I am a runner, a little runner, maybe just a jogger. I run mostly for health, and as a dear friend said, as a commitment with life to keep moving. I recently read an Instagram feed of running tips, just for fun.

What caught my eye was a post by runner Melissa Emery: “THE GRATITUDE MILE! Once I hit a wall, I spend the next mile focusing on the things I am grateful for. ‘I am grateful for this beautiful view, I am grateful for the sidewalk, I am grateful for the sun, I am grateful for my legs, and even though they hurt, I know I can do this, etc.’ By the time the mile ends, the wall has been lifted and I continue on,” she wrote.

No matter how long I’ve been running and how long or how often I do it, I pretty much always hit the wall at some point. And that seems to happen in other areas of my life. Maybe work has been intense, or adolescence is catching up with us at full force, or I signed up for everything that came my way and ended up working every weekend to keep up, or I miss my friends and family, and so on. All self inflicted.

So I’ve been thinking of this Gratitude Mile. A lot.

This year has been a bit of a marathon for me. A good one! A lot of work, a lot of clay, more travel than we have had in years, and still I have had to resource to my own version of the Gratitude Mile more often than not, not only when running. It is a good practice.

As 2019 is in its last “mile” I am getting ready to close with an online holiday sale. Mark your calendars! November 29 to December 6.

With gratitude,

Sandra