A Year of Gratitude – January 1, 2024
Happy New Year!
I wasn’t sorry to see 2023 come to an end. The year was a struggle for me. If it was a struggle for you, congratulations on making it to a fresh new start. We made it!
While it was difficult, I also had a year of intense personal growth. I learned so much about myself during the last twelve months. My heart thinks that I would have preferred to learn those lessons in a more gentle manner, but my head wonders if the struggle is what made the growth and progress possible.
It wasn’t long ago that I wouldn’t have chosen to share this photo with you. I would have looked upon it and only seen the things about myself that I didn’t like. I would have worried that I wasn’t wearing makeup, that I had too many wrinkles and that someone might leave a negative comment about my grey hair.
I look at this photo that was taken last summer and feel so differently now. I see a person who managed to smile on a day when it would have been easier not to. I see someone who discovered an inner strength she didn’t know she had. I see a survivor. I see a damn fine blue hat that I designed and knit myself.
I also see you in my reflection, the community of people who gave me a reason to keep looking for my daily gratitude, who gave me that little nudge every morning to look around myself and find something full of beauty and possibility to share with you. It was the sort of purpose I desperately needed. I only hope that I returned the favor by giving you something happy to see in your feed each day.
I am going to keep right on looking for that gratitude, for the grand possibilities in my life and sharing them with you each day with an open heart. I hope that my gratitude will help you to find yours even on the days when it seems to be hidden behind the struggles of everyday life.
Here’s to a brave and grand 2024 ahead for all of us. I can’t wait to discover all the many things I have to be grateful for. I hope that you will enjoy discovering them along with me.
I am sending you my heartfelt wish for a happy and healthy New Year and a 2024 full of kindness, wonder, and gratitude in equal measure. 
This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.