Good Morning by Brook Noel

I happened upon this book in 2009 while perusing the Self Help section of Borders on my lunch break. Having recently watched The Secret, I was at the beginning of my spiritual transformation. I didn't know anything about this book but I followed my intuition and seven years later, I still read it most days. I give this book a lot of credit for helping me transform my life into one of optimism and gratitude, and I've written about it before. 

I thrive with structure and routine - this is the first way Good Morning has helped me. I'm a morning person, so dedicating a chunk of time to myself after I first wake, for coffee, writing, list making and intention setting has transformed my days.

The times I strayed from this routine, (because I love sleep and hated my job so stayed in bed as long as possible each morning) my quality of life decreased. In turn, other parts of my life suffered including my relationship and my physical health.


The book's format is simple and easy to follow. For each day of the year, there is a page with a theme. Fitting into that theme is a quote and a "message" which is the author's entry.  Then there's "Your Turn" which is a paragraph or two on how to apply this Good Morning theme to your daily life. At the end, there is a positive affirmation, which is my favorite part.

I highly recommend this book, or one similar to it, if you feel your life is lacking a structure you would like to have. Establishing morning routine could likely be a first step in making other changes.

Sunshine Song by Jason Mraz

I've liked Jason Mraz since I first heard The Remedy in the early 2000's, so I went to see him in concert when he came to Bozeman almost five years ago. This is one of my favorite adventures I've had with my good friend Jake, who was my roommate for a while. He's a huge Jason Mraz fan and thanks to his membership in the official fan club, we were able to get into the show shortly before the general public and secure a spot directly in front of the stage. After the concert I think I borrowed all of his CDs that Jake had! 

This is the song Jason opened with at that concert. I had never heard it before but liked it right away. As the concert went on I was more and more impressed with Jason's messages of positivity and gratitude and his general sense of mellowness. He performed barefoot and drank from a travel mug with tea bags hanging over the side! Before the concert I hadn't realized what a down to earth soul Jason is. I've been to many concerts over the years and I've found that seeing an artist live changes my relationship with them in some way (almost always in a good way, occasionally in a negative way). Even if I'm already a fan of a musician, standing in front of him or her for a performance allows me to gain something from the music that is simply missing when listening to a recorded version. 

My favorite line is the first one "Sometimes the sun shines on other peoples houses and not mine". Isn't that a lovely way to say: sometimes life sucks and other people have it better than me? A few months after the concert, I lost my job and was unemployed for three months. I would walk my dog around the pond near our house and listen to this song two or three times in a row. Last year when that sweet dog passed away I found myself listening to this song again, to remember the times he had walked with me and brought me comfort, and also to get me through that dark time. 

There isn't an official video for this song. It's never been released as a single (that I know of) and I can't find a version of it that isn't live. I chose this video I found on YouTube because it was obviously recorded by someone in the front at a concert and it's strikingly similar to the experience I had. 

Thank You

As part of this blogging challenge, I've been reading 2-10 other blogs per day. That's a lot of posts over the past 28 days! One thing that I've been continually impressed by is how many of these blogs focus on positivity and gratitude. I just don't think there's enough of either of those things in our world today. Sometimes I feel like I'm in the minority, being a person who believes we all have something to be thankful for each day. This challenge has been a blessing for me in many ways but this is probably one of the biggest: It has restored my faith in humanity a bit, you might say. I feel a sense of relief, seeing how many other souls out there are similar to my own. We're plugging away each day, sharing our thoughts and experiences with positivity and humor. We give each other feedback and inspiration, sometimes intentionally but mostly just by being present and true to ourselves. I have been moved to tears more than once so far by a friend's or fellow blogger's comment on my posts. Knowing that there are people out there who enjoy reading what I write is a feeling I haven't experienced to this degree before. It has motivated me to write more and more and to push myself further than I have before. I have more ideas than I know what to do with right now which is an incredible feeling!

While I've been doing this challenge all month I've also been participating in a 30 day photo challenge on FaceBook. Each day has an assigned subject so I go through my day looking for an opportunity to take the photo. Combine that with also thinking about writing a blog each day and I've been a regular idea factory this month! I have more ideas than I know what to do with right now which is an incredible feeling! I've been taking tons of photos and carrying a notebook with me at all times so I can jot down thoughts and descriptions. I'm documenting my life in a way I never have before.  It's the first time in a long time that I've really felt this sense of worthiness about what I create.

I believe everything happens for a reason. There were some sad and unfortunate events that led to me being home by myself this summer but if they hadn't happened, I wouldn't have had the time to write for this challenge each day. I definitely wouldn't have produced the material that I have. I have questioned a few of the posts I've written this month. More than once I've cringed when clicking the "Publish" button thinking people would give negative feedback or think less of me for writing it. But I clicked it anyway and I am glad I did. I'm sure everyone hasn't loved every single thing I've written (I sure don't) but I haven't gotten any feedback that was less than positive. I'm already looking forward to the next challenge!