June 26

Counting My Blessings

I am becoming a very grateful person. So many good things have come into my life. I look at all that I feel blessed  the fact that I can wake up in the morning and breathe without machines and the fact that I do not have to take medications either. Most of the people my age are not so fortunate. I feel blessed that I have a car to drive and a home to live in in which I have not payments to make. (I wish I could say the same about my college debt, but I am working on that.)
I am learning to count my blessings in every situation rather than anything that can be negative about that situation. It helps me focus on the possibilities rather than the problems. Although I have had relationships that have ended, I do not regret any of them that I have had. I have three wonderful children despite broken relationships with their father.
I spend a specific time each day to think about everything that I am thankful for. This time is just as I am going to sleep. Nothing is more peaceful that the knowledge that I have so much to be thankful for.
I try to share my gratitude with at least one person every week. I hope that by doing so, it helps that person have a better day.
I thank people for service that they have given me. What better way to improve someone else’s day than by thanking them for a service that is often not acknowledged nor appreciated.
I also try to look for the blessings that are attached to my goals. I look for those times when others have gone out of their way to help me. I look for those people who encourage me so that I can be grateful. I look for those ways that others have made my day just that much better.

 

I am blessed in the knowledge that I have completed the second draft of my next novel: Sailing Under The Black Flag a few days early. Early enough that I can get caught up on other writing projects and ahead before i have to work on the second draft of my next book: In The Shadow Of The Millpond.

Safe but Curious

We are told to step out of our comfort zone, but at the same time, we are also told to think things through before stepping out into the unknown, both are polar opposites, and yet, they are also both very true.

Curiosity Killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back.”

In everything there needs to be a balance. If there is one thing that I learned when I was in my philosophy classes in college was that what is true for one person’s circumstance is not always true for another person’s. It is not even necessarily true for the same person in different circumstances.
Have you ever stood on the edge of a cliff and looked over a large drop-off? One wrong step and you could be history, but you still stand on the edge. Why is that? It is because the view is breathtaking. If you stayed where it is safest, you would not have been able to see things from that vantage point.
Playing it safe is. . .well. . . safe, but stepping out of our comfort zone can be so much more rewarding. Think about ways that you can step out and be noticed.

My life lately has been like that I am very near the edge of my comfort zone and at time I feel very uncomfortable.as of late, I have been over extending myself.  However, in the process, my world is ever expanding and I am finding satisfaction as I make those changes in my life.

Donna Brown is an ordained minister. As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues. Her upcoming book A Coward’s Solace will be available soon. Click here for more information about Cygnet Brown and her books.