This is Day 2 of the 14-Day Gratitude Challenge held in Aug 2013, where we practice gratitude for 14 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hey everyone! Today is Day 2 of our gratitude challenge. Are you ready for today’s task?? :D
Day 2: Food
Food. We eat it every day, but do we ever give thanks to it?
Giving thanks for food is a practice observed in many cultures and religions.
In Japanese culture, the Japanese have a practice of beginning their meals with the phrase “itadakimasu” (いただきます). While it literally means “I humbly receive”, the phrase actually takes its roots in gratitude–to express gratitude for all who played a role in preparing, cultivating, ranching or hunting the food. (Read more: Eating and Drinking Etiquette in Japan.)
In French culture, the French say “bon appétit” which means “have a good meal” or enjoy your meal”. Some see it as a way of giving thanks before a meal.
Islam has a specific criteria on the foods that Muslims are allowed to have as well as how the food should be prepared. These foods are also termed as “halal” foods (halal is an Arabic word meaning “lawful” or “permissible”).
Under the Islamic Shariʻah, Muslims can only consume animals (non-pork) which have been slaughtered in the name of “Allah” (the Muslim God) and slaughtered in a way that minimizes their pain before death. The reason is because the Quran teaches that all animals, as creatures, should be treated with respect and care. It teaches Muslims to show mercy to animals due to the mercy of Allaah upon them. (Muslims, please correct me if I’m wrong!).
Then before beginning a meal, Muslims recite the Basmala (an Islamic phrase); after the meal, they say ” ‘Al humdu lil Allahil lazi at’amanaa wasaqaana waja’alana minal muslimeen” (which means “Praise to Allah for feeding us, giving us to drink and making us Muslims”). (Read: Islamic grace)
Then in Christianity, there is an established practice of saying your grace before your meals. Some of my religious Christian friends would say their grace before every meal, so I’ll always take my moment of silence every time they say their grace.
Some typical Christian prayers (courtesy of Wikipedia):
- Ecumenical. God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.
- Catholic. (before eating) Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
- Anglican. Bless, O Father, Thy gifts to our use and us to Thy service; for Christ’s sake. Amen.
- Australian (any denomination). Come Lord Jesus, be our Guest, let this food of ours be blessed. Amen.
- British / Australian religious schools. For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen.
Yesterday I gave thanks while having my dinner with Ken at a Glasgow restaurant. I ordered their soup of the day, which is chilli, sweet potato, and coconut soup, as well as breaded bocconcini.
Us in the restaurant
Breaded bocconcini — that’s fried bread with cheese inside for you. Along with some mixed salad. As a rule I don’t like fried stuff as it’s not the healthiest food around, but I’ve never had bocconcini before so wanted to see what it’s like!
The soup of the day — chilli, sweet potato, and coconut soup, along with bread. That’s garlic butter (I think?) at the bottom of the plate!
After the waitress served the food, and before I ate, I said outloud (while Ken watched in bewilderment before I told him later what this was all about)):
I want to give thanks for the food I’m about to have today.
I thank the farmer(s) for growing the chilli, sweet potato, coconut, and other ingredients that went into the creation of this food.
I thank the trucks for delivering the food to where it needed to be.
I thank the chefs of this restaurant who made this food I’m about to have.
I thank the waitress for serving the food to me.
I thank Mother Nature for creating chilli, sweet potato, coconut, among other great and healthy food in the world today.
I thank GG’s company for sending him to Scotland for work or we would not have the opportunity to be here right now. (GG is my nickname for Ken.)
I thank GG for bringing me to Scotland with him and taking me to this restaurant or I would never have the opportunity to have this meal now.
I thank everyone and everything that went into the creation of this food.
I thank the universe for the opportunity to eat and not starve while millions of people out there are starving on the streets and in their homes, be it in Africa, India, or third-world countries.
Itadakimasu! (いただきます)
(Yes, I really said those lines out loud while sitting in a public restaurant in front of Ken who had no idea what I was trying to do at that point in time.)
The food tasted especially good during that meal. :D Giving thanks for my food made me more aware and appreciative of the efforts that go behind what I eat, and reminded me to continue to be thankful for all the food I’ll consume from here on out.
For today’s task, I would like you to give thanks for your food. You don’t have to be religious to give thanks (I mean, I did it and I’m not religious!); it’s simply about being grateful for the food you get to have which keeps you well and alive.
Your Task: Give Thanks for Your Food
- Take a picture of your meals (one of your meals or all of them, whichever you please!). The objective is to share with the other participants in the challenge and to keep a personal log of what you ate for today in your gratitude journal!
- Before you tuck in, give thanks for your food–be it verbally out loud or mentally in your head. Do it in whichever way you desire, based on your religion (if you have one) and your culture.
- Last but not least, enjoy your food! Take small bites, chew it slowly, and savor every bite of it (conscious eating is the way), while remaining aware and appreciative of all the hard work and time that went into the creation of your food.
Daily Journaling: Write 3 Things You Are Grateful for Today
On top of today’s task, identify 3 things you are grateful for today. These 3 things can be events that occurred today, mishaps which could have happened but didn’t happen, or simply things which have always been in your life but which you suddenly came to feel grateful for today.
3 things I’m grateful for today:
- I get the opportunity to touch your lives every day, even if in a little way. Because of you, I live.
- Your amazing participation in this gratitude challenge! Seeing your responses (text comments and pictures alike) for Day 0 and Day 1 so far are creating such a fuzzy feeling in my heart!
- For the opportunity to touch the life of my latest coaching client, T*, and to support her in her goals for the next month ahead.
Share Your Results!
What did you have for your meals today? (Share your pictures, please! Simply click the little icon on the bottom left corner of the comment box.) How did you give thanks for your food?
What are 3 things you are grateful for today?
Share them in the comments section! :)
Once you’re done, proceed to Gratitude Challenge Day 3: Write a Gratitude Note to Someone.
(Images: Gratitude, Healthy food
)
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I always say a prayer of thanks silently, but today, I am going to savor each word with the same gusto as I savor my food. Maybe that’s part of the goal of being thankful today. Select the words you speak with the same attention as you would in selecting your food. May your mouths be filled with nourishment from healthy words and food.
Yes, it’s important to select the healthy food. And, it’s also important to enjoy the food in a happy mood~ (whether to have the meal alone or with someone else ^^ )
Wish you enjoy the food slowly and healthily!
Today, I went for a gathering dinner with my ex-colleagues. Below photo is the special food that I have ever seen for now. :) The waiter poured alcohol onto the chicken and burn the alcohol with fire. However, yes, I thanked to the food, and I prayed for the chicken to be able to have a better re-incarnation…
Next, 3 things that I’m grateful for today:
1. Today is the final exam of my teaching paper. I’m grateful that most of my students could answer the final exam paper correctly!! I’m yet to mark the paper, but I believe the passing rate of my paper will be very high!! ^^
2. I have been teaching this batch of students for 4 semesters (1 year and 4 months)!! I’m pleasure to have the chance to teach them and guide them throughout this one year plus!! Today is the last day of last semester that I teach them. I went for a lunch with them, and wish them have a great success in their future for what they are interested in~
3. At night, I went for a gathering with my boyfriend and ex-colleagues~ I’m so happy to get to meet up with them and chit chat with them, although I was tired of invigilation yesterday and this morning. :)
Hi Jaleen, thanks so much for sharing what you had for dinner! I must say I’ve never seen chicken served in this manner over the dining table! And yes, like you, I pray that the chicken has a better reincarnation in the next life.
That’s lovely that you’ve been teaching and guiding your students for the past year and 4 months! I’m sure they must be very inspired by you; they are very lucky to have a teacher who is conscious and actively pursuing her growth. :) What subjects are you teaching them?
Hi Celes, I’m teaching them programming subject, which needs their effort to think how to resolve the problems. I’m so happy that they are really willing to learn and think out of box for the practical questions I gave to them throughout the semester. And, they challenge me sometimes too with the problems they have in their minds. We learn together to get the problems solved. I really love this kind of two-way teaching environment with them! :) They are the best students I ever teach since I joined the educational line!
My three points of gratitude for today:
1. I’ve learned to stand out for myself instead of just worrying about other people.
2. To have a healthy, happy and openminded child.
3. A special friend who I’ve gotten back to my life.
As for food. I had vegetarian sushi for lunch before I even read the assignment. It was a lovely lunch out.
For dinner I made a simple salad with mustard dressing. I ate it together with my mum, my child and husband. I told them what was going on and together we thanked for everything: my child for making the table, farmers who grow beautiful vegetables, the sun for making it all taste great, the fact that we live in a country where we get enough clean food and water to eat and drink, the people we are blessed to share our meals and the good manners we have as a respect for the food and each other.
After giving thanks, I blessed the food and we all ate and enjoyed ourselves.
That’s so lovely! :) That salad looks simply delicious!
Thanks! It did taste good :))
I did not post a picture of the food I had for dinner but here is my post on the Day 2 challenge..
http://randomthoughts-musings.blogspot.com/2013/08/daily-gratitude-log-2.html
Giving thanks for my food and what I’m grateful for today: http://nifermusings.blogspot.com/2013/08/gratitude-challenge-give-thanks-for.html
I live in Poland and it’s too late for me to be grateful for food today. :-) No meals after 7 PM :-) I’ll do it tomorrow. Thank you for this task. I like it because I wanted to try mindful eating and I keep forgetting.
Hey Aldona, not a problem at all! :) Don’t worry about the time zone differences or trying to “chase” the task to meet the timing; rather just do the task in the convenient day/time you can.
Look forward to your update on Day 2’s task tomorrow! :)
Three things I’m grateful for today:
1. Sergio helping me fix my house.
2. Agnes’ positive view of life’s ups and downs.
3. Rodney sending me silly emails.
4. A small but very important success at work that was unexpectedly acknowledged by someone else in our staff meeting this morning!
I bring my lunch to work: Chicken and veggies (with a side order of crossword puzzle).
“Thank you to nature, for providing such a bountiful variety of nourishment,
thank you to the farmers who farmed my food,
the people and companies who make foreign fruits available in our country,
thank you, that I always have enough to eat,
and so many choices.”
3 Things I’m grateful for today:
1. 32 months with my wonderful boyfriend
2. Internet recources that make my work as a graphics and webdesigner SO much easier
3. Sunshine, and a beautiful walk in it :)
Foto: Watermelon, Blueberries and Almonds (my snack this afternoon <3)
What a fantastic photo you’ve taken here – that looks absolutely delicious! :D
Thank you :) It WAS delicious! :) I love a good bowl of fruit and almonds top it off nicely! <3 Or a drop of honey… yum :)
I second what Maths Magpie said! The food you had looks both HEALTHY and DELICIOUS!!! You are inspiring those seeing this to eat healthily. I wish I can have what you had at this moment, Ffion!! ;)
Haha, thank you! :) I love fruit so much! Much more than sweets or biscuits. They make such a delicious guilt-free snack :) I’m glad you like it!
I see a time difference is in play — for me in America it’s not quite dinner time yet, while for others, the day is over and their posts are complete. That makes this challenge really fun, seeing what someone ate during a time period I haven’t yet reached!
On that note, I will admit this challenge was particularly difficult for me. I am not one who says grace before meals, and while I am grateful for food and to those who prepare it, I seldom take time to say so.
Breakfast time wasn’t an issue for me, haha, as I don’t tend to eat first thing in the morning. Not a diet thing — I just don’t get hungry till noon, and see no purpose in eating before my body calls me to do so. But I did have lunch out with my hubz. Here’s my post about that:
Nice! I´ll use the time difference then to wish you a super tasty meal in good company! :-)
heehee! Thanks, Lise! :)
What a lovely daily task! We went out for a family meal this evening and discussed our gratitude and appreciation for the food. http://bigorsmallgratefulforall.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/day-2-giving-thanks-for-our-food.html
3 (actually 7 – it has been a good day) Things I am grateful for today – 16 August 2013
1. A hot shower in the morning – hadn’t had one in ages because it was too hot to enjoy a hot shower
2. My smooth feet after a pedicure
3. An interesting chat I had with my beautician
4. A bargain that I got at the grocery store – for me and my aunts :-)
5. The fact that I have donated immediately to LibreOffice Open Community and have not procastrinated on it as I usually do with donations to causes I find worthy
6. The fact that my aunt gave me half of her tomato sauce after she must have heard from somebody that I have burned mine. Related to this I am also greateful that I only burned the sauce and nothing worse happened
7. The fact that I stuck to my diet today and also went jogging
Praising the food – a watermellon. This was my dinner – I only read about the challenge at 5 pm and the watermellon was the only food I have eaten afterwards. When thanking for food I picked a similar concept to yours Celes. I like this concept because it shows how the whole society is interdependant and how much other people contribute to our daily lives. It is actually not new to me, years ago I have read about it in a book excerpt during one of my classes and have even noted down the book it was taken from but have lost the piece of paper. Which is also one of the reasons I am creating a life handbook which you mentioned in one of your comments a few days ago. So another benefit from taking part in this challenge. I have a lot of things written down in different places and mostly they get lost so a life handbook is a perfect tool to organise everything that is important to me in my life :-)
Thanks I have given to my watermellon
1. Thank you nature for creating a watermellon
2. Thank you farmer for planting the seed
3. Thank you seed for growing into a watermellon plant
4. Thank you nature for watering the plant
5. Thank you farmer for picking the watermellon
6. Thank you truck driver for driving the watermellon to the shop
7. Thank you shop staff for selling the watermellon
8. Thank you my “job” for providing me with the money to buy the watermellon
9. Thank you my health for enabling me to eat the watermellon
I appologise but the photo is not of very good quality, it got overexposed :-(
I almost always say a prayer of thanks before each meal. Today I enjoyed grits and scrambled eggs for breakfast and a green salad with a small serving of tuna salad on the side for lunch. Supper tonight will be chicken and rice, a family favorite. :)
Too late to take pictures of the food I/we ate today, but… my 6-year old son and I made pizza today. So there was a lot to be grateful about: the cosyness in the kitchen, the smalltalk about his day (he just started at school), the preparing of the dough, tomatsauce and deciding what other ingredients we wanted to use. We talk a lot about food. Healthy, pretty, vibrant, bio food is important to us, which makes it very easy to appreciate it. Not limited to at the table, but also at the store; making choices for lokal, preferably biological products and preparing a lot at home. Making our own (rye)bread eg.
Today I felt grateful about:
– how easy my sons adept to their new routines after sommerholiday, making new friends and having loads of new impressions.
– having a supercosy family evening, with tv, hugs and building of a Lego castle :-)
– that I´ve learned how to recharge my battery when needed; by just concentrating on my breath for a minute or so.
– the easy access to knowledge.
Sounds like you and your son had a lovely time! How was the pizza?
I couldn’t agree more about the importance of just taking a little time out and concentrating on just breathing – it makes all the difference doesn’t it.
We absolutely did & the pizza was excellent: he made a kids section and an adult section (tough there really wasn´t that much of a difference) ;-)
About the breathing – yes, it does! So it´s a bit weird that there are so many people who just forget to really breathe…
Aw, home-made pizza is just divine! :)
Aug 16 – Day 2
In
today’s assignment we are to show our gratitude towards food and the meals we
eat. For many of us the idea of free
time to enjoy a meal is a pipe dream. The fast paced life lived by many equals
lots of eating out and processed foods.
Even though I personally enjoy cooking, I rarely if ever these days get
to prepare my own meals. Such is life I
guess when you work two jobs and live basically alone with nobody at home to
feed.
After getting to sleep in late today, I decided that I would
take the time to stop into one of my favorite local places for a little meal
before going to work this afternoon. It’s called the Crab Shack, and is located
across the street from my main job. I am
not normally a seafood person, but have found a lunch special that does warm my
taste buds. For $6.95 plus drink I was
able to enjoy a fried shrimp lunch special, with French fries and cold
slaw. I took a moment to pause not only
for the picture, but to actually enjoy the fact that I had a few moments to sit
at an actual table for a meal instead of just standing in my kitchen or sitting
at my desk work desk. I try to do this
at least once a week, having either breakfast or lunch somewhere instead of
just grabbing things to go. The server
was even nice enough to give me a sweet tea to take with me after my meal.
3 Things grateful for today
I was
able to sleep in until roughly 1PM. This
never happens in my life seeing that either work or my dog has me up a lot
earlier.
I
received a letter from Jacksonville University in the mail. It thanked me for
my small contribution that I sent in a few weeks back, but also included a
handwritten note from the school thanking me for the recent “old school reunion”
I had last month bringing old college friends back to campus for a
weekend. That makes me want to do it
again.
I got
an email from my cell phone company saying that the new phone I ordered earlier
this week has shipped. I would expect it
to arrive early to middle of next week.
It is always exciting to have a “new toy” but this device has so many
extras that I would not even imagine years ago.
And a
fourth one that just occurred when I got to work today… We have a lady who
comes by our TV station once in a while with baked goods for the staff. She
brings cookies, brownies and such for everyone to share. Today she stopped by with her husband for a
quick moment and wanted to visit with me.
Not the anchors like normally, but little old me working in the background. I run a meme page on Facebook with some funny
and inspirational pictures. It was nice
to spend a few moments chatting with the two of them and the receptionist about
the pictures. Her husband and I also made
plans to catch a wrestling pay per view at some point soon.
That looks like a meal I used to get when I lived in Massachusetts. Sure do miss the seafood meals I used to get there. Glad you got to sleep in. It is the “small” people in the world that are the backbone of the bigger people. Keep up your hardwork
Thanks Karin!
Thank you very much Celes for choosing this task :)
First of all I would like to say that I loved reading about your gratitude challenge day 2 :) it’s really nice that you are also taking part in it and really practising what you preach.
I think the Japanese way of being thankful for our food is very beautiful!! I love the humbleness..
You described the islamic manners very good :)
For me the past month was all about showing gratitude for food, because I fasted during ramadan and some days were very hard, as I was on holiday in Turkey and after touring Istanbul for a whole day my mouth couldn’t even produce saliva anymore xD the first glass of water made me feel like I was in heaven, every single day :) but I’m thankful that you reminded us to enjoy every bite! Because when you’re hungry it’s easy to eat mindlessly..
Today I was also fasting because I need to make up for a few days that I couldn’t fast during the month of ramadan. I had a glass of water and lentil soup for today’s iftar (meal after sunset with which you break your fast). It was not much but sufficient after 16,5 hours of no food or drink :D
I showed gratitude by praying for everyone who made it possible for me to have this meal and the islamic prayers that you already mentioned :)
ooops :D
And here’s my blog post http://aysharosa.blogspot.nl/2013/08/gratitude-challenge-day-2_16.html
Here are the three {four!} things for which I am particularly grateful today:
I second the fonts :D Glad I’m not the only one who squees over them ^^
I was very grateful for the food I ate today. I wasn’t feeling well this morning and breakfast really helped! I looked forward to my lunch bought from Marks & Spencer’s – a Moroccan carrot/sweet potato/Cous Cous salad and slice of cheesecake. It was heaven. I treat myself on Fridays.
For dinner my dad and I had the last frozen and reheated portion of vegetarian bolognese/chili with brown pasta. I focused on enjoying it and feeling grateful for it.
My 3 gratitude points for today:
My excellent hearing – I can hear my neighbors laughing and talking, having a dinner party in the garden. And not letting it bother me!
The book ‘angels in my hair’ lent to me by my friend. I’m really enjoying reading it.
For all the new and renewed subscriptions we processes today at work.
X x
Today I took a moment before I started eating and silently thanked everyone who have made it possible that I have this food on the table. Recently I very often eat (when I eat alone) in front of my computer, so today I shutted it down. It wasnt so easy to focus on being grateful (aware and appreciative of all the hard work and time that went into the creation of your food- like Celes said) – I felt a bit restless, bored. I will really try to be more conscious while eating.
Today, I am grateful for:
– getting up early in the morning and going hiking,
– remembering the importance of conscious eating,
– writing my diploma and an insight that every step counts (my “speed” of writing is slow at the moment and I accepted that),
– blender.
3 things I’m grateful for today: I had the time to relax and read an interesting book,my older sister helped me in the chores in the morning because I was a bit tired, me and my family had a good time in the afternoon at my grandma’s house
as for today’s task: since I’m a muslim we do that evreyday like you said we begin with besmellah and finish with alhamdoulelah but today I felt it even more and I gave thanks to evrey person who participated in making this food, thank you dad for bringing us food evreyday and thank you mom for cooking for us and thank god the creator of evreything for his endless blessings.
finally thank you celestine for making us do this I’m enjoying it and it makes me feel great
this is a picture of my simple yet delicious dinner , these are two tunisian salads one is called slata mechwia and the other is called keftaji and some bread (^_^)
GRATITUDE FOR FOOD TODAY…
(AND EVERY DAY…)
“ITADAKIMASU”
Eating and blessing the food with consciousness helped me to slow down and really notice and receive food today. It helped me to be mindful of all the people and energy it took to bring this food to the table, and to be grateful and give thanks for everyone and everything.
I started out with the meaningful word “Itadakimasu” (thank you Celes for this word).and with an empty bowl at the table in the kitchen. In the attitude of “I humbly receive” I really got tuned into gratitude and blessing the food that I would be eating.
Then I served the food into my bowl noticing how beautiful the food was, the colors and the aromas. It was then I decided to go outside to further enjoy my meal under the blue skies and warm sun, further blessing the food and myself. I offered the meal to the highest good of my body using the blessed, beautiful food. I am reminded to offer a “spirit plate,” or small food offering back to the earth (little bites of the food) as some native peoples do. Being outside increased my awareness and gratitude of the food, and I felt more aware of being and living on the earth where the food came from. And most of the veggies came from our garden!
So following these words are photos of the process of my gratitude for food today.
Especially today:
I am grateful for the camera and my friend who helped with snapping these images.
I am grateful for the photo of a verrrry happy and joyful Celes and Ken in Scotland at their meal, and for Celes’ mindful eating and blessing the food at their meal together.
I am grateful to be in this challenge with everyone here who is so beautifully and thoughtfully contributing with attention and energy such inspiring words and ideas and images.
THANK YOU EVERYONE for all the great sharing. It really makes a difference to me to hear/see what you are thinking and feeling about the topics Celes poses for us.
Your words are blessings for me.
I actually saw this challenge very late – after dinner.
But even then, simply creating a log of what all I had eaten in the day made me experience immense gratitude for those who had worked to get it to my table.
thank you Celes for identifying such a beautiful task for us.
Also, in many Indian households you will find people giving thanks before starting to eat food. However, I have kind -of given it a miss for many years now. I am so happy to bring it back in. I resolve to be grateful for whatever I eat from now on. Hopefully, my children will also pick up this habit.
Thanks again.
As for a few things that I was grateful for – getting up on time and being able to go for morning walk; fast transit time from office to home in the evening, despite Delhi rains ; one of my team members walking an extra mile to finish some work assigned to her; …
Thanks again :-)
Hi Anuj, I like that you created a log of what you had eaten in the day as a way of feeling the gratitude. Saying your grace doesn’t have to be before the meal; it can be after the meal too, as I’ve written about the Islam way above.
Also, the task is really to get us going — those of us who were unable to do this task today due to timezone differences can do it tomorrow, then report our results in Day 2’s thread! After all, this challenge isn’t about chasing timezones or meeting task timings–it’s about cultivating the habit of gratitude in our life.
http://donettas.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/day-2-of-gratitude-food/
I was taught the Christian prayer of “God is great…..” before eating. The 3 things I am thankful for today: 1. That my children and I have a variety of foods to choose from. Not everyone has that choice. 2. Both of my children like their teachers at open house yesterday and both seem excited to return to school next week. 3. That I have a hobby of painting ceramics that I actually do pretty well. :) Thanks Celes!
Aw what a beautiful family you have, Magpie!! And so wonderful that all of you can discuss your gratitude for food together. Beautiful both inside and out. Lovely! ♥
I am grateful that I have options for the food I eat on a daily basis.
I am grateful for the options I have.
Today I am grateful for many things but I will limit it to the top 3.
#1 I conquered my fears and went to the lawyer with my wife. We got our wills and POA’s done. It was rough discussing what we would do if one of us died but with her love and support I got through it
#2 I really took time out today to give praise and thanks to the people that care for the animals I eat, the people who protect the animals so their death is ethical and the people who prepare the meat for me. I also give the farmers and pickers thanks for working in the hot sun and sometimes with dangerous chemicals to give me the fruits and veges I eat.
#3 Despite all the abuse and loss I have endured in my lifetime I still love the human race and can still find joy in every day. I have the choice to make each day bright or bleak and I’m finally in a place where I find the light most days. Thanks to my partner I no I will no longer be alone in this world.
Prayed before meals, no picture because I don’t know how to do it
Grateful to be able to be supportive of my wife in her new job
Grateful I can let newcomers know they can have hope
Grateful I have such a great life
Thanks Celes- this is really a wonderful idea.
In my family, we don’t say any prayers for food, but we do keep the first serving at the altar we pray. And of course food wastage is considered a sin.
Your task today is especially relevant, since we had a festival today and we made some special snacks. So adding those pix.
Another pic
I’m sure I have way more than three things to be grateful for today. (Long story alert!):
I got into a minor traffic accident today (on my way to the DMV to get my license, no less! needless to say I don’t have it). I’m moving into my apartment for school this weekend, so my mother had sort of pushed me into getting it and I didn’t argue even though I didn’t feel ready because I knew she wanted me to have it for school. I had felt terribly nervous all week; I was convinced that something bad would happen, but since it didn’t I just chalked it down to nerves.
But then today, as I tried to merge I didn’t look over my shoulder properly after checking my mirrors, missed a car in my blind spot and didn’t see it until my car glanced off its side. We were going pretty slow, no one was hurt, and the damage was minor. That’s three things to be grateful for right there. But it didn’t stop there.
Everyone at home had been irritable because they were lugging my heavy furniture around, so this mishap was the icing on the crap cake. Funnily enough, even though I had felt very tense up until that point, as soon as I hit the car, I suddenly felt really calm. We pulled over and the person with me got out, talked to the guy and agreed to find a parking lot to talk in.
When I spoke to the man (who was a pretty big guy, especially compared to me) he was really, really nice. He could, and probably should, have been very angry with me. But he seemed to have just accepted it. I kept apologizing, but he just said that “these things happen”. He even told me not to get discouraged! He also said, “Don’t let this keep you from driving; just keep practicing.”
Then he told us that earlier that same day he had been in the car with his wife (who was not there at the time), and someone had sped past him and almost hit him while they were in a parking lot. He said he got really angry and started cursing the guy, when his wife stopped him and said, “what are you cursing for?”, and told him he should try to be understanding, and that he didn’t have to get upset about these things, that he could react with compassion rather than anger.
I already knew about mindfulness and choosing how you react to things and all that (I took a whole class about it last semester), but I’m sorry to say I never fully put it into practice. But this really had an impact on me.
Furthermore, we got all the insurance stuff cleared up, and the lady on the phone was very gentle and kind about it, even though answering phones and talking about accidents could easily tire anyone out. She also told me not to worry and that they’d get everything sorted out. And when we went into a store, the cashier was extremely cheerful and polite and even had a little chat with us as she rang us up. And at my new apartment later, my mother, her boyfriend, my brother, his friend, and my aunt and cousin all helped move all of my heavy furniture around.
And on top of THAT my brother, (who usually drives the car I was using, though it really belongs to my mother) told me it was fine, even though he seemed pretty down about it (the car doesn’t look bad, but the driver’s door scrapes when it opens, so he has to climb in by the passenger’s side until it’s fixed, which thankfully shouldn’t be too long), and by the end of the day he had already cheered up and we were talking and laughing and even singing together as we drove back from my apartment in that very same car!
Sorry this is so long, but this was definitely one of those could-have-been-worst-days-but-turned-into-best-days, and I’m still amazed by it. Everyone was so kind and caring and understanding of me; no one even reprimanded me or reminded me to be more careful next time.
For the rest of the day, I made sure to be cheerful and nice, and thank everyone profusely. Even though I usually get annoyed when my mother orders me around in that panicky, exasperated, and patronizing way she gets when she’s stressed, today I made sure to respond cheerfully to all of her requests, even the not-so-polite demands. It suddenly wasn’t as hard as I had always thought it was. I just had to let go of that part of me that got indignant and offended when spoken to like that, which was easy to do because I felt I owed her, because I felt GRATEFUL for all she had done for me that day.
If anyone read all this, thanks so much! I hope it inspired someone to be kind and understanding next time a newbie like me is driving poorly (or next time anyone annoys them ever). After all, “Lessons in life will happen in cycles until you learn how to evolve past them. Learn from mistakes, do not repeat them.” – Awakened Vibrations (found on tumblr). I intend to learn this lesson well, because as grateful as I am for how this day turned out, I have no intention of repeating it!!
I can relate to SO much you typed here.
I’ve had my license for years now, but have very little experience driving because it always sort of scares me. I want to do it, but it just seems like there’s so many things that could happen and sort of overwhelming and I’m afraid I won’t react well and make a serious mistake. Hearing this story reminds me, hey, we’re all new at something at some point, right? Personally, this story was inspiring because it didn’t scare you from trying again! I’ve never gotten into an accident, but someone made the comment when I had just gotten my license that it wasn’t an “if, but when” it would happen to me…and I think that stuck with me. =( But thank you! You’ve managed to remind me that I’m not the only person in the world who’s not 100% in regards to driving yet, even though I often feel like it!
And as for your mom…my mom is very similar. She talks to me in this awful tone constantly, and we never quite see eye to eye. Maybe I should give it a go and make the effort to just try doing what she says without argument for a day — maybe she’s not being as unfair as I feel she is!
Anyway, I do hope you never have to go through all of this again, but thank you again for sharing! <3
Thanks for replying! And it’s definitely not just you!! To be honest I’m really scared of trying again, but I’m going to be sure to study really hard and will definitely not forget to look over my shoulder!!
I’m so happy to hear that it inspired you! Today just made me realize that the moment I may feel I have the most right to be angry could be the moment someone else most needs me to be kind. I mean, I’m usually really non-judgmental and calm, but for some reason I tend to lose my patience with my family, and my mother in particular. I’m sorry to hear that you have a similar situation :( I still have a lot of unresolved issues when it comes to her that I have been trying to work through, but this incident forcibly reminded me that I have at least as much to be grateful to her for as to be angry about. I just have to be sure not to let this fade to the back of my mind and procrastinate changing again.
Now I KNOW that I can choose to be grateful instead of feeling wronged, so I’m really trying to cling to that lesson! By the way, I’m sure you’re a very safe driver :) I’m thinking I should really take a driving class to boost my confidence (the only reason I haven’t is because I haven’t had the time); maybe that would help you too? And with my mother, I think the trick was that I was just very acutely aware of how indebted I am to her, which made everything she did seem perfectly fair when it usually doesn’t. I don’t plan on taking this slavish mentality to heart, but it’s definitely going to help to tap into that gratitude next time.
I just hope I stick to this, since I only really did it for half a day, and I’ll be back at school for the next several months, so I probably won’t really be “tested” until the next long break… But anyway I wish you the best of luck in your situation, and thank you for your kind words and well wishes! :)
Ah, I know what you mean with the breaks! That’s always the hardest to come back to for me as well. For me at least, it’s like living two different lives: at school where I can mostly be myself, and home which seems to bring out the worst in me. =(
And thank you for the kind words, too! I think my lack of confidence stems from somewhere deeper than the skill of driving itself: I’m a very nervous person in general and I think driving just happens to be a place where this is greatly amplified. I haven’t thought to take lessons, but perhaps it’s something I could look into! ^^
I feel the same way! My family brings out the worst in me too :/ Today wasn’t as good as yesterday, but I caught myself before getting frustrated several times and managed to react nicely instead!
And I’m actually really similar! My family has a history of anxiety issues, but my sister seems to have inherited the worst of it and is getting treatment. I don’t think my mother has “officially” sought treatment, but I know she talks to my sister’s therapist a lot, sometimes more than my sister does, according to her! So I try not to blame her for freaking out at me all the time, because she probably can’t help how stressed she gets. I just wish she could find the time to work on it…
I’m not quite so bad, but I’ve been looking into the books my mother bought for my sister, and I recognise a lot of the anxiety symptoms in myself. I have some social anxiety, namely paranoid fears of public humiliation, but what I get most anxious about is when I’m put in a situation where I am supposed to handle adult responsibilities, but I don’t know what to do. So things like driving, setting up bank accounts, and filling out important forms and legal documents really scare me, and for the latter two if my mother can’t do it for me, I’m always asking for directions every step of the way.
But I read in one of my sister’s books that one contributing factor to anxiety is being raised in a very sheltered environment, and I definitely was! My mother always did everything, and since she herself was anxious and worried that we would get hurt or get in trouble, she (perhaps unwittingly) scared us into never trying anything. I used to be too scared to do things like turn on the stove, cross the street, or wash my own clothes, because I was convinced that I would set the house on fire, get hit by a car, or trash all of my clothes and break the washing machine, because of all the times my mother told me that would happen when I asked her why I wasn’t allowed to do those things.
Hmmm… I’m not sure if this comments section is the right place to be putting all this (this is for the gratitude challenge, after all!), but if you would like to email or something to chat more, I’d be up for that! My personal email is ariesdiamond@outlook.com, by the way ^_^ And I’d be cool with some other method of communication if there’s something else you would prefer~ Anyway, I wish you the best of luck in your self improvement journey!
Awww (((((hugs))))) glad you were all OK! Two years ago I took ill whilst driving by myself on top of the viaduct shown in the pic- had to call myself an ambulance. It made me nervous of driving on motorways but I’ve found the only way to overcome it is to do it and not give in. Driving gives me so many opportunities that I’m not ready to give up.
Wow, that must have been really scary! I’m glad that you were able to get help! Thanks for your encouragement, and you’re right too; driving can provide a lot more freedom of movement and it is a good skill to have even if I don’t want to do it very often. I think my best bet for now is to try to take a class since it’ll be slow paced and structured which will help me to raise my confidence while getting more practice :) Thanks for sharing too, I really appreciate the solidarity!
That sounds like a great plan. You can do it! :D
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