Hello beautiful people. I hope that you all have been well. There is a slight chill in the air here in Cape Town but if you find yourself in the Northern Hemisphere, I’m sure you are enjoying the sunshine.
July has been great! In fact it was fantastic, with half the month spent being on vacation and the other half back at work. So that in itself was a bonus.
As I cast my mind back to the past 31 days, by looking at my entries, keeping a gratitude journal has become easier from when I started in March.
Here’s a summary of what I was grateful for.
Vacation
Being on vacation means having a break from work. But the best part of it is spending quality time with family and friends. Besides being on a mini-breakaway for two days, the rest was a staycation. Although we use weekends to catch up on what is happening in our lives, having a two to three week break allowed for proper family time. It was a time to relax, push the daily routine aside and not think about school, homework or work.
Blogging
Can you believe that I have been blogging for a year. So it is still baby steps. My blog is a platform I created to share my thoughts and ideas with people. During this year, I have grown so much in the blogging industry. I’ve learnt new things and have the opportunity to work with incredible people. I’m grateful that brands and PR companies see my worth and put their trust in me to do collaborations (whether paid or trade exchanges), reviews and invite me to events.
Appreciating the little things
As my daily routine sees me waking up at 05h15 in the morning, being off from work allowed me to sleep in a bit. The extra three hours of sleep made a huge difference to my day as I felt more rejuvenated.
Nature’s beauty. During our local break-away in Stanford, it gave us the opportunity to explore the outdoors. Taking in nature’s beauty, breathing in the fresh air and surrendering to the peace and tranquility that was on offer.
The luxury of taking a warm bath whilst in Stanford made me realise how we take the simple things for granted.
Support System
My husband for his love, generosity and patience. I don’t think I’ll be able to do the things that I do without his support. To my children for being understanding when I just need 15 minutes to finish up a blog post. My parents and my in-laws for being a phone call away when we need them for advice or to look after the kids. Every day I am grateful to have them in my life. Knowing that I have a support base of people who know me best and whom I can trust makes a huge difference.
Friends
Friends that I haven’t seen in ages. Reconnecting and catching up was good.
Rebate
If there is one thing you should never delay is submitting your tax. So every year when tax season opens, I diligently submit mine within that first week. I am grateful that I don’t have to repay anything and that I received a small rebate – which was nothing to write home about but it came in handy.
Giving Back
I am passionate about teaching our young people the gift of giving back. I believe that it opens up their eyes and hearts to the world and gives them a sense of purpose. As a youth outreach group, we embarked on a soup drive. On Thursday, 12 July it was raining and cold and we set off to an informal settlement with two big pots of soup and sandwiches. Within half an hour both pots were empty and all sandwiches were distributed. It felt good to be in a position to do something for someone else.
To conclude, sometimes a person’s life situation does not change but the way you look at it and deal with it does. In essence, your perspective changes and you start focusing on the positive elements instead of the negative.
Find something that you are grateful for no matter how insignificant it seem.
Until next time – keep well!
What a lovely and feel good read:)I also keep a gratitude journal and it’s so important to me. Congrats on your 1 year blogging milestone. x
Author
Thank you
This is such an inspiring post – writing a gratitude list every month. I’m a new blogger too – only 7 months old so this might be something I do too as a way of just showering the Universe with thanks x #TriumphantTales
Author
Thank you Rosie. Congrats on blogging for 7 months – and it only gets better. Keeping a gratitude journal is something I started in March as there were so many things happening in my life. Acknowledging that I have so many things to be grateful for just sparked so many positivity, even if it was insignificant things. Good luck with your blog and I’m sure it will be a success #TriumphantTales
I keep saying I want to start doing this each month but it’s something I never get around to doing. I really enjoyed reading yours! Thank you for joining in at #TriumphantTales, we hope to see you again next week!
Author
Thank you #triumphantTales
Nice post! And yes, how you look at things can sometimes help how you feel about thing. #Stayclassymama
Author
Thank you #Stayclassymama
I love that you’re doing a monthly gratitude list on your blog! I think I want to do something similar, just to remind myself that I create my own happiness. Love this!
Author
Thank you. I think you should do a journal – it does wonders just to reflect and give appreciation and thanks.
an appreciation journal is such a great idea. I tried to get our teenager to start one of these but she wasn’t interested. I think that I may try again #dreamteam
I love catching up with old friends! #GlobalBlogging
I’m swinging back in with the #DreamTeam
Taking note of things to feel grateful for is so important to give a good sense of perspective. Thanks for linking up #twinklytuesday
Good news on the taxes and love the idea of the post to celebrate the good that has happened! The UK is sweltering with an unusual heatwave except for last week when we went to wet Wales! Thanks for linking up with #stayclassymama
I used to keep a gratitude journal and I found it a bit strange at the start too but it definitely does get easier to notice and record all the small things you w
I used to write a monthly gratitude list on my blog, but only kept it up for a year. I think it would be a good idea to start one again, even if it’s just for myself, it really helps. #stayclassymama