I promise to never use the word “blessed”. The goal: be more aware of all I have in my life to celebrate and be grateful for and keep it interesting for you and me. Can I focus sufficiently to make this happen for a full year? There are always reasons to not write, and some of them sound pretty good to me as a Friday deadline approaches. There is a risk. I also know that changing behavior is more successful, and usually more fun, when you do it with a buddy, so I am asking you to participate. Comment, question, share…add a link to a resource you’ve found helpful.
This won’t be just about weddings or favors and gifts either. David or I will at least once each week use this space to celebrate something – some big things but many small ones — that we are grateful for in our lives. It might be an amazing experience with a customer or someone we work with or just a personal reflection.
Why gratitude? Why not just journal these privately and be done with it? Because I know me well enough to head directly into those tasks that make me squirm. That’s where the growth is. I am squirming at the thought of sharing all of this. I also know that gratitude is a key ingredient — maybe THE key ingredient — to success in business and life. Intellectually I get it. Emotionally, it still feels cornball. As David and I push to grow this business while managing our family responsibilities, plan our wedding and find time for ourselves and each other, it is far too easy to focus on the problems and set backs — a [very] common dilemma. And there is the SECOND BIG reason to do this… I am skeptical. Can I make writing about my experience interesting even though Google says there are at least 5.5 million results out there discussing this gratitude stuff. I know that just because I am not the first to this topic does not make it less worthy of my attention, but can I make it worthy of your attention?
Here we go.
This Week’s Shout-out — our California Coastline
David’s mom stayed with us over the holiday and we decided to drive to a couple of coastal tourist destinations that we never seem to get to unless guests are visiting — Santa Barbara and Hearst Castle. I never, ever, ever get tired of the view from Hearst Castle! Sparkling blue water, big blue sky and rolling hills in all directions. It certainly helped that it was 60 degrees and sunny too. And while our day in Santa Barbara was more overcast, we still were able to eat lunch on the pier outside and people/boat/seagull watch. There is a vibe that is unmistakeable around piers, especially ones along the California coast. They all feel a bit different, but share a laid back, touristy energy that makes me want to go walk out to the end of the pier every time.
We miss our Portland friends and Belmont neighborhood, but are so glad to be back in California near the amazing Pacific. We plan to create a central coast theme for our wedding & reception as well — looking to recreate this unique central coast feeling. Clever huh! We will focus on local artisans, local wines and California style barbecue and food related items. We also are creating [or should I say “curating” since so many people do that these days…] a central coast wedding theme section for Taylor Street Favors for you to explore. Let us know if you’ve got any product suggests for this section too.
First week done. Gotta go.
You must be logged in to post a comment.