Of Life and Gratitude

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I am grateful for this day. Every day, in fact. . I have found that lately, life is so hectic that my days all seem to run collectively, one into the other. The day ends and as I crawl into bed I try to imagine where all the hours went. I wanted to take some moments before the day was done to reflect. I needed to center my thoughts on the simple things in life that get skipped on my gratitude list. Simple pleasures. Small gestures…. Coffee machines with timers, warm showers on a cold morning. Slippers. The smell of a freshly cleaned car. The man that took my cart back to the store, saving me a trip. A smile from a stranger while waiting in line. A loving gesture. A kiss goodbye. A short note from a friend. Small things. Simple gestures. Little niceties. Life is good. Thank you for being part of my life.

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One can never pay in gratitude; one can only pay "in kind" somewhere else in life...Anne Morrow

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Come now, Mother Nature! You need to play fair! Oh, say - is there sun and shine out there today? For your cold, cold heart is turning me to ice.


I love my life. Truly, truly. I love people. An assorted variety, from all walks of life. I do. When you love; always love generously - until the end of time. Just love with joyful abandon. Be the person who plants the seeds and spreads random acts of kindness and beautiful gestures that make your heart pliable and soften. With the widespread hate circling our globe, it is in our best interest to load up the scales to tip our way. Hate is an everyday occurrence, but, I cannot think of a more powerful emotion than love, can you? It reaches farther into the soul than any other sentiment. Live out loud. Love out loud. The more you love, the more you will have to give – what a paradox.

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So I stumble into
Not the admission but
The fascination I have with
You

Oh, say it isn't so
That feeling of wanting
Never letting go? I say
It must be that something is in the air
Giving way to the distraction
Words leaving my lips
Unchecked

Whether blanketed lavishly in color or exposed and unadorned, nature reveals her beauty all through the seasons. From light and bright to the rich hues that mark the transition to fall, whereas, her beauty goes to sleep, sleep, sleep.

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I want to dedicate this picture to #TreeTuesday by @old-guy-photos. Show me your trees!

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And just like that, this post is done. Thank you for stopping by and leaving your words behind. I appreciate your time and support. Have a most fabulous day!



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Thank you for visiting my post 💖 Because of you, I come back to post again and again, I am encouraged by you, for the time you take to visit, comment or even upvote. For all of these reasons, I am eternally grateful. Don't ever forget what a wonderful world we live in, people. Some days, it is not as easy to see, how wonderful it really is. Kindness counts. Wherever you go, whatever you do.


I always post this poem down at the bottom of my posts. It is one that has become so near and dear to my heart.

they set my aunts house on fire
i cried the way women on tv do
folding at the middle
like a five pound note.
i called the boy who use to love me
tried to ‘okay’ my voice
i said hello
he said warsan, what’s wrong, what’s happened?

i’ve been praying,
and these are what my prayers look like;
dear god
i come from two countries
one is thirsty
the other is on fire
both need water.

later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered,
"where does it hurt?"
it answered,

"everywhere"
"everywhere"
"everywhere"

warsan shire



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109 comments
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Very cool message, @dswigle. But it's not always easy to follow. Sometimes we get pulled into negative feelings by others... and they keep pushing us and pushing and pushing us, with their constant provocations... in an attempt to break us. 😢

Thanks for your positive words. Always a pleasure to read your posts.

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That's the rub,isn't it? Being pushed and pulled in a direction that is not ours to choose.

I have no answer to that except that keeping a positive attitude is the only way I found that works for me. If at first, I don't succeed, I try, try again. Thank you for stopping by and saying hello and leaving your word behind.

Have a great day!

!tip .20

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(Edited)

Yep, that's exactly that. Maintaining the calm at alk costs... and if the other side remains unrelenting, the best thing is to start ignoring that person altogether.

Here's a little bit of !BEER to drink while watching the sunset. 🍺

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Oh, thank you! That is so kind of you! And yes! It was a beautiful sunset!

:)

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The bus driver who spotted me coming out of the station and waited for me so I wouldn't have to stand in the cold for thirty minutes until the next bus.
Lovely post, thank you.

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Oh!! That is a most wonderful moment, to be sure! How kind he is and how blessed are you? Thank you for stopping by and saying hello, leaving your words behind.

Have a nice day!

!tip .20

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@dswigle, Indeed nowadays Time is running so fast, in a way we all adopted a lifestyle where we are lacking the Breathing Space and inturn Multitasking work consumed us fully. But whatever it is, we have to hold the Gratitude towards every beautiful and pleasant moments.

We have to hold Gratitude towards tough phase too because it teaches us lessons and those lessons empower us and gift us with abundance of Wisdom. Stay blessed.

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@chireerocks

I totally agree with you! In good times and bad, we need to hold fast to our gratitude, and make sure that the lessons don't get lost on us. I have tried to not be so consumed with all of the tasks and slow down - just a bit so that I can fully enjoy life.

Thanks for stopping by and saying hello, leaving your words behind.

Have a blessed day!

!tip

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Congratulations, your post has been upvoted by @dsc-r2cornell, which is the curating account for @R2cornell's Discord Community.

Manually curated by @jasonmunapasee

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Thank you so much for the upvote on my post! That was a truly kind gesture and appreciated. I wish you a most wonderful day!

!tip .20

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Oh hi Denise!!! 😍 I missed you. Or maybe I was also away for some time.

Anyway, great to hear your positivity. Being grateful is the way to happiness! 😍😍😍

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Hi, Ging! I just left your beautiful post about your travels! What an incredibly stunning scenery you leave on your post. I am sure you had a wonderful time and I can already see you captured some stellar shots!

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

!tip .20

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This kind of flower,frist time i seen..very beautiful white small flower..!!

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It is actually very light purple or blue-ish. It is from this summer and it is called a hydrangea. They have many different varieties and it is one of my favorite flowering bushes.

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great day!

!tip .20

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Such beautiful photos, thank you for sharing.

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Thank you so much for the kind comment. I appreciate you stopping by and saying hello, leaving your words behind.

I wish you a most wonderful day.

!tip

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Wow such a "lovely" message. See what I did there. I think it was pretty clever for so early in the morn omg. Anyways what a great post. We have no sun or shine here. In fact even the gray dome is fogged in, cant see part way across the lake even.

Oh what a sunny lovely selfie! Perfect for the blog!

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Truth!!! They don't call you smart guy for anything, now, do they? Sorry about the gray dome, but, you know that better days are coming, especially as we inch closer to summer once again.

Early morning? Two hours ago, it was 11am... so yeah, technically it was still morning. :)

Thanks for stopping by and saying hello, leaving your word behind. Have a great day!

!tip

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Simple pleasures and small gestures - those are the truly important things in life.

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(Edited)

Truth! Everything else is a bonus. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello, leaving your words behind. Have a great evening!

!tip

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You too love! MWAH! And thank you, always - for all the sips tips! xoxoxoxo

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It is so nice to have your delightful and so eloquent posts back in my fed, they are always a breath of fresh air and a ray of sunshine for anyone fortunate to see them :)

!trdo

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Do you know that you leave such nice comments on my page, always? Thank you for that and for making everyone around you feel special.

Thank you for the trdo and I wish you the most fabulous night!

!tip

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We are SO proud to have you as a member of our
FANTABULOUS Power House Creatives family!
uvoted and resteemed!

❤ MWAH!!! ❤

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#powerhousecreatives
JOIN US HERE
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

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Thank you so much!! You guys are the best!

!tip

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Congratulations @dswigle! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

You received more than 85000 upvotes. Your next target is to reach 90000 upvotes.

You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

You can upvote this notification to help all Steem users. Learn how here!

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Thank you, steemitboard!

!tip

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Such a beautiful post, full of love and appreciation. It brightened my already good day. <3

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Hi, Deb!! Thank you so much for your always kind, always positive outlook! It makes my heart happy just seeing your comment!

Thank you and I hope all is well with you!

!tip .20

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I am in love with that reddish pink chrysanthemum flower picture and you have left a beautiful message for everyone.. Thank you for sharing your thought with us.

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Thank you so much! You are such a positive person here on the platform. Whenever I see a comment from you, on mine or another person, it is always so very kind and positive.

Thank you for that and for making it a pleasure to read them. Have a fabulous day!

!tip .20

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Those are simply georgous Denise!

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Thank you so much, Chelsea! @chelsea88 I hope you are having a great night!

!tip

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YW, & thank you Denise. Have you taken formal photography classes?

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No, not at all. It has been a painful process getting this far. :) Thanks, Chelsea.

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Felicitaciones amiga,muy lindas flores,tienen un gran colorido y su escrito muy interesante,agradecida de usted,deseo una noche placentera y muchas bendiciones,saludos

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Muchas gracias por sus siempre amables comentarios. Acabo de llegar a casa, así que me lleva más tiempo terminar de leer todos los comentarios que no tuve tiempo para este mes.

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(Edited)

Strangers that make nice gestures just to be nice........ are my favs !

Warm showers and pondering the wonderful things in life over a great cup of coffee.... it just doesn't get much better.

The other night I was in my fav chair with my feet up and a soft blanket across my lap. A Christmas movie was on the tv and my aluminum tree was slowly rotating, sparkling in the light of the turning color wheel. With a fresh cup of hot chocolate in my hand, I looked around me and thought "how perfect is this?"

I was living that perfect moment.

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I looked around me and thought "how perfect is this?"

Exactly. When life is so good and you think it can't get any better. And then I have to wonder how I got so lucky in life.

Le sigh

Thank you, El. And thanks for stopping by and saying hello, leaving your words behind. Have a great day!!

!tip .20

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denise-dswigle-post-amazing.gif

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Every time I see these wonderfully happy GIFs, a smile appears on my face. Thank you so much!❤️

!tip .20

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(Edited)

Always love reading your beautiful words it always makes my heart melt and i want to reach out to everyone .... have a great day my friend ❤️ 🙂 ❤️

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You really know how to make my day, don't you? Thank you and as always, have a great day! Mwah! ❤️

!tip

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Lol...i try ...hehe.. 🙂 have a lovely weekend my friend ❤️

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Of course you will never know how grateful I am for all of your thoughtfulness, not only to me but everyone who crosses your path. What a wonderful even to having had met you.

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You have been a great inspiration to me not only with Steemit but as a true friend and i very much adore that so lovely to have meant you also my dear friend.

I would love you to take a look at this post and not because i want a tip or a upvote but because i know you love horses and i don't want this to slide past you...here is the link...enjoy it my friend 🤭

Bolton the Human Horse !!

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Thank you. I will do that just so you know I'm not ignoring post but I still have intermittent internet which has been a real pain in the neck especially trying to do work at Friday on the phone. Will I know but that you work on your phone but it is not something that I do unless I have two as I would rather work on my laptop. So my surfing has been greatly Limited but I thank you for pointing out the post and I will go look at it. Thanks again!

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(Edited)

Thanks for dropping in my friend and i hope your internet is up to speed now i hate working of a phone never have unless it's a emergency 🙂

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A smile is easier than a frown, keep looking on the bright side of life!

The deep despair around of late not enough water, poverty, grumbling about nothing, sometimes can all be cleared up just looking at flowers, beautiful flowers pouring positive feelings deep into the soul.

Good to have you back Denise, positive words and emotions do rub off, even online.

!tip

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What a wonderfully beautiful thing to say, Joan! @joanstewart

With all the things going on in the world, it is so nice to hear your positive words. Thank you for that!

!tip

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Congratulations @dswigle!
Your post was mentioned in the Steem Hit Parade in the following category:

  • Comments - Ranked 1 with 87 comments
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Thank you so much for the mention in the #HitParade @Arcange! It is always an honor to be on your list!

I also want to thank you for all you do towards improving life for the platform!

Have a wonderful day!

!tip .30

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Terrific pictures. And, I feel similarly. Here are a two of my personal maxims in the same vein…

“Take sincere joy in the success of others. Being happy for them will make you feel incredible about YOU!” ~MomzillaNC

“Gratitude opens our eyes to miracles around us. Life's a miracle & a gift. Take every breath in gratitude.” ~MomzillaNC

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Beautiful words and gorgeous flowers is your one think that can never disappoint me when I come for visit. You really know how to express the truth from the depth of our hearts that most of us cant't. Well I certainly can't , but I agree with every word. Living with gratitude is the key to fulfilment. Thank you for expressing it so wonderfully 🌸💖🌸

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You’ve been visited by @agiftoflove on behalf of Natural Medicine.
I really love what you wrote about gratitude. <3 I find that when my thoughts and feelings are out of whack, remembering and giving thanks for all that I am grateful for is so healing. The mind is very powerful and our thoughts can be medicine. Beautiful pictures too.
Did you know that Natural Medicine now has it's own token, rewarding natural healing and health wisdoms? You can check out our front end, naturalmedicine.io If you've been involved in our community over the last year, check your wallets for LOTUS and stake them to start earning curation rewards!


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