Thoughts After a Week of #GiveThanks & What I'm Most Thankful For

It's been a little over a week since President Nelson issued a challenge to #givethanks and share gratitude everyday.  Many of my friends took on this challenge as well.  Suddenly, overnight, my Facebook home feed was filled with gratitude and thanks, for a full week.

For the first day it was just really interesting.  On the second day I, sad to admit, got a little annoyed, mainly because I was just feeling lonely and stuff.  Silly little things, and I felt selfish for the emotion and worked through it.  And for days 3-7 I embraced it and it was just really nice.  

There's been a lot of negativity on social media, so having a week of positivity was a really good change.

Some things I was grateful for weren't mentioned like music and stories.  But the one thing that I'm most grateful for I didn't share this last week, and that is my family.  I'm most thankful for my family.

So after a week of gratitude I hope to carry this on personally.  Funny enough I have gratitude journals that I've purchased--more than one!!--and this challenge has motivated me to open the journals up and work through them.

Hope you have a nice Sunday and a good week,

Sarah.

(I didn't create these memes, but they were getting shared on Facebook, and are pretty funny.  I don't know who created them.)

#Givethanks Day 7: Toilet Paper and the Little Things

This is a year for the memory books: 2020. Jokes have been made.  Tears have been shed.  Isolation has tried souls.  Job losses and heart breaks.  Tyrannical governments testing power, control, and compliance. Etc. And then the toilet paper shortages started, which is still happening here in Utah.  Toilet paper was replenished during the Summer, but when Governor Herbert announced restrictions and mandates, going against promising to never rule as a police state, and even stating that no household could have outside visitors, there was a rush on toilet paper all over again.  Other items are fine.  Just the toilet paper was scavenged and devoured.

2020 has become the year of being thankful for the little things, especially the things we take for granted all the time.  Toilet paper... when Socialists overtook Venezuela there were stories of toilet paper shortages before other shortages began.  I remember thinking it odd that TP would be one of the first items to go, and so it always stuck in the back of my mind.  And then sure enough when our crises struck TP was one of the first things to go.  Ironic or coincidence?  And... I can make so many potty jokes in regard to this, but I'll refrain.  Toilet paper seems so simple.  An everyday item.  An item of convenience, comfort, necessity, without which life would suddenly become more cumbersome.  In the early days of the pandemic I remember a billboard advertising a radio station giveaway: "A Bidet a Day!" the sign read.  I laughed until it was no longer funny.

I've learned to appreciate the little things even more this year.  To appreciate the small moments and be grateful.  Now, I'm not one of those who subscribes to the idea of "the new normal."  I roll my eyes and shake my head with sadness whenever the phrase is spoken or read.  I'm an inquisitive skeptic, always looking at data and asking questions such as, "How many asymptomatic cases are really just false positives?"  and so forth.  I don't want to live in a society where we will perpetually be asked to "mask up."  We're on the edge.  It's possible.  Those who claim to follow science are really following ideologies.

I'm getting off topic, and this is supposed to be a thankful post.  This is actually Day 7 of a week long challenge. (It's all the built up frustration spilling over, so I apologize).  What I'm trying to say is that I am thankful for the little things.  I don't want to take anything for granted, especially toilet paper.  But also food and other necessities.  We get so caught up with life that there are so many things we take for granted.  But I'm also thankful for the freedoms we have.  For liberty, which I will always hold dear and stand up for our right to maintain.  For freedom of thought.  Knowledge.  Truth.  Critical thinking and inquisitiveness.  I will never stop asking questions, and when information is getting censored or people demonetised it will only cause me to dig deeper and ask more questions.  I'm thankful for that right and for agency, which I will always champion.

And this has been a whole lot more serious than originally anticipated.  This blog entry was supposed to be lighthearted, silly even, but my heart took over.

So until next time,

Truth Will Out,

Sarah

(This challenge is inspired by President Nelson's challenge to share Gratitude everyday for a week on social media.)

 

#Givethanks Day 6: The Gift of Life

Another quickie as I like to write these the day before, and I just had Thanksgiving dinner, family is still over, and I'm about to fall asleep. :P Actually, true story.

But goodness, have you ever stopped to realize the incredible blessing it is just to be alive?  To have a life!?  To be in this moment right now?  It's remarkable.  Truly.  Life is remarkable.

Granted, everything isn't perfect.  I'm super crazy far from being perfect.  And there are some things I'm doing better at than others, by a lot.  But you know what?  I'm just happy to be alive.  

Life is a miracle.

You are a miracle! :D

(PS. The pie was yummy. :0)

"I have concluded that counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems." ~ Russell M. Nelson 

(This challenge is inspired by President Nelson's challenge to share Gratitude everyday for a week on social media.)

#Givethanks Day 5: Grateful for Pie and Good Health

This will just be a quickie as I've got a ton of stuff going on today.

Last Thanksgiving I didn't have any pie.  Pie is a rite of passage on Thanksgiving.  But alas, this time last year I was sick.  My 104 fever had broken, my lungs were being attack, super tired, and zero appetite.  The first thing I did Thanksgiving morning when I woke up was grab some hand cream to see if I could smell it, having lost my smell and taste the weekend before.  Thankfully the cream had a scent.  Still don't know what I was sick with, but a part of me still wonders if it was the "Rona", since I caught it at Disneyland when the bug possibly started circulating late last year.  So many mysteries.

So, yeah, most of last year I was sick.  Caught a respiratory illness in Tokyo April 2019, relapsed on the UK trip in May, and then spent the Summer trying to recuperate my lungs.  I was feeling better by Autumn, but then got sick in November, and my lungs have been an issue since.  Good news, though, I've discovered that walking is actually helping my lungs, along with the herbal supplements I've started taking.  There are many hours in a day now where my lungs are feeling normal.  So it's a process, not 100%, but considerably better than earlier this year.

I don't know, it is what it is.  One thing I am thankful for is that I'm feeling so much better.  And this year I'm going to have pie!!  

Gotta appreciate the little things.

Until next time, 

Sarah

(This challenge is inspired by President Nelson's challenge to share Gratitude everyday for a week on social media.)

 

#Givethanks Day 4: The Joy of the Christmas Season

Everyone seems to want a little extra Christmas cheer this year, well, at least that's what it seems like this year.  Several neighbors already have their Christmas decorations and lights displayed.  We already have our tree up!  It's tradition to wait the day after Christmas to put up and decorate the tree.  But not this year.  Today I'm going to help decorate the tree the day before Thanksgiving, and when our family comes to visit tomorrow we can all bask in the tree's glow.  

Isn't that the nicest thing about Christmas Trees?  The lights at night.  All the lights in the house are dimmed or turned off, while the Christmas Tree shines bright.  It's magic.  Enchanting really.  I love it.

It's Exactly one month before Christmas.  November 25th.  Crazy isn't it!!??  Oh my goodness.  Where did this year go??!!  Heh, it's probably a good thing this year has flown by so fast.  But, oh, I don't know.  Do I really want 2021 to be here so soon?  No, not yet.  I'm going to enjoy this time.  Enjoy the Christmas cheer.  Have a hot chocolate or two.  Fill out cards to send in the mail.  Spend time with family.  Read next to the Christmas tree.  Celebrate the birth of Christ.  Watch Christmas movies and listen to Christmas songs.  Just get lost in the feeling.  The peace.

Yup, that's what I'm going to do!

After a year of crazy I'm going to focus on the things that really matter.

Much love,

Sarah

(This challenge is inspired by President Nelson's challenge to share Gratitude everyday for a week on social media.)

 

#GiveThanks Day 3: The Blessing of Jeans That Fit :\

In all honesty I had a hard time coming up with something to be grateful for today. There are a lot of things for which I am grateful.  I don't know... this is really an interesting challenge President Nelson has issued.  

Then I thought of something really silly, but very true!!!!  I'm thankful I had jeans I was able to wear all Summer and Autumn so that I didn't need to buy new jeans.  It seems there were two types of people during quarantine this year: those who gained weight and those who lost weight.  Unfortunately I was in the former group.

Now, some girls love shopping, which is another group I don't fit into.  Clothe shopping is so annoying!!  No, it really is.  I hate clothe and shoe shopping.  30 minutes in and I'm typically in a bad mood.  Now book shopping is another story.  That can last for many blissful hours.  Also, I feel indulgent if I spend over $40 for a shirt, but can easily drop $35 dollars on the right book without thinking twice.  True story. :\

But in all honesty I just don't have the money to splurge on clothes right now, so the stress of possibly needing to buy new jeans was overwhelming.  Thankfully I didn't throw out my "bigger" jeans when I lost a little weight and kept them in a drawer, but those are the jeans I was able to wear as I tackled pandemic weight gain and loss.  They got tight, but wearable, and now that I've lost my quarantine weight they're comfortable.  Still wearing them and afraid to try my other jeans.

Yeah, this seems like a silly, probably vain thing to be thankful for, but it's something I'm honestly glad I had.  Though I also need to stop buying books and get my priorities straight.  Books are my happy place.

(This challenge is inspired by President Nelson's challenge to share Gratitude everyday for a week on social media.)

 

#GiveThanks Day 2: The Beauty of Light

Early morning light warms up my room as I start this post.  How often do we stop and realize what a blessing it is to have our sun?  Our universe, this Earth, is so perfectly balanced.  There's a long list of what is needed for life to exist on a planet, one of which is a sun.  Ours is just the right size and distance.  The spinning of the Earth is just the right speed for a balance of warmth and cool, light and darkness.  Everyday the Earth revolves one round, bringing us out of darkness when we're in need of light once more.

Then there's the Eco-biological blessings of light.  Photosynthesis.  The life it brings.  Helping turn carbon-dioxide to oxygen, so we can breath and have clean air.  

There's something magical that comes from lying on the ground in the open air, bathed in light.  It renews our spirit.  It gives us vitamin D.  And it can give us cancer if we don't take the proper precautions, so there's that as well.  That's not a good thing, so I'm thankful for sunscreen, hats, and umbrellas.

But I've been thinking a lot recently about the symbolism of light vs dark, which can be applied to good vs evil.  I'm about to sound pretty cliché, but there's that image of the power of light to push out darkness.  Light a match, that simple flame, and darkness flees.  Darkness cannot stand where light shines.  Where there is no light darkness attacks, infiltrates, and devours.  Once someone turns on a light then darkness cannot remain.

It's interesting how light is an action.  You must willingly, actively bring light.  The match must be lit.  The light bulb turned on.  The sun must be formed to shine.  Darkness is the result of no action towards bringing light.  

And the same goes for us.  We can be a light or succumb to darkness.  It's a choice, one each of us can make.  We can choose, use our agency, and act in a way that brings light to the World.  Love, peace, hope, and kindness.  Though I'm not saying that those that suffer with grief and battle darkness can't, or are not able to have light.

Life is crazy at times.  But I can testify in the power of light and in God's goodness.  There are times when I've sorrowed, prayed, and felt love pour over me in comfort, and the only way to truly explain the feeling is that it felt like I was being bathed in light.  Pure light.  This doesn't happen every time I pray, just a few choice moments here and there, but I am thankful for the times I've been able to feel God's love and peace.  It seems I move through times where I feel really close to heaven vs. very distant.  That ebb and flow.  Times of trial mixed with serenity.  Moments that allow me to keep trying, keep working, and keep exercising faith.

I have no doubt God lives and he is good.  I have no doubt we are his children and this is his World.  I have no doubt in God's love for us.  The sun warms our skin, but God's love warms our soul.

Much love,

Keep the Faith,

Don't give up,

Light shines all around us,

Sarah

(This challenge is inspired by President Nelson's challenge to share Gratitude everyday for a week on social media.)

#Givethanks Day 1: There Are Always New Things to Discover

For the last few years I was blessed with the opportunity to travel, but since February I haven't ventured beyond 20 or so miles.  Not out of choice, but circumstance, and this little thing called a pandemic.

I'm thankful for that time traveling about, especially now.  This year I've been able to explore the area in which I live a little bit more.  Find new places.  New nooks.  Just this last week I took a couple drives along the mountain to Springville and Mapleton, which I've never really ventured.  Quaint little communities, really.  And then ended up at Robbie and Lindsay's, my brother and sister-in-law, for a little visit.

As part of my workout routine I started doing iFIT workouts on the elliptical and spinning bike, and the workouts have been really fun!  One of the great things about them is the fact that there's workouts from all over the World.  So far I've been hanging out in Japan and England, and can almost imagine I'm there.  It doesn't replace the actual experience of visiting a new place, but it's still amazing to see new things, learn new things while getting healthy at the same time.

It's just amazing the time in which we live.  Yes, the World itself is going crazy, and the censorship is unbearable, but technology also has its pluses.  There's so much information.  So many things to learn.  It's easy to get sucked into YouTube learning new things, hearing different opinions (though there is a censorship problem there as well), and watching silly videos.  Great Courses Plus and Curiosity Stream is a wealth of information.

I dream of traveling again, but I'm thankful to live in an area where there's so much nature and interesting things to discover.  It would be fun to visit all the National Parks we have, in which I've only seen a few.  And it's nice having the mountains so close.  I miss the ocean!!  But love the mountains, too.

So adieu until next time,

Truth will out,

Sarah

 

November Health Goals: Just Trying To Make Sense of It All

Well, what a crazy time we're living in, right?

In other news I've lost... 9.7 pounds from my highest!!!  :D  Almost ten.  Close enough.  And two inches from my waist.  I'm pre-2020 weight!!!

Heh, I did have sugar.  Didn't make it to January 1st, but I did make it a whole seven weeks, which is an accomplishment.  I plateaued for several weeks, so I realized I needed to give my body a break.  For a whole week I didn't walk and allowed myself sweets, and the next week, a couple days ago, fearing for the worst at my latest weigh in I ended up losing two pounds!  Now, could it be from loss of muscle?  Maybe.  Or maybe the loss of stressing had a positive effect.  Also possible.

So, yeah.

But I also realized something startling.  Earlier this year I mentioned how my lungs have been affected by two respiratory illnesses I had in 2019 of unknown origin.  In May I finally went to the doctor to address my squeezed lungs and coughing.  I was put on Montelukast.  I've been struggling all Summer and Autumn with depression and dark thoughts, plus having a hard time sleeping at night feeling unsettled and a dark creepy feeling, needing at times a nightlight and calming music to help me sleep.

I got this really strong feeling to stop taking my medication.  After two weeks I noticed that those night time feelings have gone away, and I was suddenly sleeping much easier.  No longer needing a nightlight and no longer getting that dark presence feeling.

Well, I finally looked up my medicine and found this: "FDA strengthens warning about mental health side effects linked to montelukast." And then in another article, "Those taking montelukast who exhibit mood changing behaviors should immediately report symptoms to a healthcare provider. These can include bad or vivid dreams, depression, disorientation or confusion, feeling anxious, hallucinations, irritability, restlessness, stuttering, and uncontrolled muscle movements."

It's frustrating.  Apparently it really affects kids, but also affects adults.  So, it's really hard not getting really upset, wondering "was it the drug all this time that ramped up my self loathing and feelings of worthlessness?  That was creeping me out at night and making it difficult to sleep?  Or is it all in my imagination?"  I'm sleeping better now, but still battling dark thoughts, but they are easing.  Really, I'm just feeling numb.

And since I've given up this lung medication my squeezed lungs and coughing has returned.  It's not as bad as earlier this year, but still a bother.  I don't want to go to the doctor, so I'm going the natural route to see if that can help.  I hate breathing in a feeling of pressure, afraid to cough and irritate my throat, which then affects my singing.  But it is what it is right now. I'm just figuring this out as I go along.  Those illnesses last year did it to me, so hopefully my lungs will eventually heal from all that trauma.

Well, I'm getting myself back and figuring things out.  Yesterday I found "The Power of Starting Something Stupid" by Richie Norton on my bookshelf.  Got it eons ago and forgot all about it, never read it, but the book's spine jumped out at me, and I knew it was time for it to be in my life.  Already on page 49, and what have I learned thus far?  I've been living in a holding, waiting pattern way too long.  Need to stop that.

President Russell M. Nelson uploaded a video yesterday, "On the Healing Power of Gratitude."  He challenged everyone to write on social media everyday for a week something we are grateful for.  I'm really not active at all on social media, but I have this blog I've yet to abandon, so starting tomorrow, everyday for a week, I will write about something I'm thankful for.

Until next time, Truth Will Out,

Sarah