Holiday Series Part 4: A Gratitude Year in Review

This is Part 4 in a holiday series to help you manage the emotional, mental, physical, and financial clutter that can accompany the year’s end. You can read Part 1, How to Keep Your Holiday Calendar Clutter Free, here, Part 2, Is It Time to Re-evaluate Your Holiday Shopping List, here, and Part 3, Take Care of Your Wallet and Your Soul, here.

Today, Melissa and I are heading off to my brother’s house to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. It’s a small group this year — only about 16 or so (yes, that’s small for the Richardson clan), but I know the amount of love and gratitude will be as big as ever.

We’ll eat, laugh, chat, eat, sing, play games, eat, and probably nap before eating some more. We’ll also be missing my Dad, but in his honor, will once again fill hundreds of Blessings Bags for those struggling with homelessness. Despite my Dad’s gruff exterior, he was a generous mush ball at heart.

As we head into the end of the year, a common practice is to look back at what you accomplished. While a great idea, I think it’s also important to recognize what you’re grateful for.

A gratitude year in review, if you will.

This year, I’m grateful for:

• My loving family who, throughout the year, fills our group texts with stories of heavenly messages received from my Dad, 
• Melissa who has been a rock star at managing our tiny house build, while building a lot of it herself, 
• Our dear friends, Debbie and Brett, who challenge us to play bigger and stay connected to our dreams,
• Winning our lawsuit with our first tiny house contractor — and actually getting paid our judgment,
• My first book being released,
• Access to clean drinking water and electricity, 
• The healing power of nature,
• My two fur babies who make me smile every single day,
• And so much more.

During a year when there has been so much hatred and negativity, if we have any hope of finding peace in this world, it must start with each one of us. By reviewing your year and identifying what you’re grateful for, you’ll begin to see situations differently; more compassionately.

And if you want to be an intentional good news maker, check out my Random Acts of Kindness posts on my Facebook page. You’ll find them among my timeline photos here.

Finally, I want to thank you for inviting me into your inbox each and every week, and sharing this time with me. I value and appreciate our connection and look forward to keeping our conversation going.

I wish you a peaceful Thanksgiving.