25 May
Things I’m Grateful For on Sunday 25 May
Today’s list of things to be thankful for or appreciate:
- Getting a good night’s sleep.
- The problem with the blue light is definitely fixed.
- Finding a really simple Search Engine Optimisation guide.
This is great for beginners, because it makes it simple for you to do SEO on your website. - Seeing a Coal Tit up the garden.
- I’ve made it clear again that I don’t want to go out today.
- Potentially sorting out a problem with another blog easily. I need to wait 1 hour to see if it’s worked, but if it has, that will be great. I’m attempting to use a plugin to solve a problem, instead of hacking the code.
- Hot decaffeinated coffee.
- Working on the blogs. I actually quite enjoy fiddling with and optimising them.
- Apparently sorting out the problem with the blogs. I have a private blog that nobody but me has access to. The plugin I was using to make it private was causing a problem with another plugin, the one I use to make backups automatically. I’ve since found another plugin that will make the blog private, but wont lock it down completely, so that the backups can still be made.
- Breakfast cereals.
- Seeing 8 Starlings up the garden. We started off with 3 an hour earlier. I hope we get lots.
- Shepherd’s pie for tea. Very nice.
- Being able to help prepare said pie, and pinch some of the mixture.
Cooks privilege, as my mother would say. - More fiddling with the blog. It’s very rewarding to fix something like that. I’ve fixed the
- Smodging on Wenna.
- More hot coffee.
- There is hardly anything in my bank account. I’m grateful for this because most of my money is off earning me a good deal more money, in other accounts, than it would be if it was languishing in my main account.
- I created a spreadsheet this morning. If my sums are correct, in 40 years, at the current rate of interest, my money will have multiplied itself by over one hundred times. That’s just reinvesting the money plus interest. Without adding any extra money. I could spend every single pence I ever earn between now and then, and still make that money. Such is the amazing power of compound interest.
- Playing free sudoku puzzles on Websudoku.
- Reusing energy. I’m steaming some veg for tea, so I’ve put a pie to defrost on top of the steamer. It’ll defrost more quickly and make use of some of the wasted heat.
- Laughing with mom.
- The Shepherd’s Pie was delicious. As was the lemon tart we had for pudding.
- The miracle that is hot water.
- Having free time. I have a portion of time to myself every day, where I can do whatever I please. I don’t have to work every single second that I’m awake.
- A nice nap.
- Lots more fiddling with the blogs.
- A delicious chocolate mousse.
- A tasty apple. I seem to be very food oriented today.
- Digestive biscuits with Dulce de Leche.
- Realising I ought to do some inner work.
- Doing said inner work. Well, figuring out what I need to do to get through this flat phase I’m in at the moment. Actually doing it is going to take me to places I don’t want to go, but I know that if I ever want to cross the bridge, I’m going to have to face the troll.
Things I’ve laughed at today:
- .
Things I want to manifest:
- A working solution to the privacy problem, that will work on my host. MANIFESTED.
Things I’ve done for others:
- Sliced some potatoes.
- Grated some cheese.
- Helped out with the preparation of the evening meal.
- Shared the wealth.
shepard’s pie.
perfection.
quin brownes last blog post…LOL Diner
May 25th, 2008 at 4:57 pmOn May 25 at 4:57 PM, quin browne said:
Shouldn’t that be “pie-fection”?
May 25th, 2008 at 7:08 pmAaaaw…come grate my cheese for me. I’d be grateful.
May 25th, 2008 at 10:57 pmOn May 25 at 10:57 PM, jessie said:
Something about that just sounds dirty.
May 25th, 2008 at 10:58 pmHey Sol, I love your ‘things i am grateful for’ lists. What a cool idea. I’ve always been a very negative person and have wasted the past 10 years of my life feeling miserable - focusing on all that is crap about me and my life. I’m going to be 27 on friday and i’d really like my 27th year to be a positive one. I’m planning on keeping daily lists of ‘things i am grateful for’ - not for anyone else to read, just for myself. I think it’ll make me appreciate the things in life i do have - all those small things i take for granted. However, i live with a few mental and physical health problems which leaves me feeling negative about life most days - how can i turn these things into positives? should i just feel grateful to be alive even if i do feel unwell? You must feel like crap some days, yet you seem to make these long beautiful lists day after day of all things positive - i’d really like to be able to do that! At first i thought maybe i should just ignore my negative thoughts n’ feelings - just concentrate on positive things each day. But then i thought if i’m ignoring my life-crap then i’m not being ‘real’, i’ll be faking a life in all these daily positive/”i’m grateful” lists when that’s not the true me - the real me has bad times and i feel i should include them in my lists. Should i include my negative thoughts/feelings but at the same time challenge them? So instead of saying “I made myself vomit today, i’m such a crap person” or “i woke up depressed thismorning, i’ve been sat like a zombie for 5 hours, i’m a useless waste of space” blah blah - i could say “i made myself vomit today but i’m grateful that my heart didn’t fail” and “I woke up depressed but i’m grateful for being able to wake up with a roof over my head” oh i dunno - LOL. Being grateful and positive doesn’t come naturally to me, it’s bloody hard work but i really wanna give it a go. I’d appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanx for allowing me and others to read your lists - inspirational! Stay Beautiful xx
May 26th, 2008 at 12:29 amOn May 26 at 12:29 AM, 48weetabix said:
First off, you didn’t waste them. You might not have done everything you wanted to do, but you kept yourself alive. You (I figure) fed and clothed yourself, held down a job, etc? That’s not a waste. That’s really sensible behaviour. That’s not a waste at all.
On May 26 at 12:29 AM, 48weetabix said:
That’s an excellent idea. It gives you a nice structure and time frame to work to.
On May 26 at 12:29 AM, 48weetabix said:
I don’t mean to make light of your situation, but some days, I just have to be grateful that things are no worse than they are. If I have one really awful, terrible, rude customer, at least I haven’t had two. Or three. Or twenty. It’s just one. And I survived that customer. And I kept my job. And I’m not married to them. Hell, I probably wont ever see them again.
While dealing with them might not have been the most pleasant of situations, it’s just a moment in time. Another way of looking at it is thinking that I’m so very glad that I’m not them. I don’t go into shops and insult people. I’m pleasant, and polite. I’m friendly to people. It sounds arrogant, but I’m so much better than them, and I’m grateful for them now, because they’ve highlighted how amazing I am.
On May 26 at 12:29 AM, 48weetabix said:
Quite often I think about deleting this blog. When I’m having a bad day and feeling suicidal, I just don’t want to carry on writing it, because the world just seems so black and empty and what is the point of bothering? 2 things get me through those kinds of days - habit, and knowing that “this too shall pass”. Life has been good before, and will be again. Perhaps right now it’s not amazingly wonderful. So what? Life, generally, is good. I’ve trained myself to see that. Sure, to begin with it was hard. Have a look at January 2007, and you’ll see how much I struggled. I remember that one day, one of the two things I was grateful for was that I didn’t get shouted at during a meeting, that I really expected to be shouted at in. That meeting worked out better than I expected, and that was definitely something to be grateful for.
Training oneself to do any new habit gets easier and easier the more you do it. Every single step you take on a journey gets you closer and closer to your goal. Just start. Even if you write just one thing a day that you’re grateful for, that’s way way better than no things a day. And two is even better than that.
Always remember that it’s OK to not be grateful. There’s no law that says you must be thankful. Gratitude shouldn’t be a “should”. Do it because it makes you feel good. You might find a piece I wrote on how to be grateful helpful.
On May 26 at 12:29 AM, 48weetabix said:
Have a read of this article about positive thinking vs. positive focusing. I’ve been suicidal in the past. I’m not grateful for that. Every day I’m alive is another chance to feel amazing. Had I not been suicidal, I would probably be drifting along, not realising just how precious life actually is. The ideation’s themselves weren’t much fun, but the times I’ve spent afterwards, giving myself the gift of life, have been fantastic. It’s all about what you focus on.
On May 26 at 12:29 AM, 48weetabix said:
What I would do is just be grateful for the roof. Or that the depression is a little lighter today. Or that I only made myself vomit once. Or that I have a physician who is helping me. And then head in a positive direction from that. I’m not saying that you should ignore the fact that you’re depressed - just don’t make a big issue out it. Be grateful for what you can, when you can. You’ll soon be able to add a positive spin to pretty much anything. It just takes practice. Believe me, in the early days of this blog, I had a lot of trouble keeping going. But trying every day to be grateful really got me into the habit. And now, the quality of my posts is so much higher than it was before.
On May 26 at 12:29 AM, 48weetabix said:
It was damned hard work for me, too, and still is some days. It’s like any skill - the more you do it the better you get at it. Give yourself time and practice. The rest will follow in it’s own time.
May 26th, 2008 at 1:48 amThanx for writing back Sol. You make so much sense, i wish i could think as clearly as you do! I’ve taken on board everything you’ve said. Yeah - learning to be grateful and positive is all about time and practice. I’m sure my first few lists will be shortish like your early lists, but as time goes by it’ll be great to watch my lists grow, as yours have done. I will try not to make such a big deal out of my negative thoughts n’ feelings and start tapping into all thats good in my life - like you say “be grateful for what you can, when you can” and i will! I’m feeling grateful for 3 things already LOL - 1.)grateful i found your site, 2.)grateful that you wrote back to me, and 3.) grateful for the advice you’ve given me. Thanks again Sol - hope you have a positive day, wishin’ you good health and happiness. It’s been a pleasure reading your lists xx
May 26th, 2008 at 2:39 amOn May 26 at 2:39 AM, 48weetabix said:
You are already making progress just by realising that you need change in your attitude is a giant step. I feel very exicted for you already because your life will never be the same again.Sol thank you for being a positive influence on somebody’s life.I hurt my knee today chasing my kids but i am grateful that i have a family and kids to chase about.
tynas last blog post…Eliminate Fear with these 4 Questions.
May 26th, 2008 at 6:43 amOn May 26 at 2:39 AM, 48weetabix said:
The journey of a thousand miles starts with just one step. Or something.
Tyna is absolutely right, as well. You’ve overcome the biggest hurdle by noticing that you want to make your life better. That’s the first step done already.
May 26th, 2008 at 8:50 am