grAttitude

I just listened to the most recent episode of the "Ologies" podcast with Alie Ward (I highly recommend; each episode is a spirited interview with a different specialist or "ologist"). 

This particular episode was called "Awesomeology - Gratitude for Little Things," so of course, it spoke to me. The interview was with Neil Pasricha, who said so many things I Loved; but I was most tickled when he listed some of the top ways to increase your sense of happiness. The first three of four things happened to be some of my favorite things: journaling, walking through the woods, and moving your body (the fourth thing was singing - especially in groups).

It comes as no surprise to me that walking through the woods and observing nature is such a recognized pathway to gratitude and contentment. The very essence of woods-walking implies a pathway, a journey, a sensory-filled, continuous moment with no need for an end. Here, we decompress. We step away from screens and the illusion that we always need to be multi-tasking. Among the birds and in the trees, we find gratitude in recognizing seasons, checkpoints, the familiar and the unfamiliar. We delight in noticing something growing, changing, glowing, or behaving beautifully in front of our eyes. We soak up the pull of the earth and the aroma of the trees, which result in true physiological changes in us.

I know this. If you're like me, you know this. And if you don't know this, go try it out for yourself. On the regular. You'll find that the more you do, the less power those imperfect or painful or anxiety-provoking things will have over your perception.

Here are a few snapshots from my various woods-walking excursions throughout 2020. These were all moments where the past and future dropped away, and I felt my mantra clearly ringing through me, "There is no moment more important than this one." These are times where the beauty filling my senses meant more than the worries clouding the back of my mind. These are the things that allowed me to decide that 2020 was not a "dumpster fire" or a waste of a year, as the media would have us believe. These are my little things. My focus. My practice of seeking good and finding it. Every time.

"Dustin" (the tree)

Acorn Woodpeckers

Allen's Hummingbird

Cooper's Hawk [W] v. Northern Flicker [L]

Red Trillium

Nature is the window to the soul...

Hooded Warbler, one of my fav birds

Best pic yet of an Ovenbird

Palm Warbler

Blanding's Turtle

Snowberry Clearwing Moth! lifer

Bald Eagle adult

Bald Eagle juvie

Red Crossbills (lifers!)

Oh, and one more thing - a few gem suggestions from Neil Pasricha and that "Ologies" podcast, just in case you're interested in implementing that journaling practice 😉:

• Try playing a game of "rose, rose, thorn, bud" (either with yourself or out loud, with someone you live with), where you list something you're grateful for, or a bright spot to your day; then another; then something that disappointed you today; and finally, something you're looking forward to.
• Try a daily practice of waking up and right away thinking or journaling three things:
• I will let go of...
• I am grateful for...
• I will focus on...