GRATITUDE (AND THE SUNSHINE AWARD)

Note: This is a little post about Gratitude...but if you are one of the 12 people who I messaged telling you that you have received a Sunshine Award from me, then scroll down to receive it!

You know, it is easy to forget to be grateful for life. Sometimes we just go about our day to day lives focusing on what is right in front of us, but we never stop to look at the bigger picture. It is easy to focus on all the things that may be going wrong and all the things that have not turned out as we planned. But if you take a moment to think about what you do have and all the ways in which life has turned out right for you, you will suddenly find yourself with a whole new perspective on your life.

Do you every take time to think about the magnificence of this life experience? Stop for a second and think about the world we live in. We live on a planet called earth that spins in the universe. We are surrounded by nature, we live amongst animals and we reside in our physical bodies. Think about all the things your life is filled with - your home, your family, your job, your various possessions. We are surrounded by indescribable technological advances, and we really are living at one of the most amazing times in our earths history. Take a moment to become aware of your body. Think about all the amazing processes that go on inside of you on a daily basis - your breathing, your heart beating, your digestion, your liver and kidneys detoxifying your body. Look at your face, your eyes, your mouth, your skin, your hair. It really is quite amazing. We have so many beautiful gifts in this life and all you really need to do is stop and look in the mirror or look outside your window to see it.

What has prompted this gratitude post, is a gift I recently received. Gifts always seem to bring about a feeling of gratitude and they make the heart well with a feeling of thankfulness and happiness. It is a little reminder of life's never ending generosity. So, what is this gift? Well, it is very small and simple, but is something that has filled my heart with love and joy. I received my first ever blogger award!

The Sunshine Award!

The thing that makes this award even better, is that as part of receiving it, I have to pass it along to 12 other bloggers. How beautiful is that! Not only does this award brighten my day, but I get to use this as an opportunity to brighten the day of some other bloggers too.


So, here is the deal...


1. Put the logo on your blog within your post
2. Pass the award on to twelve bloggers
3. Link to the nominees within your post
4. Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and the link to the person from whom you received this award

Those 12 who receive the award, can continue the process by following the above steps and paying this lovely award forward to 12 others too!

Firstly, I want to extend a big, beautiful thank you to the wonderful Tabitha at Taking Apart the Complexities That Are Me for giving me this award and saying some lovely things about my blog.

Secondly, here are the lucky 12 that I want to share this award with

1. Americanising Desi at Life or Something Like it for her powerful, thought provoking posts that are honest, genuine and beautiful.

2. Megan at Jewelchic's Blog for the love, light and happiness she is spreading through the world. Her blog, along with her youtube channel and facebook groups are a constant source of inspiration to me, and her positive energy is totally infectious!

3. Claire at A Bearcats Happiness Project for her beautiful honest writing and her dedication to her spiritual journey and the attainment of true happiness. She also happens to my one of my best friends and I love her dearly.

4. Holly Renee at Love Imagine Create . Holly's blog resonates so deeply with me and everything she writes speaks to my heart. She has a powerful mind, an open heart and a beautiful soul.

5. Tricia at I am Being for reminding me about the truth of life, the natural beauty that surrounds us and how to 'be' the best we can in this journey of life.

6. Julie at Beautiful You for promoting the most inspiring and empowering message about self love and positive body image. Her writing thought provoking and her blog is simply beautiful.

7. Mademoiselle Deva at Always Carried Away for writing posts that warm my heart, inspire me, and make me smile. Her blog has a beautiful feminine energy. Her writing is eloquent and the images she uses are just beautiful.

8. Jessie May at Blossoming Brilliance. This blog is simply jam packed with love, inspiration, empowering messages and good feeling stuff. I totally dig what she is teaching and I love that she is bringing together and empowering women all over the world.

9. Bridget Thompson at Bridget Thompson. Now, I have never met Bridget, but we have chatted via email, and wow you can just tell by her writing how energetic, enthusiastic and excited she is about health and helping others. Bridget's blog promotes a fun, hip and healthy approach to food and I just love the passion that she has for her work.

10. Mimi at Mimi's No Day But Today. Mimi is upbeat, quirky, creative and unique. I have been following her journey along on you tube for a while and I really love her energy and passion for life.

11. Christine at Christine's Adventures for reminding me to constantly create a life I love and find my purpose. I love reading Christine's posts as she journals her journey to finding and creating her dream job. I really admire her commitment and passion.

12. Mirika at Living Your Balance. Mirika is an inspiration. I have been following her blog and I have seen her grow and evolve through her journey. She has been a wonderful source of support and encouragement for me along my path and her blog is a true testament to the power of the mind.

So, there you go. I want to again say what a blessing it was to receive this award. Plus, the process of selecting 12 others to send it to and thinking about what I love about their blogs really opened my heart and has left me feeling warm and fuzzy. There is nothing more beautiful than feeling grateful for receiving. But it is even better when you can then pay it forward and pass that beautiful energy along to others.