I’m so grateful to be able to share with you that finally, we’ve found HOME, in Whitefish, Montana. Wooohooo!!! After more than six months of looking, some part of me is fulfilled knowing that I can unpack and just “be”.
For those who have been following this blog, I owe you an apology. I disappeared for the last month, as my days were filled with packing, moving and unpacking. After months of “frustration and fascination“, we moved into our new home last week. We bought a home that was owned by a bank, having been foreclosed on more than a year ago. In this difficult economy, I’m sorry that the former owner lost their home, but I’m grateful we were in the right place at the right time to make this beautiful house our home
There’s a lot of deferred maintenance and our “to do” list is growing each day. We’re still unpacking boxes and trying to find things…. but in spite of all this, the number one thing I feel in this home is GRATITUDE.
When I pause to look out the window and appreciate the beauty of the forest, I feel grateful. When my husband makes a fire for me in our beautiful fireplace, I feel grateful. When I walk in the woods, I feel grateful. As I put the finishing touches on the guest room (knowing that my daughter and granddaughter are coming to visit), I feel grateful. When I just sit and listen to the sound of absolute silence, I feel grateful. Just writing this at the bar in our kitchen, surrounded by such beauty, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. For the first time in many years, I feel like I’m home, and I’m grateful.
Gratitude is powerful. Knowing that what we focus on grows, I’m choosing to focus on gratitude as a conscious part of my life. I woke up this morning with another idea- a gratitude wall. Too often we get caught up in life with all the things on our “to do” list, or we become overwhelmed by our ‘could have been’ or ‘should have beens’.
Many of us know the power of of a vision board… as what we think about, we bring about. To support this, we’ve created a vision board wall in our bedroom. I’m taking this one step further and creating a gratitude wall in my office. It’s still in the thought process stage for me, so I’m sure I will tweak this a bit… but for now, I’m planning to post photos/words of things that I am most grateful for in my life. Each time I walk by my wall, I will feel grateful and have a conscious reminder of the good in my life.
I’m guessing that some of the things on the board will change each day, while others will remain the same. My list today would include our beautiful new home, my husband, family and friends, Koda the WonderDog, my health and vitality, connection to Spirit, etc. I’ll also include things that will change, like snow, accomplishments (like unpacked boxes!), business successes, time spent with friends/family, etc.
We all have days when things don’t go as planned. Rather than focus on what went wrong, I’m planning to visit my gratitude wall and shift the focus to what’s already really good in my life. From that, not only will I feel better immediately, but more good things will line up to come to me.
I invite you to join me to create a gratitude space in your home where you can be reminded of the goodness around you. At the very least, I invite you to create your gratitude list of the top things that you are thankful for in your life. Please feel free to share how conscious gratitude works for you, in the comment section below.
Know that YOU are on my grateful wall, as I am thankful you are a part of our community. Please feel free to reach out to us any time.
Hugs,
Gail
Gail, what a lovely idea! I’m so, so pleased that you have found home, that place that lets the spirit quiet and the heart soar. So many times since moving to washington i’ve found myself with tears in my eyes, overwhelmed with teh beauty of this landscape and that, for the first time in my life, after a lifetime of moving, living in many states and abroad, feeling like I;m HOME. It’s a feeling like no other. I am often overcome with gratitude, in spite of the numerous challenges in my life, and am so grateful to be alive in this amazing planet, this amazing world. I like the idea of a gratitude wall, and will pass it forward. ANd dry erase markers work wonderfully on any number of surfaces…..i might just have to find a large roll of plastic laminate to make my own dry erase board. lovely idea! thanks for sharing.
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Gratitude is the essence of joy. I’ve always loved this reminder about gratitude:
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” -Melody Beattie
And
“It’s a troublesome world.
All the people
who’re in it
are troubled with troubles
almost every minute.
You ought to be thankful,
a whole heaping lot,
for the places and people
you’re lucky you’re not.”
-Dr. Suess
My goodness, how beautiful your home is! I just want to tell you that I love ya — and you hold a special place in my heart too! Much love from Florida….jaden
Wow, Gail, I am SO HAPPY for you!!! It looks like sheer heaven!! Congrats on everything – if anyone deserves it, it’s YOU!! Luv u! xoxo
Gail … What an absolutely beautiful home! I wish you and your family many years of happiness in this paradise. I can’t imagine you would ever want to leave … Everyday will be an ‘Inspiration’
xoxo Sandi
I am so happy for you to have found HOME. I can feel your joy and gratitude in every word you wrote… it is palpable. I trust only great thing will unfold for you and your gratitude wall will be overflowing. Wishing you both (and Koda too) so much love, peace and joy in your home. See you in Montana!
What a beautiful place you have in Montana. I have never been there, only flown over it. It has been a pleasure reading your posts tonight, as well as chatting with you in the twitterverse. Keep up all your good works and like one of your other posts said, we will change the world one morning, one person at a time.
Best wishes in all you do and I’ll see you on the field of life!
Stephen
Hi Gail, I got here after crossing your path on Twitter. Nice to meet you! Whitefish?! I went to grad school in Missoula and LOVED it out there! What a beautiful home. I’m happy for you. Thanks for sharing your photos and thoughts. -Mike O’Mary, @TheNoteProject
Congratulations Gail! I am so happy for you! I can relate to this because I too found my home about a year ago. Its so nice to feel and be in the right place at the right time. Your home looks gorgeous, thanks for sharing the pictures. As for the grateful board, I am starting one today. Love the idea!
Once again congrats and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hugs,
Jessica
Hi, Gail!
Home is where the heart is….and your heart is always in a good place, Gail. Enjoy your home with Darryl and Koda. We miss you already!
Love,
Joyce
Hey Gail, remember me from high school? I’m grateful to see positive things on the Internet like your website for example. Here’s a post from my blog that I wrote about on gratefulness. From what I see on your website, I’m sure you’ll like it, Take care, and nice home by the way. 🙂
http://whyiprayintheshower.com/2009/07/08/gratefulness/