No matter where you live, there is always something around you that can give you cause to contemplate the beauty and feel gratitude for something. At my darkest moments, or when I feel the most depleted, I find myself turning to my kids, my husband, my dog, my friends, my family or the beauty in my garden…and that is without even thinking about anything material.
I have shared on my Instastories a little about some mountain biking that I have been doing because Brandon and the kids bought me an E-bike for Mother’s Day. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s a mountain bike that is also electric. I have never been a mountain biker, in fact I had never even done a trail on a bike before…but what I have found is that I love it. It is partly because I love to exercise, it is partly because I am liking the thrill of riding up and down trails not knowing exactly what is going to come my way next, but it is mainly because I feel so blessed that I can ride right from my house and in about a mile I am in the mountains on a trail, and as I ride to the top of the trail, the views of the entire Salt Lake valley are absolutely breath taking! I have hiked around the trails many times, but somehow being on a bike allows me to do it almost every day and get better and better. I have to admit I have a few war wounds from falling – but the key for me is getting back up again and working on not falling the next time.
I think that contemplation, finding a quiet, peaceful spot to think about your many blessings in this life is so important. Sometimes just a place where you can quiet the noise and focus on only the good stuff is enough.
Today’s pictures were taken in “the gully” which is just around the corner from my house, it has a walking trail, a stream, some great greenery and flowers, and it just such a place. Yes, I was taking pictures, but as I was in the midst of the shoot I found my thoughts drifting to those things…
Do you have a place where you like to go? It doesn’t need to be outside, but the key is a place where you won’t be disturbed. Meditation is a great way to clear your mind, but if you are not familiar with meditation, just allowing your thoughts to go to appreciations and gratitude will allow you to focus on the good things in your life. I try to take a small amount of time every day to focus on this, but sometimes busy schedules don’t allow every day, so at the very least, every other day works for me!
I often like to walk my dog and as I walk through my neighborhood, as I admire the beautiful homes, the trees and plants, the sunshine or whatever the weather, I find myself sometimes becoming emotional about all the amazing people and things in my life. My thoughts run rampant as I am walking, and sometimes the most random things come up…I reminisce about my childhood, my family, the things that have shaped my life so far, and as I start to think these things, more and more gratitude comes to my mind.
Even if you feel depressed, like things are not great for you, I promise if you find at least 1 thing per day to be grateful for, you’ll find as you think about that thing more and more things will come to mind. Whatever we focus on we get more of, so I would much rather focus on what I do have rather than what I don’t…what about you?
My contemplation outfit was not exactly the walking through the gully type of outfit, however, it’s very feminine and by adding the long strand of pearls, it is also classy! (more to follow on the pearls…)
Shoppable outfit links below (the best part, these fabulous shoes are 50% off!)…