52 Weeks of More gratitude. More hope. More love.
Step away from something just that bit too long and it's hard to go back, right? Finally I'm taking a plunge back to move forwards and wrapping up my 52 Weeks of Gratitude adventure for 2013 (I know we are a good 4 months into 2014!!).
It does seem an age ago since my first ever blog post back in 2012, and to my first gratitude post back in September 2012 when my family was in the midst of very difficult times, my dad's health was at it's worst, and I wanted to find a way to find joy and hope in each day. I needed to find a way to stay grounded and connected to life, to recognise and appreciate the ordinary moments that make our lives extraordinary (a much used expression I heard again today in the heart-warming movie about time).
My gratitude jar next to my bed holds a smidgen of a whole years worth of wonderful moments captured in images and treasured scrawled notes stuffed tightly in. A jar bursting with gratitude that guarantees a smile whenever I close my eyes and dig deep to find a small moment from my life.
I made a commitment to a year of gratitude because I wanted to give myself that extra push to stick with something that made a lot of sense to me, and that I thought was really something quite powerful. And it has made a big difference (in a subtle way!). What I've also come to realise was that the point wasn't to complete something at the cost of everything, and whilst I had set myself a goal of one post per week, as the end of 2013 neared life got busy, I was spending many hours in front of the computer for work, and more time hanging out with friends in real life. And thus I found I had less desire to update my blog.
But the point was in life away from the blog I was continuing to practice gratitude, noticing moments, looking around me and capturing beauty with my camera and remembering words spoken by others and taking life in with an open heart.
It is with this open heart that I say thank you all for reading and being part of the ride. It has been a huge pleasure.
What this space will be from here, I'm not sure. Random posts from time to time I imagine as I continue balance the time to write and document life whilst living it.
Love natalie x
images: scouting for leftovers, botanical gardens, wellington, nz / farm details, murwillimbah / cycling in martinborough, nz / surry hills, sydney / hand dipped beeswax candles made by me / exploring waterloo, sydney / barracuda, christos triolkas, red wine and calamari, inner-city cafe, wellington, nz.
