VitalSelf 30-Day Gratitude Challenge

Day 30: Grateful for this month!

Today marks the 30th and last official day of this gratitude challenge and based on what I have been hearing from many of you -- this is simply the beginning or continuation of the way you wish to live your life.

As I reflect on the past 30 days I am humbled by amount of daily grace I observe and receive.  A few of the thoughts that I continue to reflect upon:

-"Live as though you are about to leave" - Scotty
- Fear doesn't exist when you are in gratitude - Liz, Tony Robbins
- See the "Das Glueck Im Unglueck" in your life --- literal translation "the luck in the un-luck."  Stephen
- "Sometimes the biggest gift you can give is to graciously receive" - Amy
-  Being grateful and doing something kind for another is a muscle and once flexed does get stronger and feels more natural over time.

I would like to thank all of you for participating in this journey and sharing your thoughts and experiences and I feel richer for it.   I encourage all of you to continue celebrating along the way! 

Thank you to www.thankfulfor.com and KMG for participating in this challenge.  You can continue your daily gratitude throughout the holidays and beyond with www.thankfulfor.com.

Over the past few days - I have been asked if I would like to continue receive stories and insights about the overall impact of participating in the challenge continues to have -- yes!  I would love this.  Please send to me directly at amya@vitalself.com.

Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season!

With an abundance of gratitude,

Amy

Amy Arnold
President & Founder
VitalSelf

Day 29: The Dedicated Dentist

About a month ago, I began the process of finding a new dentist as my dentist of nearly 20 years had recently retired.  It was a bit overwhelming since there were 500 in my insurance plan within 10 miles of my house.

Among other things, I was looking for a dentist who was experienced in the safe removal of old silver amalgam fillings.  I called many dentists including holistic dentists around the area and I spoke with many helpful office managers who were ready to answer basic questions, but I really wanted to speak to the dentist since my goal was also to create a long-term relationship. In addition to the desire to have my questions and concerns addressed, I wanted to get a feel for my potential new dentist.

With each call, I realized the only way I would get a chance to meet the dentist would be to schedule a consultation which we all know involves time and money.  That is, until I received a call two weeks ago on my cell phone from "Scott Dudley" who is a dentist in Clarendon.  He had just arrived at his vacation destination out-of-state and took the time to call me to answer my questions about the amalgam removal.  We were on the phone for quite a while and I was impressed with his knowledge, approach and method to safely remove the fillings.  By the end of the call, there was no question who I was going to go with.  This was on a Friday and by the end of the next week, I had all of my fillings removed and replaced to my satisfaction with the new resin fillings and found a new dentist to boot.

I share this story with you today because I appreciate the fact that Dr. Dudley took the time from his vacation to call me.  I found him to be every bit as kind and caring in person and his staff are wonderful.  I feel that when someone goes out of their way to help another it's important to notice it.  I realize he knew he could be getting a new patient, but after speaking to so many different offices where not once did this happen, I believe it's worth highlighting.

I am very happy with my new dentist Dr. Dudley and will definitely be referring friends, family and clients to him.

In gratitude,

Amy

Day 28: Blustery bliss

Today is a very blustery day!  It would be a perfect new chapter of 'Winnie the Pooh' -- we woke up to winds blowing so strongly that for a moment we wondered if the house would lift off.  After breakfast, we decided to brave the elements and take a walk on the beach with the dogs.  Oso (our senior dog) has been having trouble walking lately so we usually we have to wait for him. 

Today, however, with the cool temperature and strong winds he seemed completely invigorated and his gate picked up to the point that he was nearly at a full "gallop" -- it's a rare sight these days.  I also noticed that while we were all cold in the beginning and chatting about this crazy wind, we too were getting invigorated by the wind and chilly temperatures.  By the end of our walk, I felt so alive and yet peaceful at the same time.

The rest of the crew decided to head into town and walk around some more, but I just wanted to relax a bit and create this post.

I'm grateful for blustery days -- they stir up the energetic system and wake up every cell in our bodies!

In gratitude,
Amy

Day 27: a sunrise to inspire the soul ....

Celebrating the amazing beauty and energy of sunrises at the beach!  So grateful to experience each and every one of them. What an incredible miracle to witness. 

I find many great lessons from them ... first and foremost, how important it is for us to remain present in the now -- it's when we get side-tracked in the craziness of everyday life that we can miss the most amazing colors, masterpieces ... moments that can make the difference between an "ok" day and life and an "outstanding" one!

In gratitude,

Amy

Day 26: Happy thanks & giving!

Today is our official day of "thanks and giving" here in the U.S. and I have to say ... it feels a bit different than years past, in a good way!  I feel like everyone has taken on this spirit of "thanks" in a more significant way or perhaps it's just that I have and my awareness is heightened?

Regardless, I am so very grateful for this day and my own "heightened awareness" and am focusing my gratitude energy on my friends and family! 

I would like to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving!   Enjoy the colors and beauty of this Thanksgiving bouquet ~ what joy they provide asking nothing in return ...

In gratitude,

Amy

Day 25: a new model for reorgs? ...

Having spent nearly 16 years at AOL, I am very attuned to reorgs (that is corporate speak for layoffs).  There was one year where I had six new bosses and multiple departmental heads.  Once you have been through that, it's amazing how hand that experience can play in everyday life.

I am now a part of a non-profit group and recently they had a major change in structure and management.  While the news was a bit shocking, I was at peace with the change even though I understand completely why others were not.  I have this perspective that with each reorg, there will be something good that comes out of it, even if it's simply the knowledge and learning that the reorg was useless. ;-)

Still, this particular reorg was different, the founder of the organization said something amazing to me --- he stated the facts and then simply instructed us to check in with ourselves and determine what we were feeling inside and to follow our own truth.

I was blown away by this perspective  ... as someone who was used to levels of management where the official "word" was always passed down, I absolutely LOVE the fact that we were asked to decide for ourselves ... decide if we want to continue to support  the cause or not.   It got me thinking ...how liberating this was and how open the group then was to expressing and deciding how they wanted to participate moving foward.  I don't know if this could be done at all companies, but I am grateful to have been presented with the information in this manner and allowed the freedom to digest and move forward in whatever way felt best for me.

In gratitude,

Amy

Day 24: Fear & gratitude

"When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears."  - Anthony Robbins  

When I first heard this quote from Tony Robbins, I was at his "Unleash the Power Within" seminar -- at some point during the first day, Tony shared a version of this quote in an effort to set the stage for the weekend ahead and upcoming firewalk.  When you have a room full of 3,500 people, it's good to begin that process of dealing with your fear early on, especially when part of the course involves walking on hot coals! ;-)

One of the tools we leveraged was to imagine ourselves already celebrating on the other side.  When you do that, there is an immense feeling of gratitude and joy that floods your body and this feeling helps carry you across those burning coals.

I have heard from several of you in the challenge that you have noticed that when you are consciously in a state of gratitude that you know no fear. I decided to observe this for myself.

During the past two weeks I have noticed that I am experiencing less fear or daily worries.  I've never been one to run from fear -- I've always been encouraged to embrace it and work thru it.  Sometimes I felt very comfortable doing that and other times not. I think it's been interesting that the more I've been living in gratitude, the less I have experienced feeling "fear".

Day 23: A special Sunday ...

Yesterday, I went to visit my Dad and his wife for a belated birthday celebration.  It was such a beautiful day -- bright and sunny, gorgeous fall colors and hours filled with great conversation and stories about relatives I never knew.  It's amazing that you can still discover new moments after talking for so many years ;-)

I am very grateful for spending the day with my Dad and cherish the fact that he's just a few hours away.

In gratitude,

Amy

Day 22: Grateful to serve ...

Yesterday I had the honor of serving my local community.  Led by the vision of the Anthony Robbins’ Basket Brigade and leadership of the Baltimore-Washington PowerTeam, an amazing group of people were pulled together to assemble Thanksgiving baskets to be delivered to those less fortunate.

Despite the challenging economic times, they were able to raise enough money to serve 150 families in the Washington DC Metropolitan area and serve several million world-wide over this holiday season.

I was awe struck by the amount of kindness and support this group of people showed.  It was amazing to be a part of such a high volume process and see how seamlessly it came together thanks to the local basket brigade chair, Martha Hopkins (Pict below:  me, Martha & her hubby Glen).

We spent the first hour or so preparing for the basket assembly .... and once we began, it was a short time before all the baskets were ready to go - what a sight! 

 

Volunteers of all ages and walks of life helped throughout the day. 

I loved every moment, especially delivering the baskets.  It was clear the basket recipients didn't expect anything and were genuinely surprised to receive a basket of food that would not just feed their family for Thanksgiving, but beyond.

I was humbled by the experience and was reminded how fortunate I am to be in a position where I can go out and buy food when I am hungry.  I also realize that serving is important to do all-year long ... I can't say I'm there yet, but I'm definitely getting better. ;-)

I am grateful for my friend Dave who heads up the Baltimore Washington PowerTeam ~ it's because of his invite that I was able to experience this gift!

For more information on Anthony Robbins’ Basket Brigade:
www.anthonyrobbinsfoundation.org/arf/inter_bb.php

For more information on the Baltimore Washington PowerTeam:
www.baltwashpowerteam.org

In gratitude,

Amy

Day 21: Dorks Rule!

I have participated in many conferences over the past few years centered on "speaking your truth, living your truth, and being authentic."  In the beginning, I remember thinking that "I am authentic, aren't I?"

Over time, it's been interesting to observe those moments of authenticity and not.  I was reminded again this Wednesday to take a look at this.  What I am finding is that I am operating more in "authentic me" these days and no surprise I'm much happier.

I was talking to a friend of mind today about how great it is to embrace our playful, silly and joyful side (also, affectionately known as our "dorky" side)-- for a long time I tried to hide it and then decided that it's a key part of me and it's when I'm in that space I feel most at peace (turns out my friend had a similar realization).  As my friend pointed out ... when you are in that space of being playful -- eventually others come along too.  Everyone wants to live a joyful life and all of us are still children inside.  We're simply now maturing children! ;-)

DORKS RULE!!!!

In gratitude,

Amy