Day 28

This morning I was grateful that the snow storm had finished and my flight wasn't cancelled. There was a mechanical and de-icing delay so I missed my connecting flight in Halifax. Unfortunately all the remaining flights were full so I had two options: stay the night in Halifax and get a flight out in the morning, or take a taxi to PEI. I chose the taxi, and four of us travelled home together this afternoon.

My colleague Steven was on that flight as well as two other public servants from Ottawa. We had great conversations and the 4 hour drive flew by so fast, nice to catch up with Steven and get to know the other two people. It was their first time in Atlantic Canada so this taxi road trip allowed them to visit three provinces (NS, NB and PEI) in one afternoon. It was wonderful to hear their comments as they looked at the surroundings with fresh eyes. The sun started shining as soon as we reached PEI :) It is always nice to travel, but there is no place quite like home.

It is hard to believe today is the last day of my “28 days of gratitude” blog, the month flew by at lightning speed. This was a very fun little project for me, and I received some nice comments and feedback from friends, and a few even started their own gratitude journals as a result. I will continue to be grateful for the little things (and of course the big things) and not take a moment of life for granted.  I will miss this blog project, but I will continue with my daily hand written gratitude journal. My journal is one of the most favourite parts of my day – having the opportunity to reflect on all the great things that I have had the opportunity to experience. I also may start a gratitude jar, I saw this neat idea on pinterest:

For all of you that are reading this, I am grateful that you took the time to follow along on my "28 days of gratitude" journey. Your support and encouragement means more to me than you will ever know. Thank you for your kindness.

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I found Danielle LaPorte’s  “How-To's of Small, Specific, Genuine (and Publicly Declared) Gratitude” very inspiring so I wanted to share it as part of my final post:

1. Post as the spirit moves you, but definitely post before you go to bed. (I'm sure it's scientifically proven that appreciation before you sleep is good for your neurons. And stuff.)

2. Only express gratitude if it's genuine. Do NOT post "just to get something on Facebook" or for recognition.

3. See the obvious gifts of the day. And then...

4. Look for what you might be taking for granted. So many of us have systems of love and consciousness, governance and privilege that underpin our everyday lives. What and who keeps your life running?

5. The profound and the seemingly trivial live side by side in the day to day. Put it all in the mix.

6. Personally, I use "Life" as a term to cover God, Goddess, The Cosmos, Nature -- all of it. Thank whatever greater force you most relate to.

7. Even if your day, your week, your year has sucked, dig to find something to appreciate. Did you have to walk to get clean water today? Do you have a telephone? Does one person on the planet love you just a little bit? Are you still here? Muster it if you have to. You'll feel better. You will inspire someone.

When you specify what you're grateful for it becomes more real and sensual. And from that sincere feeling you will become more emotive -- and what you emote, you attract.

Envision this: For every piece of negative news that is broadcast, for every snarky-critical tweet and gossipy-link ... a hundred instances of Small, Specific, Genuine (and Publicly Declared) Gratitude.

Here's to a revolution. -- Danielle LaPorte