Grateful

I have read and listened to many a reflection on the power of gratitude in a person's life. I have believed, on a for-everyone-else level, that gratitude can reset your perspective, giving you energy and rest in the midst of challenges. I have longed to believe in and accept the restorative power of a grateful heart in my own life, but have never quite been able to grasp it.

Until now. I am finally settling into a new life that I embarked on 2 years ago: marriage, graduate school transition, apartment living. As my new job feels more comfortable and invigorating than scary, and as I enjoy having evenings to recreate and enjoy time with my husband, my mindset is changing. The quiet, still voice that can identify and praise blessings has found it's backbone again. I find my default thought patterns shifting from downtrodden, exhausted frustration to rose-colored hope and thankfulness.

I don't know if it's the financial security associated with a 2nd income, the ability to enjoy activities with friends with newfound funds and time, the end of the constant evaluation of graduate school, or the warm welcome of the coworkers in my new job-- but something about the past few weeks has wiped away the grime from my viewpoint and given me a fresh, hopeful outlook.

In addition to the many little things I find I am grateful for in the quiet moments of every day-- I am most grateful for the deeper paradigm shift that has allowed me to live from a place of gratitude.

May 2012 Adventures: 3 of 3

Adventure 3 of 3: Namakagon Get Away

As a celebration of graduate school completion and my 29th birthday, we escaped to the north woods for some R&R on Lake Namakagon.

The weather was comfortably cool in the evening- giving us a great excuse to get a cozy fire going in the wood stove.

By day, we were able to enjoy temps warm enough to warrant lazy reading on the dock. It was nice that the boat wasn't in yet as we were able to catch the action in the weeds off the other side of the dock.

There was plenty of nature awakening to spring, including a still-fuzzy fiddle head fern...

Purple-tinted trillium, a sure sign of spring...

 An ice-free view of the point...

 and Warm sunlight at dusk illuminating fresh greens on the forest floor.

We enjoyed some great animal sightings including plenty of baby ducks...

 Swimming right underneath the deck I was laying on...

A coyote enjoying a stroll through our peninsula on the lake while being cautiously chased by...

A noisy fox whose hiccup-like yelps made tracking him much easier.

Woullet Bakery's Princess Torte

My birthday treat, purchased with one of the groupon-style deals, was the Princess Torte from Woullet Bakery. I first tried this amazing dessert this fall in an internship and fell in love instantly. I honestly think it is the best dessert I've ever had in my life. It's worth every penny and is a great way to mark a special event!

 Straight from the website: "Raspberry and Bavarian Cream layered with genoise (egg-rich golden cake) and wrapped in pastel marzipan." There are sliced almonds around the outside for a salty kick and the beautiful frosting rose is edible and actually tasty. Overall? Soooooo good.

Self-Care: A Mountain Retreat

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." 

–J. Lubbock 

 “The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing from a limb and not falling, accelerating thirty-two feet per second per second, through empty air. Just a breath before he would have been dashed to the ground, he unfurled his wings with exact, deliberate care, revealing the broad bars of white, spread his elegant, white-banded tail, and so floated onto the grass. 

I had just rounded a corner when his incouciant step caught my eye; there was no one else in sight. The fact of his free fall was like the old philosophical conundrum about the tree that falls in the forest. The answer must be, I think, that beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there.” 

― Annie Dillard

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." -John Muir

“It was less like seeing than like being for the first time seen, knocked breathless by a powerful glance.”
― Annie Dillard

Something about mountains-- the vistas, the crisp pine air, the pervasive silence-- always captures me. Even with threats of bear activity, storm clouds rolling through the valley, and downright cold camping nights the mountains manage to refresh and inspire. I hope to be so lucky as to hold these images and memories deep in my heart and mind, so as to be able to call upon them for renewal when graduate school on the frozen tundra grates on me.  As a side note, if you've never visited the Canadian Rockies, get there!