Practicing gladness...

 "Most generally there is something about everything that you can be glad about if you keep hunting long enough to find it. You see, when you're hunting for glad things, you sort of forget the other kind."   --Eleanor H. Porter, Pollyanna

Life can be pretty depressing and discouraging. It's easy to get caught up in all the negativity. There are days when I struggle to find anything to even be grateful for, which is not a happy way to live. So this year I've decided to work on having a more positive mindset. Instead of dwelling on all the negative stuff, and on everything that's going wrong, I'm going to look for the good instead, and try to be more grateful for all the small blessings in my life. So, with a nod to Pollyanna's favorite game, here are a few things I found to be glad about today.

• I'm glad that in my job I only ever have to work M-F because that means I always have the weekends off.
• I'm glad that Miss Scarlet and the Duke returns to PBS tonight, because it's one of my favorite shows. 
• And I'm trying to be glad about all the snow we've gotten in the past few days because it does clean out the air, and we need a good snowpack this winter to fill up all our reservoirs. And even though I don't love winter weather, I do get to pull out my favorite sweaters when it's cold, so I'm glad about that, too.

Wishing all of you lots of joy & gladness in your own lives!

I Dare You!

"Before I started my Year of Firsts, I was stuck ... But, as I discovered during the year, it's the smallest changes that eventually change everything:  They got me "unstuck". They brought the life back into my life. And they also made me realize something incredibly important:  Firsts don't have to be big, dramatic, and risky to recharge and reinvent your life. By just trying small things, you begin to see the world around you with fresh, child's eyes ... Firsts are the antidote for being stuck."

In I Dare Me, Lu Ann Cahn chronicles her year of trying one new thing every single day; and she does it in a way that's joyful, entertaining, and inspiring. By the end of the book, I wanted to make a list of Firsts and try a bunch of new things, too. Maybe not an entire year of them, but still...  Cahn's Firsts ranged from participating in a Polar Bear Plunge, eating Ethiopian food, climbing a tree, teaching a class, riding a mechanical bull, and baking a cake. She tried exciting things, scary things, easy, fun things, and things that challenged her and helped her to grow. And it changed her life. I loved her humor, and her tips and advice on new things to try, and all the wonderful quotes she includes throughout this book. It's a great weekend read!

"My hope is I Dare Me dares you! I want you to look at your world with new eyes, to make your own list of Firsts, to stop waiting for someone to rescue you from whatever you can't control and to rescue yourself with something new every day. That's how your life starts to change, one First at a time ... My world opened up and is still evolving today as a result of my Year of Firsts. It's my greatest hope that you find a similar spark somewhere in these pages, something that lights a fire under you to make this not just a life, but your best life. I dare you."

Happy Reading!

Similar read:  My Year With Eleanor by Noelle Hancock