Kindness and Gratitude

Thoughtful Thursday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day today. I plan to have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, despite being single, and despite a rough start to my day this morning. I wanted to point out some of the many, many things I am grateful for today (and some things I’m grateful for every day), and hope that those of you who don’t have a blissful, romantic holiday planned will follow in my footsteps and take a moment to think about all of the things you are grateful for.

Gratitude is something we all need a little more of in our lives. I keep a gratitude journal, although it is sometimes neglected (or forgotten), and it is wonderful to take a couple of minutes at the end of the day and concentrate only on what you are grateful for. I highly recommend either writing down what you’re grateful for, or at least taking a few minutes to think about it daily.

Today, I am grateful for many things.

First, I am grateful for my laptop, which is working now, after I had a bit of a panic last night/this morning when my charger suddenly stopped working. Luckily, it’s under warranty, and I was able to get a new one at Future Shop for free. 

I am grateful that today is one of the very rare days that I haven't had any online classes in the morning, allowing me the time to get to Future Shop to get my cord without having to miss a lesson!

Next, I am grateful for this silly little frying pan I found in my incredibly messy bedroom while cleaning yesterday. The fact that I found it on Valentine’s Eve was pretty fateful, don’t you think?

Because of this stroke of luck, I had to make pancakes this morning.

So, I am grateful for the very cute little pancakes, and for the vegan chocolate chips I had in my cupboard (saving me the extra few minutes it would have taken me to make my own). 

(I won't share the recipe, because they didn't turn out very well. But I still appreciated the cuteness!)

I am grateful for these flowers, sent to me by an incredibly thoughtful friend who wanted to brighten my day today. 

 Just the roses.

 The full collection. I was determined to fit them all in the one vase I own.
 It worked. Barely.

I am eternally grateful for my mother, whose contributions to my happiness I could never begin to explain here.

I am grateful for Ca-R-Ma http://www.ca-r-ma.org/fredericton, which has filled my life with meaningful work and adorable foster cats. These are just a few of them.

Be sure to check out the background in this one...

I am grateful for the beautiful gifts I bought from Eco Fab Mama today, and the extra things she very kindly added to my order! I won't add photos, because they will be surprises for the people I'm giving them to, but check out her website at http://www.EcoFabMama.com . I love her products!

There is so much more that I could list here, but I’ll save the rest for my gratitude journal.

Another thing I’d like to encourage you to do today is to spread some kindness! Take a couple of minutes out of your day and brighten someone else’s. For many people, this isn’t quite the happiest day of the year, and a small act of kindness could make their day a happy and memorable one.

Send a friend an e-card. Send them a quick message telling them how great they are. Pick up a bouquet of flowers at the grocery store and give them to a friend or family member who could use some cheering up. Or, spread kindness to a stranger by paying for the person in line behind you if you're out buying coffee somewhere today. Give someone a compliment. Do something that will put a smile on someone’s face. I promise it will put one on yours too.