You can tell a lot about a person by looking at the Facebook groups they belong to. So here’s a list of my top six (in no particular order):-
- Running for fun – yes you can!
- Charlotte Watts Calm
- Yogis in the North East
- FASD UK
- Lurcher Appreciation Society
- Simple Happy Life
These groups reveal what’s occupying my mind and heart right now.
Until today, Simple Happy Life was called The Gratitude Habit. Which is what drew me in, to be honest. I wanted to make a habit of gratitude and I wanted to be encouraged in that and accountable to others. This group was formed at the beginning of January by North East creative Sarah Raad with members from all over the world, all committed to posting a Gratitude each day in January. Sarah provided the prompts; we all shared something from our own lives and experiences.
This was the nearest thing I had to a New Year’s resolution this year and I’m still engaged. Which is good going for me. I’ve been pretty relaxed about it. I’ve not posted everyday. I found the prompt about kindness hard for example. I realised by reading what other members of the group wrote that I am not naturally a very kind person at the moment. My heart is not as soft and gentle as it might be. I’m living in a survival mode where I come first. I’m not beating myself up about that though. It’s just for a season, I know that. And for a good reason. It’s just how it is right now.
And as the end of the month drew closer, we each came to realise that we did not want to stop. As in so many things, when you start opening up and sharing from your own life, when you have a common purpose (gratitude in this case), bonds begin to form. This habit has become a good one. And has morphed into Simple Happy Life.
Today, Sarah set out the intention for the group going forward –
This is a group for gratitude, kindness and happiness, with challenges, prompts and discussions around those topics. I manage the group on a day to day basis but everyone is free to contribute thoughts, articles, images, anything appropriate that you wish to share. Please also feel free to invite like-minded people who you feel would like to be made welcome into a safe and lovely space for sharing our thoughts and ideas.
So there will still be plenty of gratitude. Gratitude underpins a simple, happy life. Gratitude makes all the difference. We can choose to focus on the negatives in life. To moan, to complain, to despair. But where does that get us? We all have been given so much. We all have so much going for us. We all have so much to be grateful for.
A simple, happy life sounds good to me.
I could do with a bit more gratitude and kindness and happiness.
And there’s an open invitation. Join us if you would like to.
And let’s all cultivate a Gratitude Habit.
