An Expression of Gratitude

So this dance fusion yoga video is my new best friend. The instructor is a bad-a in that gentle, yogi dancer kind of way. She's ripped, and yet so incredibly graceful and I really enjoy her instructional style. Mostly, my favorite moments are when she reminds you to soften your eyes and to smile gently, as "an expression of gratitude and thanks for being able to do what you're doing". Whether it's the soft eyes in the middle of a Downdog Split or a smile at the end of an especially long plank, it's getting easier to do without her reminders, but I am very much grateful for them.

I am finding the phrase repeating in my mind when I least expect it. Which is nice, because I can use the reminder in my everyday life even more so than when I'm practicing yoga. The moment my eyes soften and the corners of my mouth turn up, every situation takes on a new perspective. That's not to say everything goes bright and cheery, and I'm Polly Positive. But something changes, or lightens, even sometimes only slightly. But that slightness makes all the difference.

Without realizing it, life can become an expression of everything but gratitude. I find I am discontent with friendships, with my physical appearance, with the clutter in our apartment, with the drain that schoolwork is when motivation is lacking, or with the apparent delay in securing a next foothold on my vocational path. And then, I sit down with the Bible in my lap and am astonished time and time again of the expression of thanks the authors of the Psalms expressed even in life-threatening situations.

So, right now, I am grateful.

I am grateful for the newly formed coffee stains on my marketing project outline, simply because it means I took a moment to enjoy the pleasure of making my own homemade latte.

I am grateful for a quick afternoon chat with mom and for a reminder of the care that others have for my day to day ramblings.

I am grateful for the rumbling of the engine on Cliff's Jimmy which signals that he's home and that I'll spend the next half hour hearing about what a blessing his day at work was (because it almost always is).

I am grateful for closed doors, whether it's work or travel or relationships, because it means there's something else, something better in store.

And I am grateful for the opportunity to spend the next twenty minutes or so working on preparing a recipe I have been dreaming up through most of the day.

What are you grateful for?