THE YEAR OF GRATITUDE // 2011

Twenty-eleven was revolutionary for me; how can I count the ways?

I feel like if I were to chart my life, this past year would see an explosion of multi-dimentional growth, of change in every which way; there would be sparks all over the place reflecting new tangents of possibility, great shifts in energy and thought...changes in all of my essence, I suppose. I no longer feel omni-directional, stunted by time or place, as much as connected to some greater truth, some purpose, as though I've caught a glimmer of infinite potential. I feel like this has been the year that I discovered that I can be who I was really designed to be. (And no, I'm not levitating.)

I guess what I mean to share, is that while 2011 allowed me the space and time and opportunity to commit myself creatively (I started to blog, built myself a studio, started a business, etc), what I feel really happened (behind the scenes) was a fundamental reorganization of my interior landscape. An evolution. I was granted access to a path, I've glimpsed a wider truth.

It was indeed a year of beginnings.

The over-arching theme for me this year, however, has been GRATITUDE. It took me a while to get there, but I did. Everything about how I try to live today goes back to this new sense of gratitude, and the way in which harnessing this simple idea can bring a great deal of change to one's perspective. Gratitude grants me acceptance, and acceptance grants me serenity, and all of these things create a point of departure for me to live to the best of my ability. It's magical. But most of all, it's SIMPLE.

This year taught me the length and breadth and width of gratitude as a source of strength and hope. But more than that, gratitude is a sublime fountain at the center of self, it is a place to go, a place from which to draw resilience, a place for changing perspectives. 

And so I share with you a part of my daily gratitude list, which I write on post-its, and keep in my bedroom. A constant reminder, and a practice that grants far more than that which meets the eye. 

What was 2011 for you? Or are you past it, already 'out with the old, in with the new,' firmly planted in the present and possibility of 2012? I am getting there myself, though I did want to pay homage. (Done.)

To bright and beautiful new things! HAPPY NEW YEAR, LOVES!

Xo, Dianna

| photo | GRATITUDE | a list in post-it note form; a daily practice

Ps. And yes, my bedroom walls are indeed that color green. Yow, right? I do wonder about the previous owners. Nothing says serenity like acid spring green, does it?