry Meet

There's a saying in pagan circles I'm very fond of.  Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet Again.

That was exactly my yesterday.  After a quick half-day of remote work from Michael & Maya's, Maya and I went out on Very Important Errands™ that included eating copious amounts of sushi together.   

We also got to go visit with, and really shanghai our friend Amelia, who I love dearly.  And, I texted my sister Pene, who also lives in the area, and let her know I was down here.  Here's how that went: 

Me: Guess who's in North Carolina? I'll give you a hint.  His name rhymes with Nako. 

Sister: Where are you in NC?????

Me: Maya's car. 

Once we worked out the directions and arrangements, all of us, Michael, Maya, Amelia, Pene, and Uncle J, and me, the rhymes-with-nako previously mentioned, all met up for dinner.  I loved being surrounded by people I love.  We had a great dinner, laughed, talked, and when it was time to go our seperate ways, did so merrilly.  So nice. 

#365Gratitude Day 303: My bags are packed

Thursday night after work I threw a few essentials into a suitcase and got on the road to go visit Maya and Michael. 

It's a trip that's been in the works for about two months now.  I love them, and have wanted to visit them for a "just because" visit for ages. 

It worked out just fine.  I made good time and four hours later, arrived at their home.  I have this thing about knowing the place a person is, being in it, so I have a sense of it when I'm not there.  I was super excited to see their apartment, because I'd never been there before.  They're both enormous parts of my life, and people I text with, call, bullshit on twitter, or otherwise insinuate myself  as often as possible.  So getting that extra little shot of juice of being in and knowing their home meant a lot to me.  They've really made me feel super welcome.  I'm catching up my blog from their house right now in fact.    

I love them, they're family to me. 

#365Gratitude Day 302: Coaching

No funny picture, no pun-making-title.  Just serious gratitude for the fact that I also do life coaching, and that sometimes, it's an absolute joy.  I had an absolutely wonderful session of coaching with a client Wednesday night.  I'm so thrilled with them and how they're doing.  They're making fantastic strides in accomplishing something very important to them.   

I showed them some different ways to think about things, gave the some new strategies for making progress, but they are doing all the heavy lifting.  And OH BOY are they ever doing it.  I'm super proud of the progress they're making. 

I love being a life coach.  Sometimes the world can seem like a hostile, jumbled, confusing place, filled with misfortune and unhappiness.  (Which is a lie, it's not that way, nor is it a place filled with constant joy, ease, and laughter.  It's just the world, and it's here for us to use as we can.)  But coaching, for me, is a way of fighting back that darkness I sometimes can't help but manifest.  In a world filled with people being intolerant, depressed, and shitty to one another, it makes me feel great to help someone to realize change they want in their own life.  It's a great way to see change in action. 

#365Gratitude Day 301: A practice of gentle intentions

So I've been trying something new lately, that I learned from Pema Chodron's Getting Unstuck.  It's a practice Pema calls 1 & 1, a way of being mindful but easygoing.  When you wake up in the morning, you pick an intention for your day.  It can be anything, big or small.  The crucial guidelines are: 

• Pick just one thing. 
• Do your best to do that thing. 
• At the end of the day, take the time to consciously see how you did. 

I do this with a little tech assist.  I have alarms on my phone for getting up and going to bed, and I've added a little note to each to remind me to do this.  Plus, I keep my intention in a little document on my phone, so I can take the step of actually writing it down.  

I've only been doing it for a few days, but it feels good.  Some days, I've really been on top of my intention, and made it happen.  Other days, I totally flubbed it.  But it's still cool, because I got to look back on why I did.  In one case, I had planned to write, and just ran out of time.  In another, I resolved to not grouse about something at work to coworkers.  (Totally unrealistic!) The great thing has been no matter whether I've had a home-run or a strike each day, I've made a practice of paying attention. 

It feels good.