Children are the best teachers! Today, I celebrate my dear nine-year old friend, Liv for showing me what it means to approach life with a grateful heart.
Read more about Expressing Gratitude at Urban Monk or Gratitude,Awareness, and Impatience
Thank you so much Liv for allowing me to share with others the email/poem that you wrote for your mom in addition to the “Flat Tessa” portrait that you drew & colored for me. You’re very special!
Liv’s poem
hi mom
i love spring break!
thanks for those out fits and…
feeding me
buying me things
being nice to me
being happy for me
playing with me
paying for tryps
supporting me
laugh at my jokes even if there not funny
playing games with me
helping me
helping with dog
read with me
help me solve a problem
help me with school
take me to places
stay cool when i am bad
help me with my home work
taking me out to eat on special occasions
doing fun things with me
help me learn
tuck me in at night
let me invite friends over
take care of bad kids like us ( sometimes)
give me hugs
gives me kisses
you help me before your problem
you put a smile on everyone who has a face
you take me to some fun places!!
you don’t release your anger on your kids
you share
you are a great friend
u let us do fun things
thanks for those out fits and…
feeding me
buying me things
being nice to me
being happy for me
playing with me
paying for tryps
supporting me
laugh at my jokes even if there not funny
playing games with me
helping me
helping with dog
read with me
help me solve a problem
help me with school
take me to places
stay cool when i am bad
help me with my home work
taking me out to eat on special occasions
doing fun things with me
help me learn
tuck me in at night
let me invite friends over
take care of bad kids like us ( sometimes)
give me hugs
gives me kisses
you help me before your problem
you put a smile on everyone who has a face
you take me to some fun places!!
you don’t release your anger on your kids
you share
you are a great friend
u let us do fun things
And Liv… you put a smile on my face too! (not to mention that of “Flat Tessa’s!!”)
I love the way my young friend was able to express and share what she loves and appreciates about her mom. What she also seemed to be saying was, “I see you, Mommy…I see all you do for me. I appreciate you.”
At the times in which I view my life through this lens of gratitude, it feels like a gift–a gift that expands my awareness and experience of joy! The wonder of gratitude is that it’s a gift that we can also share with others by simply expressing our appreciation of them. Gratitude is really Love, isn’t it?!
Do you feel like trying out an experiment with me over the next week or so?
Let’s just call it The Gratitude Experiment. 
- Noticing and Feeling Gratitude. Carry a small notebook with you wherever you go. (Pocket-sized might be perfect!) Your task is to seek out people, experiences, and/or activities that bring you joy. Throughout the day as you experience feelings of joy and gratitude jot down what what inspired these feelings?
- “Expressing our Gratitude.” Experiment with expressing your gratitude to others by challenging yourself to do it 2 or 3 (more if you’re feeling bold!) times this week.
I invite you to check back within this community to let us know how it’s going!
Hi Tessa,
You reminded me of something I learned long ago in a self help group. On days when I just hate everything and most people, (except for cats,) I make a list of things I am grateful for even if it’s just a flower blooming in my yard. Soon, I can see more clearly and can think of all the blessings I do have, especially my family even if they are not always close at hand. Thank you for teaching me this lesson again. Some of us are slow learners.
Love Leslie
Hi Leslie!!:)I love what you shared above! No such thing as being a slow learner with regards to practicing gratitude, right?! I mean heck, we just keep beginning again and again.
And I am laughing and nodding my head in agreement, Indeed no day is ever so bad that I can’t think of six things reasons to be grateful…my cats: Arlo, Patsy, Missy, Mikey, KODY!, and sweet Wilma!
I’m grateful for you too- you know?! XOXOX
When I wake up, I try (well, at least 3-5x/week) to think about everything that I’m grateful for. Lately it’s been hard b/c I get up and go to the bathroom and heave/vomit (darn pregnancy, but I’m grateful for the baby!).
Anyway, I did it this morning, and was rewarded at work when someone told me that I was the “glue” around here and that I had a “gift for making people feel warm.”
This experiment reminds me that with anything else that is truly worthwhile (marriage, friendship, etc.), it takes a daily commitment to nurture it so that you reap all the true benefits.
Hello Trin!
I really hope that this is a good morning for you.:) I love that you are already engaged in counting your blessings each day.
Your colleague is so right. You do have a knack for making others feel warm and cared about.
I agree with you about how beneficial daily practices can be in terms of helping us to create more of what we want in our lives. You’re a wise soul.
Myopically working too close to things makes it hard to step back and appreciate life, and all the wonderful things that make it worth living.
As Trin and I prepare to be parents, I intend to refocus priorities in my own life to put those things that matter most, first. To spend more quality time with family. To make leisure time and enjoy life. To create an environment in my own life that encourages creativity and happiness. To find a work life balance for my restless and ambitious soul. I feel that the expressions of gratitude will be evident everyday. Those who build their lives with this in mind always seem happier than those of us who are perpetually searching while wandering in the desert.
So eloquently stated,Gabe! You’re so right about how working too closely to things can make it difficult to appreciate and experience life. I love that you’re moving towards creating more joy, gratitude, and balance in your life.
This is my first blog! How grateful I am that I have been introduced to this exciting venue to express feelings, thoughts, ideas and lessons learned. Wow, Flat Tessa is BEAUTIFUL.
Liv is an incredible young spirit with obvious LOVE,and RESPECT and APPRECIATION and GRATITUDE of one of the most important relationships she will ever have in LIFE. Mother/Daughter! She is so young and yet, so insightful, strong and obviously articulate. GOD definitely created a beautiful little girl and has blessed both Liv and her loving Mother.
I will definitely being my experiment this weekend. I can tell you right now that I am deeply grateful for my personal relationship with GOD, family, few friends, and my new career that I began last week.
Have a beautiful weekend, Tessa. You deserve all the beauty in the world. You are absolutely coming into your own. Congratulations.
Welcome Renewed blogger/friend
I feel honored that you made my blog your first! Thank you for that, and for your kind words. }}}blush{{{
Liv is really special! What a mom/daughter combination-you’re right!
I hope you have a beautiful weekend too.