Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?

I’ve not written for a while but I liked this question. I believe in gratefulness as the world is full of wars & disinformation & ghosting. I believe in being grateful everyday no matter what has transpired.

Being grateful for me means letting an elderly couple pass while I wait. Thanking my local bus driver or barista for their contribution to my day. Without the barista my coffee would be crap & without the bus driver I’d not get home.

Being grateful means listening to my dog sleep during the day. Or a neighbor saying hello. It can be something as simple as being kind when they don’t have to. Like today when I told some tourists where they could go in the city & what to avoid.

Being grateful is just being content with the day no matter how warped it may become. It means leaning into something when it’s difficult & breathing through the hard stuff. It’s about being human & accepting whatever comes my way. No matter how mean or bitchy someone is to me.

I think learning to be grateful is one of the best lessons I’ve learned. Maybe it was my crap childhood or maybe it was being homeless for a year. But I know that no matter what gets thrown my way I am strong enough to handle it. How do you cope in the face of adversity?

What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?

I’ve to start with our 13 year old espresso machine that still works & makes us great cups of coffee.     

Our dog, who’s turning 9 this Summer, he’s such a sweetheart & so well behaved.

My friends that I’ve known for over a decade & still are interested in what’s happening in my life.

My newly cleaned office & closet. It’s great to have creative space again in the house.

My husband who makes me coffee every morning & has it out & ready if I’m slow getting out of bed.

Describe one positive change you have made in your life.

Don’t take me for a doormat but I believe in being grateful has changed my life for the better. After I became homeless in 2007 I realized that I had taken my life largely for granted. Now, I find gratitude in the everyday, from my coffee cup in the morning with my husband to listening to our dog snore.

I also believe in paying it forward & always being grateful for people that listen. Too many friends have been lost because we failed to listen to one another. Since I lost someone that was very close to me I realize that I’m no longer going to take people for granted.

I’m grateful for the simple things in my life, like my sweet old dog who turns 9 this year. In his age he prefers to sleep the days away & when I ask if he wants to go for a walk volunteerily goes into his travel crate. That’s okay. He’s allowed to age gracefully.

I think the one positive thing I’ve done with my life is to be grateful for whatever happens. Usually things turn out okay you just have to be patient. I feel that living in the now is the best gift. I’m not afraid to face things head on & to embrace whatever happens. Something I was terrified of in 2007.

I also ignore rude, mean & spineless people who make comments & act just plain rude. Life is too short to give those kinds of people energy. That takes their lives & those around them for granted. Being kind to me after you know you’ve done something illegal also doesn’t work.

I feel that people that are spineless are just that & it makes me grateful for the kind, honest & genuine people I have in my life. But don’t take me for a doormat or a pushover because I’m neither.