Gratitude and Intention
Attempting all that woo woo stuff
Excuse my slightly, if not completely, skeptical approach to Thanksgiving. Raise your hand if you like turkey?
While I love gathering with friends and family and I love eating good food (not turkey), I don’t understand why we continue to make a meal that isn’t all that satisfying. I know I’m not alone in this!
I can’t remember a time when I actually looked forward to the food on Thanksgiving. Some of the sides I can get behind, but I do not appreciate turkey. We’ve tried turkey a lot of different ways– traditional oven-roasted, fried, spatch-cocked and smoked– and each time no matter how much love and effort goes in, I am still left feeling meh. Let’s be clear, I LOVE a turkey sandwich and even a post Thanksgiving, day-after turkey sandwich loaded with all of the things. The sweet mixed with the salty is what really hits the spot. However, turkey dinner on Thanksgiving is not for me.
This year, we have decided to have steak. Wagyu steaks from Costco to be exact.
In addition to steak, there will be a lot of gratitude.
This past Monday, on our way to school, we were all in a bit of a funk. Call it lack of sleep, weather (it snowed a lot today), or just one of those mornings, but the energy was not good. Usually music helps to turn that around, but even that wasn’t working. I’ve recently been thinking a lot about intentions and manifesting, I know I know… I won’t get all woo woo on you. Every time I think of manifestation I think of Rebekah Neumann of WeWork (IYKYK) and it makes my skin crawl, but here we are. I think of it more as looking ahead, planting a seed. Nothing happens without passion and hard work and planting a seed is the first step, right?
So we were all a bit funky and tired and the only idea I had was to try to get the kids to set an intention for their day– what did they want to do or feel— because surely it wasn’t to feel funky and grouchy all day. I’m still not sure how it clicked, but it did and they both were so thoughtful in their answers. They said they wanted to feel happy, to be silly, and have fun. Simple, but it was powerful. The energy shift was palpable.
That afternoon, Laz even suggested we set an intention for the evening. I couldn’t believe it. This time, it was to have a calm night. Amen.
In truth, I’ve never been one to practice daily gratitude or intention setting, but I’ve decided I’m going to try. Maybe not daily, but certainly regularly. I believe in the shift of energy, the idea of focusing on something positive to help lift heavy energy and to get unstuck. I think sometimes we’re hardest on ourselves and we forget that we also have to be a little self-focused at times to make sure we show ourselves the appreciation that we are most likely showing others on a regular, daily basis. The two things can co-exist. We can practice self love and outward gratitude at the same time.
In one of my many podcasts that I listen to, someone recently said that practicing self love is something we should be doing all the time, not something we should make time to do. The sentiment, I think, was that it should be woven into our daily lives, not something extra (wish I could remember who said it). Challenge accepted.
I usually resist the whole, hug yourself and tell your body that it’s wonderful, and strong, blah blah, because it sounds absurd. But shouldn’t we show the same kindness and love to ourselves that we are surely showing other people around us?
I am thankful for all of you.
This week I went on a deep dive into home decor as I was thinking of setting the table and adding a few vases and things around the house… Are you hosting or traveling?
