Striking a Balance | Gratitude and Reality

One of the things I always try to focus on a lot in life is gratitude. On particularly challenging days, I start at my toes and think about how I can stand and balance and then how I can walk and jump and run with ease. I think about how healthy I am and how my son is thriving and how I am able to buy food and live with running water. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with life’s wants, but when you step back and have gratitude for how all of your smallest needs are taken care of, you realize how truly lucky you are.

Life is good! 

But it’s also really challenging. A lot of what’s put out there on the internet, especially fashion and lifestyle blogs, ignores the struggles of reality. A teething baby, a messy house, a bad hair day, an empty bank account, a couple of pounds gained, a fight with your husband or mom or best friend. Those things count too and coping with them with grace is a daily struggle. 

When I think about all of this, I think of my friend Leslie who reminds me that hard is hard and it’s different for everyone. Some days are mildly difficult. Some days shake our reality so hard we wonder if we’ll ever stand up on two feet again. A divorce, infertility, getting fired, a sick child, losing your home.

Life is hard.

So how do we acknowledge life’s challenges and stay grounded and grafeful for all of the good things actually happening right this second? I don’t have the answers. I’m but a baby in the scheme of human existance! A tiny step on the long hike to becoming wise! 

I think just opening the door to conversations about these things online… mixing the helpful venting and with the proud moments and joyous little minutes inbetween is key. We are all real and flawed and awesome! Once I realized that there are people across the world going through the same things, I gained a sense of comfort. This is what’s great about the internet. We’re all in it together. I want to share what’s good about life without creating illusions of perfection. I am not perfect. This blog isn’t perfect. Because life is not perfect!

But there are a lot things worth celebrating, from the small stuff to the big joys in life, so that’s what I’m going to try to do more of! Whether it’s feeling good about myself on a given day, or knitting a new sweater or Felix learning a new word.

Thank you for fostering a space where I can feel comfortable doing all of this sharing, without fear of being humiliated when I’m vulnerable. The notes you send me in private and the comments you leave in public feel really good. We should all be so lucky to have as many supportive friends. Thank you for being a good friend to me, even if we’ve never met before. For keeping me humble, happy and open. Life IS wonderful.