Gratitude Garland Day 30

Today's prompt......

Approach the present with your heart's consent. Make it a blessed event.
- Gurumayi Chidvilasananda

What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner.
-Colette

Today is the final day of the Gratitude Garland prompts...but you can keep going with your garland for as long as you like! Invite friends and family to join you, and create your own embellishments for this simple daily practice.
If you didn't keep up with the daily ritual this time around -- DON'T worry! The 30 prompts aren't going anywhere -- you can start over, or use them time and time again. The goal of this type of endeavor is not to complete it perfectly -- it is to complete it in a way that both supports and is supported by your life at this present moment.

Today's prompt involves reflecting on any new insights you might have gleaned through this month. Have you become more in tune with the daily art of gratitude? Have you made peace with certain people or aspects of yourself or your life? Are you noticing more details? What have YOU found out about yourself in the past 30 days? And how will this set you up for newness in life in the future?

Use today's slip to reflect on these questions through words and art.






This is a photo of the entire Gratitude Garland!




It has been a joy to be with you each day. I would love to see photos of your Gratitude Garlands! Please feel free to post a comment with a picture of your garland and/or any insights that you gained from this month long practice.


August 1 starts the next workshop: Accounting Your Blessings! This will be another way in which to expand your gratitude. It is quite different in approach, and will access your feelings and awareness at a deeper level.

I am grateful for all of you,
Anne



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Gratitude Garland Day 29

Today's prompt......

The true art of memory is the art of attention.
-Samuel Johnson

Today, take a moment to reflect on a special memory you have from the last month. Create a slip to honor that memory and the ways you cherish it. Pay special attention to the details that you recall from the moment -- your experience of sight, smell, taste, and touch.





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Gratitude Garland Day 28

Today's prompt......

Simplicity is cosmic, because it places our life on the same scale as all life, of innocent Nature herself, who is all-powerful.
- Deepak Chopra

As your adventure with The Gratitude Garland comes to a close, I invite you to use today's slip to think about the simple things in your life for which you are grateful.

What are the small gifts -- the ones that don't cost any money or deplete time and energy -- that make a difference in your life? Things like:

* The ability to laugh
* Observing a flower
* The calming feeling of a shower
* A juicy bite into a piece fruit

Let yourself enter the rapture of simplicity, today.





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Gratitude Garland Day 27

Today's prompt......

The mind I love must have wild places, a tangled orchard where dark damsons drop in the heavy grass, an overgrown little wood, the chance of a snake or two, a pool that nobody's fathomed the depth of, and paths threaded with flowers planted by the mind.
- Katherine Mansfield

Just as yesterday you mused upon the BODY, and all the things that happen in perfect unconscious order, today's prompt is to tap into the immense sense of gratitude for your mind, and all its gifts to you. Just take a moment and think about the sensation that is your mind. It's ability to recall and to remember, process and ponder, are all true miracles. For today's slip, write a letter to your mind, thanking it for all of its many gifts!





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Gratitude Garland Day 26

Today's prompt......

Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack.
- Henry Miller

The body, like the practice of art, is strengthened stroke by stroke, step by step.
- Marney K. Makridakis

On today's slip, start making a list of all of the ways you are thankful for your body. Think of how many things WORK in your body...how many elements constantly work together to allow you to be reading this prompt, right now! Think, also, of the things your body takes care of, on its own...the things you don't even have to think about! Dive into the glory of the body in your slip, today!
This is a wonderful exercise when you are feeling unwell. It is very helpful to remember that, in spite of the things that are problematic about your body, there are always things that are going right.





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Gratitude Garland Day 25

Today's prompt......

Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.
- Author Unknown

Yesterday, your slip was inspired by a single great friendship in your life. Today, I invite you to feel gratitude in your heart for your future friends -- people who you do not know yet, but who will come into your life at the perfect moments, ready to play a significant role. Use your slip to write a letter to a future friend, or write a note to God or the Universe in thanks for the magical people who have yet to walk through your door.





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Gratitude Garland Day 24

Today's prompt......

Friends can be said to "fall in like" with as profound a thud as romantic partners fall in love.
- Letty Cottin Pogrebin

A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.
- Leo Buscaglia

Today's topic is friendship, one of the richest themes for gratitude. Think about one specific friendship that blesses your life. What do you consider most meaningful about this friendship? What are the memories that stick out as being significant? Remember the most important conversations, as well as the most important silences. And create your garland strip in celebration for this special person.




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Gratitude Garland Day 23

Today's prompt......

You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
-Kahlil Gibran

Take a moment and think about the times when you have done something for someone else that really made a difference to him or her. What did it feel like, to know that you made a difference, to know how truly easy it was? For today's slip, look at the ways in which you feel gratitude for your capacity to give and help others. And while you are "garland-ing", let your imagination brainstorm a few new ideas of some small, easy things you can do for someone in the next week or so that would be extraordinarily meaningful.




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Gratitude Garland Day 22

Today's prompt......

When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them.
-Chinese Proverb

Think about what you did today -- just the general, every-day stuff. For each of the smallest actions or activities, many things had to occur in order for you to do it.

For example, to pick up and read the morning paper, the printing press was invented and the press industry grown and expanded; paper is recycled, printing inks are generated, hundreds of people worked to research, write, design, print, prepare, and deliver the paper to you. You are sitting at a table which many people worked to design, manufacture, and sell. And what's more, someone helped you learn how to read, influenced your thinking about the matters you're reading about, and your eyes are working well enough to read it.

Continuing along this line of thinking about ANY activity can go on infinitely! For today's slip, think of one small, seemingly insignificant thing you did today, and allow yourself to think of all the things that had to happen first in the miraculous sequence.




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Gratitude Garland Day 21

Today's prompt......

Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.
- Robert Browning

It takes a long time to become young.
- Pablo Picasso

Yesterday you explored the spirit of Childhood on your gratitude slip. Today, look at the spirit of elders. Who are the elders in your life? Again, this can go beyond the older people who are your family and friends. Take a look at

* Stories and articles you read about elders in different cultures
* Your pets, or the pets of friends
* Friends or family members who bring out the wise, experienced, contented side
* Your own love for life's experiences
* The elders that you observe in public places (the store, neighborhood)

We value wisdom gained through experience. Today express gratitude for that wisdom and embrace the process of aging!




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Gratitude Garland Day 20

Today's prompt......

The greatest poem ever known
Is one all poets have outgrown:
The poetry, innate, untold,
Of being only four years old.
- Christopher Morley

Who are the children in your life? The answer could be obvious (i.e., in your own family), but if not, extend your vision a bit to see the ways in which childlike spirit enters your life. Some examples the non-traditional ways that the spirit of a child can be in your life:

*Your pets, or the pets of friends
*Friends or family members who bring out the playful side in you
*Your own love for drawing with crayons or watching animated movies
*The children that you observe in public places (the store, playground,
neighborhood)
*The innocent state of "beginner's mind" you feel at the beginning of a project

Just think about the ways that children and child-like spirit enrich your life. Now, that's a fun gratitude strip!




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Gratitude Garland Day 19

Today's prompt......
I believe in intuition and inspiration... At times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason.
- Albert Einstein

The final sense to look at is the "sixth sense", which takes in all the things that can't be discerned by the traditional senses. Intuition, gut feelings, divine connections, inner knowing -- these are all things that result from our sixth sense. What is there about your sixth sense that you are grateful for? If you had to give it a name, what would you call your sixth sense? Play around with this wonderful gateway for multi-sensory knowledge on your slip today.




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Gratitude Garland Day 18

Today's prompt......
If you listen,
Not to the pages or preachers
But to the smallest flower
Growing from a crack
In your heart,
You will hear a great song
Moving across a wide ocean
Whose water is the music
Connecting all the islands
Of the universe together,
And touching all
You will feel it
Touching you
Embracing you
With light.

- John Squadra

The word, touch, can apply to much more than our tactile sensations. Think of the way that your life touches others...and the way that you feel "touched" by living. So much to be grateful for, in this broad sense! Play around with "touch" today, on your slip. As you work with your cutouts and scissors and glue, really feel the items in your hand...and in your heart.

Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.





Yes, I know, I am very literal on these prompts! :)

Gratitude Garland Day 17

Today's prompt......
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
- William Cowper

Did you know that in Russian, the word for oil paint can also be applied to butter?... oil paintings should be very tasty!
- Aleksander Titovets

Continuing your explorations with your senses...think today about your sense of taste, and all the ways in which it is a gift you. Explore beyond the taste that you experience with your mouth -- what about your "taste" for the things you love? One of our greatest gifts is our capacity to love and appreciate something! Play around with celebrating all kinds of tastes in today's slip.




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HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY to my FABULOUS daughter JULIA! I am grateful to have such a wonderful person in my life. I am also grateful that we are going to a Jack Johnson concert together tonight. How cool is that!

Gratitude Garland Day 16

Today's prompt......
If I were a maker of perfumes, I would make one and call it "Spring", and it would smell like this cool, sweet, early-morning air.
-Ann Petry

We do everything so automatically that we have forgotten the poignancy of smell, of physical anguish, of tactile sensations of all kinds.
-Lygia Clark

Some say that the things we take in via our sense of smell are, out of all the senses, the most difficult to describe in words. For today's slip, think about the some of your favorite smells. Which ones trigger an instant mood or memory? Create a slip that expresses your delight in your sense of smell, or the feelings of gratitude associated with it.




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Gratitude Garland Day 15

Today's prompt......
The Universe is said to have been framed by a kind of harmony of sound, and the heaven itself revolves under the tones of that harmony.
- Isadore of Seville

Today, take a moment to think about the stellar gift of your sense of hearing. Just as with sight, "hearing" can go beyond physically hearing with our ears. What parts of this sense are you grateful for? What memories do you have associated with sounds? Play with your memories and appreciations on your slip today!




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Gratitude Garland Day 14

I apologize for getting off track on my daily posts. Here are three at once. Have fun!

Today's prompt......
What is art but a way of seeing?
- Thomas Berger



One looks, looks long, and the world comes in.
-Joseph Campbell

For the next few days, your slips will be exploring the glory of your senses.
Allow today's slip to be inspired by your gratitude for the sense of sight. "Sight" can mean many things. In addition to physical sight, it can also refer to the gift of insight and the ability to "see" truth. Whatever feelings of gratitude you see in "sight", explore them on your slip today.




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Gratitude Garland Day 13

Today's prompt......
If you haven't got all the things you want, be grateful for the things you don't have that you don't want.
- author unknown

We can feel gratitude not only for things that we have, but also for things we don't have! For today's slip, turn gratitude upside down and think of the all the things that you don't have, which are also things that you don't want. Use words and art to express your thanks for what you do not have.




Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.

Gratitude Garland Day 12

Today's prompt......
As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it.
- Brother David Steindl-Rast

One of the many magical things about gratitude is its ability to expand and increase exponentially, the more we notice it. For today's slip, follow these instructions:
1. Write down five things that you are grateful for
2. Quick - write down five more
3. Take a deep breath, and write down five more (oxygen can be one of them!)
4. And super-lightning fast, write down five more
5. Once you have written 20 things on one tiny slip, illustrate it if you like -- or leave it as is!




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Gratitude Garland Day 11

Today's prompt......
If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's.
- Joseph Campbell

For today's slip, reflect on the path of your life, and all of the unexpected twists and turns that you have found in the terrain. Perhaps focus on a particular challenge, and create a slip that expresses the gratitude that you now have for the experience. What unexpected -- and perhaps unrecognizable -- gifts have you been given on your path?




Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.

Gratitude Garland Day 10

Today's prompt......
I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.
- Albert Einstein

What are you curious about? What questions are in your heart and soul? What is something you'd love to know tomorrow? For today's slip, reflect on your splendid curiosity and the way that it helps you forge a unique life for yourself. Pay attention to your gratitude for curiosity as you create your slip.




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Gratitude Garland Day 9

Today's prompt......
Anything you do let it come from you then it will be new.
- Stephen Sondheim


Today's slip is another venture into celebrating your uniqueness. Make a list (either through words, art, or both) of all the ways that your day today was like nobody else's. Express it in a way that NOBODY else can.




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Gratitude Garland Day 8

Today's prompt......
I used to think that anyone doing anything weird was weird. I suddenly realized that anyone doing anything weird wasn't weird at all and it was the people saying they were weird that were weird.
- Paul McCartney

Today's slip is about feeling grateful for your eccentricities!
What makes you different? What are your quirks? How are you grateful for them?
Let your garland shine!




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Gratitude Garland Day 7

Day 7
Today's prompt......
Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
- Samuel Beckett

Today's slip is about feeling gratitude for "failures". Think of something -- either something that has happened recently, or something that happened a while ago -- that didn't go as planned. Look at the experience and find the blessing in it, and express your gratitude in your slip.




Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.

Gratitude Garland Day 6

Today's prompt......
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the
world... as in being able to remake ourselves.
- Mahatma Gandhi

Take a moment and think about a change you'd like to see in the world. Then, reflect on the ways that YOU can be the change you want to make in the world. Create your slip while thinking of the ways that you positively impact the lives of the people in your immediate circles, as well as ways that you could continue to cultivate those connections. Feel a sense of gratitude for your ability to change your environment just by being who you are!




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Gratitude Garland Day 5

Today's prompt......
"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."
- Maya Angelou

For your slip today, express your day with a new media. Here are some examples
* If you are mostly writing your slips, try adding some art.
* If you are more comfortable with art, try adding some straight journaling.
* If you are writing prose, try poetry.
* If you are primarily using collage on your slips, try painting.

Open wide to see what comes forth when you give yourself a little bit of room to play!





Today I am grateful for the blue-green color of the ocean.


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Gratitude Garland Day 4

Today's prompt......
There is no better opportunity to receive more than to be thankful for what you already have. Thanksgiving opens up the windows of opportunity for ideas to flow your way.
- Jim Rohn

For your slip today, think of something that you want.
Now, think of the way in which you already have the ESSENCE of that thing in your life NOW.

For example, if you want a new job, get to the bottom of WHY you want the new job. For example, you could determine that you want "freedom". Now, figure out the ways in which you already have "freedom" in your life now.

And allow your slip to be an expression of that!



Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.

Gratitude Garland Day 3

Today's prompt......

I want to thank anyone who spends part of their day creating. I don't care if it's a book, a film, a painting, a dance, a piece of theater, a piece of music. Anybody who spends part of their day sharing their experience with us. This world would be unlivable without art.
- Steven Soderbergh

For your slip today, reflect on some kind of art that inspired you today. It could be...
* a piece of music
* a work of visual art
* the dance or movement of a person
* a poem or piece of writing
* a piece of YOUR OWN creative work
* anything you like!




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Gratitude Garland Day 2

Today is the first day that you will create a "slip" that will become a link in your garland. Be sure you have done the preparation assignment from yesterday.
A few things to keep in mind, as you create your slips:

* Feel free to make them simple! (I just wrote a single sentence and stamped on a butterfly.)
* Feel free to create a slip with ONLY words, or ONLY art.
Combining the two is wonderful, but it doesn't have to happen every day.
* Feel free to veer away from the prompts in the daily blog post. They are here for you as ideas...but if you have something else you'd like to express for the day, feel free to do it!

Today's prompt......

Gratitude is the heart's memory.
- French Proverb

For your slip today, simply create a tiny "journal entry" that encapsulates a single significant moment of your day. Describe it through art and/or writing, and as you do, really FEEL the sense of gratitude for your life.



Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.

Gratitude Garland Day 1

This is the first day of a thirty day program about gratitude. In this course, you'll make a "Gratitude Garland™" created of 30 decorated strips of paper. You'll create each strip as a miniature art journal of gratitude, one per day. It's a ritual that is simple enough for anyone to do (including kids!) and quick enough for anyone to STICK to. At the end of the 30 days, you'll have a beautiful garland to use as a decoration or give as a special gratitude gift.
In addition to 30 days of thought-provoking, yet simple-to-follow, prompts to inspire your garland-making, you can download a workbook that includes instructions to begin your garland, templates for the strips, and over 150 "ThanksClippings", which are fantastic images, organized by theme, pre-sized and ready to print out and cut and paste onto your daily slips!
By utilizing the powerful combination of words and art, your creative expressions will instantly gain a special impact that enables you to take your feelings of gratitude to new levels. You'll also be re-awakening your creativity and your playful sense of artful experimentation, as you work with the "ThanksClippings™" and the inspiring prompts posted every day on this blog.

Your main goal for today is PREPARATION. If you get everything in place for your daily garland-making, the process will be much easier to stay with! Remember that this is a ritual, and will be most effective and exciting if you engage in it every single day for the next 30 days.

To this end, the mission for today is to accomplish the following:

1. Download the WORKBOOK by going to this PAGE and scroll down to the bottom and click on the Gratitude Garland Workbook to open the PDF.

2. Read page 2 of the workbook, which covers the background and instructions.

3. Print out 4 copies of page 3 (OR make 30 1" x 6" slips of paper). Feel free to print on colored, or patterned, paper.

4. Print out the pages of "ThanksClippings", so you have them handy when you are ready to work. You can even go ahead and cut them out, if you like.

5. Determine where your garland-making space will be. This needn't be anything fancy -- it could be a TV tray in the corner of your dining room. But if you have a specific place where you will make your slip each day, the process will be much easier!

6. Gather basic supplies and put them in your space. Tape, glue, markers, and scissors are top priorities. You can also have things like ribbons, paint, papers for collage with, fancy pens, magazines for cutting out images, 3-dimensional ephemera, and more. Again, having all your supplies together will make your garland-making easy and accessible.

7. Determine WHEN you will do your garland-making every day. Like any ritual, it is easier to keep up with this course if you plan to make your garland at a certain time each day. I like working at the end of the day, before bed. But you may find that you like to take some time each morning, or at lunch, or when the kids are napping. Whatever works for you is GREAT! Of course, if you can't make your daily "appointment" with yourself, don't worry – just try to schedule it in later. Remember, your daily link needn't take more than 5 minutes...or it can take as long as you'd like to explore a particular topic.

With these preparations in place, you are ready for your first chain, which you'll create tomorrow. Remember to gather everything together so that when you get your lesson, you can simply move to your creation space and PLAY!

Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.