1000 Gratitude Challenge

We're thinking about following the lead set by Ann Voskamp at Holy Experience.

But we're going to work together to make a list of 1000 Gratitudes!

Do you want to join us as we reach our goal and begin to feel more joy, less stress, better health and more connected? Email us at:

melhynes@mac.com

Spring Grat

I am grateful for the warm spring weather. I live by the river and with longer hours of daylight I have been really loving going walking and jogging along the river!

Friends Grat

I am very grateful for my friends - in particular today for the friends I have at uni. I often feel surrounded by support and care as I travel through my training and other life experiences. I think that I have grown and developed in my confidence over the years and feel really respected by the people who I go to uni with, despite the fact that we are a very diverse group of people and I am one of the youngest :)

A life worth living...

I was at a training earlier this month and they were talking about the concept of creating a 'life worth living' the term really struck me and connected with some things I have been learning over the past few years about values. I am grateful that as I am 'growing up' I am starting to learn how to identify my own values and how these fit with me to create my own version of a life worth living (for me). I am also grateful that this allows me to respect and honor the values of others and their own version of a life worth living.

I have been really challenged lately with a lot of stuff being thrown my way (not to mention, just how busy life gets) and I think in the midst of that it is easy to lose sight of the things that really matter. I am grateful that I have had a few experiences and opportunities in the last week or two that have helped me to reconnect a bit with what is most important in my life.

Meke

Loss & Memories Grat

I have to say this week I have been rather reflective. One reason is that my grandmother (who passed away early this year) would have been turning 90 this week. I am grateful for happy memories and for all that having in her life taught me about myself, about patience, respect, caring for someone when they may not be able to care back and unconditional love. My grandma was someone who was very unwell for a long time, and I cared for her in various ways since I was 11. I am grateful that I was able to do that. Grateful that I am not left with regrets and grateful that she was able to come to my wedding - to share such a special day with me and to have an outing (her last I think) that I know brought her so much joy.

This and that...

On a final note, I am grateful for all the 'little things' that are adding up to such a blessed life for me right now. Although I have faced lots of tough times this year, I have been challenged to grow, learn and to stretch myself in really major ways.

I am grateful for my ongoing studies and the chance to do something I love - learn! Also grateful for my role as a tutor this year, it has been a new and fun experience for me and I have been really proud of my own confidence in taking this on!

I am grateful for our 'new' place. How blessed to be able to set up a little home of our own with so many new things we were given for our wedding. I am loving having candles and fairy lights on, listening to music, sitting on our deck and sipping a glass of wine. Just feels so perfect I almost have to pinch myself.

I am grateful also for my growing sense of self-compassion as I continue to face high levels of stress, loss and being in a position where I am having to actively confront some of the difficult times from the past. I feel confident in my ability to support myself and I also feel confident that I am surrounded my people who are willing to support me (husband, family, counsellors and friends) what a huge blessing!

Now time to go sleep - another thing to be grateful for, the chance to sleep in this morning. A true luxury these days!!

Two wonderful little people...

I am grateful for my two beautiful little nieces who bring so much light into the world and for the chance to go and visit family interstate recently. What a blessing to share in the lives of these little people as they grow and develop their own personalities.

Also always grateful for hot drinks (GJ's), chats and the fact that when gained a brother I also gained another sister too. Woot for me!

Passing Away

Although this is a slightly more sombre grat, I wanted to say that I am grateful for the life of my grandmother (who passed away recently) and for the fact that she is now free of the suffering she experienced in the past few years and particularly the days leading up to her passing.

I am grateful that I was there with her in those final days, as difficult as they were, and that she was not alone. I am also grateful that at the end she was resting peacefully and I was able to say goodbye and take that moment to be with her whether or not she knew I was there.

I am grateful that I decided to stay there with my mother and assist in caring for her the day before she passed away and as a result provided support during a very difficult time for her.

I am also grateful for the relationship I shared with my gradmother and the fact that I feel confident that she knew I loved her and cared for her - and was able to make it to my wedding as her final outing before she passed away.

New Job

I am grateful that my partner got a new job and has been able to transition over from his old one (which he had to leave as his time there was ended). It all happened in good timing, he is loving the new job and he increased his rate of pay! Just feeling very happy for him and blessed that he is enjoying work each day.

Honeymoon

On a related note - am grateful for an amazing time in Bali for our honeymoon. It was such a lovely time of fun and friendship to re-group after the wedding. We had a great time and really valued the opportunity to be there and relaxing.

Wedding Grat (from way back)

Soooo due to very slack gratting I have a few major things to be grateful for that go way back!

First and foremost, I am so grateful for my amazing wedding (a few months ago). It was a perfect day and everything I could have hoped for. I am so grateful and feel so blessed to have married an amazing man - surrounded by family and friends who were all wishing us the best for your future.

In addition, we had perfect weather, the whole day ran like clockwork and all the outfits came together great despite people coming from all over the country! I was able to share the day with my whole family and that was something that was really important to me.

New Place

I am really grateful that my partner and I have finally found a place to live early next year after we get married. We had a number of weeks of going and doing inspections, trying to balance budgets and try to find somewhere nice and cosy but not too expensive (or totally deralict). I then found a place while he was away and had to put in an application which we got accepted for. SO grateful that he approved of the choice and liked the place (since we had to sign a lease before he could see it!). Also grateful for a weeks free rent and the fact that we will be moving in just before Christmas which is exactly what we had hoped for.

I am also grateful for finding an affordable place in a lovely area and great for entertaining. Very exciting to be unpacking all our lovely engagement presents and feeling like its almost time to start this new chapter of our lives together. Now to move!

She's Back Grat!

Another veyr gratworthy occurance - my little sis is back from a year long trip to the UK. So exciting!!

Now, I have to say I would have been able to appreciate this moment more if I had not been in a mild delerium caused by stress, exhaustion and being sick. None the less, I keenly got the the airport early in the morning, spent an hour or two waiting for her to clear customs and then shared excited chatter and coo'ed over all her vintage purchases (no matter how impractical, lol) for most of the day.

So great to have her back and to have her sharing in the excitement of the wedding, to plan Christmas and to hear all about her travels. A year a part has also helped me to see that we can still maintain a great friendship, remain involved in each others lives and feel that things have barely changed when we get back together. A good reminder that its ok for us to grow up, spread our wings and live different lives and we can still be besties from wherever we are!

OMG - Finally!

So I felt this occasion was worth searching out the sign in details and logging in to grat for (also have time to breath and do it, if only a moment)!

So my title applies to a few things - first thing is I just completed my final client session for the year. Since I have finished my course work, and finished seeing clients this means I can officially say I made it through my first year of masters yipeee! I also know that my supervisor passed me on my competancies as a therapist, I did well in all the course work and I managed to exceed the minmum 120 hours of client contact. I think I have about 160 hours or more which means I have been blessed with extra hours to increase my learning as well as having the flexability to draw an extra 35 hours out of this years if for any reason I don't meet my requirements in the second year - yay!

I feel like this has been one of the hardest and most challenging years of my life in terms of learning, growing, facing things that create anxiety and getting through them. I have had to push myself through so many barriers and just constantly challenege myself to believe in myself to get through.

I also feel sooo grateful for the progress made by so many of my clients and the great rapport we have built. I feel confident that for some of them the journey this year has been made that bit easier by having somone to talk to.

I fele so grateful and blessed to be recieving an amazing education, being able to learn, challenge myself and grow professionally and personally in profound ways. YAY!

A few....

Been awhile but..

I'm grateful for finishing classes for my first year of Masters, its gone faster than anything!

Also grateful for the support of my partners mum in a few wedding organisation things - she is being quite supportive and being really great about not putting too much of her own 'stuff' into things.

Grateful for Christian and his kind heart! He knew I was having a really rough day so he went out of his way to completely clean and sort my study (which has gone into increasing disarray as paperwork and wedding related stuff piled up) and also cooked me dinner and sat down for a chat when I got home - just felt so kind and comforting to know he would put in all that effort just to cheer me up and make things feel nicer for me to come home to.

Finally, I am grateful for the sunshine and warmth of spring - I feel like sometimes I am able to actually draw the warmth of the sun into my body and I just love it!

Two grats...

I am grateful for a really lovely weekend filled with fun and friends, it left me in very good spirits and reminded me of how blessed I am to be surrounded by so many amazing people!

I am also grateful for peace - and the chance to 'grow up' in such a blessed nation, with so many opportunities, not the least of which is freedom! How blessed I am to have this when so many other throughout history have not.

Teary Grat

I am grateful for a nice warm Chai latte and some friendly faces and words today after I got teary in class today! Public crying is one of my least favourite experiences so it was a big challenge for me to come to terms with the fact that I had done so and very good to have some nice warmth inside and out! Also a bit of a lesson in humility for me, haha. (Meke)

Beautiful Day

The weather in Queensland is amazing at the moment and I am just so grateful for the beautiful clear skies, warm breeze and spring sun. We took a drive to the beach yesterday and it just reminded me how grateful I am to live where I live and to have the freedom to just drive to the beach on a whim. I am also grateful for a touch of sun on my uber white winter skin! (Meke)

3 BIG grats

I am super grateful to finally have wedding accommodation booked for all of the family leading up to our wedding. It felt like a giant puzzle to fit everyone in at the right price in a close enough place! I would have to say this is the first part of wedding planning that I have found stressful (and even a wee bit upsetting!) so glad to have it all organised. The plus side is everyone is getting a good price, no one is left out and I think we have organised it so there is no awkwardness in the room sharing, yay! This is something I am very grateful to have done and dusted! On to the more fun and exciting bits...

I am grateful for some great bargains I picked up at the shops yesterday. I had about 15 minutes to kill at DFO while I waited for a friend to arrive at the airport so I popped in to see what they had and found a really awesome sale! I picked up three light dresses and a scarf for next winter for $35 total! I am really grateful for these bargains I seem to find at the end of each season which carry me through the next year so that i rarely have to pay full price but can still feel nice about having something new to wear! Yay!

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I am grateful for a fairly productive day at uni today, with classes, appointments and the chance to catch up on some files. I feel like my 'to-do' list is slowly being ticked off...and at least slightly faster than I'm adding new things to it! Also had some really great sessions with clients today which was great!

Relationship Grat

I am grateful for the things in my relationship, big and small that make it what it is! We had our first session of premarital counselling tonight, and I am just so grateful for a partner who is willing to engage in this with me and to really discuss and be open about our relationship!

I'm also grateful for the little things, like the fact that he is so gracious in helping me out with the little things in life - he even cooked me steak tonight so I wouldn't have to deal with cooking red meat, despite the fact that he didn't feel like any (I am on strict orders from the doctor to eat more red meat!).

So yes, lots of reflection and gratitude for my relationship!