I am doing the 30 day same canvas challenge. The premise is simple. Take a blank canvas, and add a little something every day for 30 days. As I add paint, and practice letting go of different parts of my painting, I reflect on what I’m thankful for in my life.
There are the basics, like food, housing, and clean water.
There are loved ones still with us to celebrate and enjoy life with.
There is time to do things we love, like painting and visiting the park with our beloved dog.
These are all things that we sometimes take for granted in our everyday lives.
I put paint on canvas, and reflect on the lessons of my life, and everything for which I am so grateful.
I am thankful for my family, who support me in my endeavors, and wish me nothing but success. I have been very fortunate in having time to spend with them. I am happy that I can easily make a drive under an hour to see most of my family, including my mother and my grandmother. I am so very grateful for the time we have together. Although my sister lives farther away, I am still able to see her for holidays, and remind myself that she is always but a phone call away. My husband is my biggest cheerleader, and I love that he is so supportive. He came all the way to Mexico one time to surprise me on a trip, just because he missed me. He came with me to Cambodia (a heartbreaking place) because I wanted to go on an art retreat. He supports my biggest plans, and helps me process my biggest disappointments.
I am also grateful to have spent time with the people I’ve lost. I remember time with my grandfather, and am grateful to have so many wonderful memories with him. Getting slushies and Boston Baked Beans at the gas station with him, going with him to play golf, how he would like my little chihuahua Peanut to curl up with him on the couch. I remember the people I had the fortune of knowing only a short time, like Destiny. I like to reminisce about the fun times we had at work, at Three Dollar Cafe, at the aquarium and Junkman’s Daughter. Although these beloved family and friends are now in heaven, I like to think about the lessons they’ve taught me, and how very fortunate I was to have known them.
I remind myself of all the things I’ve had the privilege of doing, and am thankful for those who have been with me on every journey. I am thankful for being able to travel, and for the friends I’ve made in those travels. I practice gratitude for being able to have so many wonderful experiences in my life. I’ve been all over the world. Costa Rica, Mexico, China, Cambodia, and Japan. Each time I visit a different culture than our own, I am reminded of the one thing connecting every person on this planet. We are human.
Thus, as I progress through this 30 day Challenge, I will also challenge myself to reflect on those things I am grateful for most in the world. I will challenge myself to really appreciate each and every person and thing for which I am thankful, and to not take them for granted.
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