Tonight, I have a fifth grade concert to attend with my family. In my head I’m thinking, “What I am going to make for dinner?” On special event nights like tonight, we usually just go out. I don’t want to ruin my cleanse because I have chips, cheese, or pizza. UGH…what to do? I could bring dinner, that’s easy enough.
This morning, I open my email from the conscious cleanse. Jo and Julie’s team send daily emails so that we wake up inspired for the rhythm of a new and conscious day. Today is all about gratitude. In the subject line it says, Eating Out like a Champ - Day 4. Sweet!!! I can go out to dinner! They mentioned this is not a prison sentence and to go out and have a great experience. I love life and its support and divine timing. It doesn’t mean I can pick anything off the menu. I can consciously consider what to order. I can slow down, look at what would be healthy for my body and consciously choose. What a great learning experience. I’m inspired to think outside the box.
Gratitude is one of my favorite things and sometimes it’s just hard to be grateful! Especially with the intense extremes of this cleansing process. It reminded me of Elizabeth Gilbert. The writer of Eat, Pray, Love. Elizabeth inspires us to get a large jar and everyday, no matter what, write what you are grateful for. She goes on to say, ”There is no simpler or less-demanding spiritual practice in my life than this one — when I literally take note of my gratitude for a moment in my day when things felt good, or I felt lucky, or I merely remembered that I was alive. It's incredible how consistently tiny and insignificant these happy moments usually are. They don't tend to be rock star moments — moments of glory or huge success. They seem to be moments of tiny human connection, or an unexpected bit of humor, or the glimpse of a cardinal out of the corner of my eye, or moment of peace during a busy day. My happiest moments are infinitesimally small, but over the years, they have caused this jar to overflow many times over.”
My top 10 gratitude moments from today:
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]My first wake up moment was when my son came into bed and said, “Mommy let’s snuggle!”
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]Sat beside my bed (which I don’t normally do) and meditated.
[if !supportLists]3. [endif]Mowed the backyard barefoot while my son pretended to mow the lawn with his toy mower.
[if !supportLists]4. [endif]People are reading my blogs and signing up to be part of my yoga journey.
[if !supportLists]5. [endif]I made delicious Italian dressing with basil, parsley, oregano, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and it was the best dressing I’ve ever had…seriously!
[if !supportLists]6. [endif]Thursday is a day off and I get to spend the day with my sweet three year old boy.
[if !supportLists]7. [endif]I’m getting a clear vision of what I need to do with my life and it’s only day 4.
[if !supportLists]8. [endif]The sun shining and the early warmth of springtime.
[if !supportLists]9. [endif]Every time I practice yoga my cat, Ruby, always joins me.
[if !supportLists]10. [endif]It’s only 2:49pm and I had ten things to be grateful for and I still have the rest of today.
My meals: AM - oatmeal with cinnamon, peanut butter, and raspberries. Green smoothie drink with almond milk, dates, kale, and one banana - best smoothie yet! For lunch, I made a salad with spinach, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms, sunflower seeds and chopped up cashews, topped with my homemade dressing (mentioned above). I LOVED IT and I’m still full! I am posting this blog early today. I look forward to going out to dinner with my family. It will be a nice change up from the cleanse.
Enjoy your day, the sun shining on your face, the birds chirping, and that life is always conspiring in your favor.
Namaste!