Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN A DAY THAT ENCOURAGES THE MASSES TO SHARE IN WHAT THEY ARE THANKFUL FOR?

Today it seems most appropriate to highlight something that has changed the way I perceive and interact with the world:

grat·i·tude 
ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/
noun: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Have you ever noticed how contagious gratitude is?  How quickly it can bring joy into any situation?

About a year ago, I took the advice of one my lecturers at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and I began a gratitude practice.  This came in the form of jotting down 3 things for which I was grateful each morning.   The result?  After only 1 week, I noticed a shift.  I was already feeling happier and more optimistic than I had in awhile.  After 2 weeks, I was hooked.

I think we've all heard about the power of positive thinking... but I believe what gratitude does is take this concept one step further.  By focusing on the positives in your life AND THEN truly being humbled by and grateful for them can really take your happiness to a new level.

One of my favorite quotes:
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ― Melody Beattie

So what would your life look like if you infused a little more gratitude into it?  Pretty cool I bet.  I would challenge you to adopt a gratitude practice.  Even if it's just for a week or two!  You'll be spreading the joy in no time.

Now for the FOOD!  Here are 3 healthy, whole-food recipes I'll be making for my extended family this Thanksgiving eve:

ALMOND PATE APPETIZER

KALE SALAD  

POMEGRANATE CHOCOLATE BARK

Gratefully yours,

kjd

Welp – here it goes:

This is my first blog post, ever.  The first time I’ve had the confidence to put myself out there, in writing.  I do it all day long in the flesh.  Put myself out there.  I love meeting new people, being vulnerable, sharing, and overall pride myself in my ability to thrive in new and unknown environments.  However – I’ve always been intimidated when it came to writing, er…blogging.  Whatever this is.

I think it’s because I know whatever I write here pretty much goes down in history.   Once I make it live… it lives on forever, right?  I'm articulate in person, but I'm not always the best at conveying myself through writing.  I also know how powerful words can be, how they can often be misconstrued, and so on…

But I’m here today because something pretty awesome happened the other day.  I read this article ...and on a Saturday morning whim – I shared the link on Facebook and wrote a little post about how deeply it resonated with me. 

I didn’t spell check, I didn’t dwell on the grammar, and I most certainly had a number of run-on sentences.  But what happened next warmed my heart.  The ‘likes,’ responses, and personal messages from friends, family, and people I’ve never met started pouring in. 

People were digging it, and I realized what really matters is WHAT I say, not so much HOW I say it.  It’s about the message.  And my message that day was authentic, genuine, vulnerable, and honest.  I spoke from the heart about my personal experiences and people connected with it.

So with that – I realized there is no room for insecurities when it comes to writing here.  I’m not going to apologize for my improper use of the oxford comma, idioms, or whatever else our language throws at me.  I was a Finance major after all… writing has never really been a thing in my life.

But starting today I’m going to begin sharing personal stories, experiences, articles, recipes, and whatever else speaks to me in the hopes of connecting with a larger audience. 

Everything I say here will be authentic, and with no other angle than wanting to share a little bit of my journey and hopefully inspiring others along theirs.

Transparently yours,

KJD