Grateful for the forgotten

Have you ever moved and left a few boxes packed up despite settling into a new place? Welcome to my basement/soon to be fabulous office/storage space for boxes of...uh, yeah, still figuring that one out. As a way of settling in, I've decided to work down here anyway. Incentive to clear the clutter and remind myself of the promise I made to have my office Vanessa-ified by the end of the year.

Amidst all the binders from grad school, the high school yearbooks, and the various office supplies I've accumulated, are also boxes of stuff. Three generations worth, to be exact. In them are forgotten treasures. Some of which include:

• My mom's cheerleading outfit (to which she shouted out gleefully, word for word, the cheer that went with it, including imaginary pom pom moves).
• A copy of the first publication I was in (a drawing of "psghetti" in the preschool newsletter).
• Newspaper clippings of my grandmother and great grandmother's socialite affairs and volunteerism efforts (both were a surprise to me).

Currently, my mom is a few feet away from me, going through her boxes. She keeps exclaiming, "COOL! Oh, cool!" A minute before that, she found a sign that said "What are you grateful for?" She repeated that one a few times too. We are big fans of gratitude in this house, because that's just how we roll.

In our daily lives, it can be easy to forget about the treasures we have accumulated and experienced. Caught in the motion of doing, you forget to appreciate the goodness that happens all the time anyway - a thank you, a beautiful sky, breathing, food. I was reminded of this when I recently visited a blog about gratitude. It's filled with ways to recognize gratitude, act in gratitude, and train in gratitude. So, if you don't feel connected to gratitude in your own life, not to worry. Hop on over to The Daily Gratitude and you'll be sure to find more than a few gems.

What forgotten treasures have you found lately?

Comments

[LaSara]

Gratitude practice is powerful stuff. Good for the body and mind. So powerful, in fact, that I have crafted a Gratitude Games and Gatherings package. It gives families (and groups of friends) a fun and easy starting point to introduce gratitude practice into their lives.

I have a pre-launch drawing happening at my site: http://www.lasarafirefox.com.

peace, and thanks!
-LaSara

[Mom]

I love what you've written. A gentle and humorous reminder to notice the treasures among us, both current and from the past. I appreciate your encouraging us to connect to gratitude for even the simplest of things. Yep, gratitude and treasures can be found in many places, for many things, like finding the little sign that said, What are you grateful for? I'm grateful for the blessing and treasure you are. love, mom