Gratitude by Danielle

We're living in some crazy days, which calls for even crazier perspective. The Mess is proud to present a Special Guest who is here to present us with some much needed positivity.

When my niece, Allison, asked me to write an article for her blog I immediately said “yes!” I was so honored by her asking me, that I completely forgot that I have very little writing skills…and had no idea what to write about. With the deadline looming, I was freaking out and thought about doing a video (vlogging anyone?) about frugal self-care hacks to do if you’re not yet comfortable venturing out for eyebrow waxing during the pandemic. Then, today, as I was looking back through my Instagram feed and was so overwhelmed with looking back on the last few years of my life that I got teary-eyed…then it hit me: GRATITUDE! So, here’s my guest spot all about gratitude.

I have always been a very faithful person. I’m a Taurus, and if you know anything about astronomy, you know that Taurus signs are loyal to a fault! We are also HELLA stubborn and strong-willed. So, growing up as a Christian, I always had big faith and was always optimistic. But, as I got older (and life happened), I started to be more realistic with my thoughts and sometimes being bitter or jealous because other people seemed to have it easier than I did. Better jobs, education, apartments, clothes, etc. I constantly compared my journey to other people’s. Looking at Instagram [IG] feeds and thinking “How can he/she afford a trip like that? And what am I doing wrong?” Then I happened upon this book called You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. It was a self-help book and I read the cover thinking “yeah, right.” I bought it and it started slow but was a great read. Then, my mom gave me a book by Steve Harvey (I know, right?) called Jump. It’s all about chasing your dreams and gratitude. Both really helped me to stop comparing and start living my life for me and how to write down my dreams and work towards them.

That year, I started journaling and writing down things I was grateful for. I literally wrote down anything I could think of that I was grateful for, like “I am grateful for my legs because I was able to walk to the bus stop today…I am grateful for my cell phone…” I also wrote down thanks and gratitude for things I didn’t have yet: “I am grateful for my marriage…I am grateful for my new job…I am grateful for my new house…” Then something crazy started to happen!! I had less feelings of sadness, bitterness, and jealousy because I started to see how much I could be grateful for and all of the things I have that lots of other people don’t. Once I continued with that feeling of gratitude, I started getting all the things I was thankful for that I didn’t have yet!

I mean, it was pretty crazy and happened FAST! I was miserable at my job and used to complain about it nonstop, then I just started believing that I was there for a reason and that when my time was up and my purpose there had been fulfilled, God would open the door for a different opportunity. Then I was offered a job where I worked from home 75% of the time…then my boyfriend made it into the police academy and we moved to Chicago and about a year later, I got a better paying job working downtown Chicago. Then we got engaged…then married. This year I paid off my debt during the pandemic where people were losing their jobs. This was about 6 months after I wrote in my journal that I would pay off all of my debt and raise my credit score THIS year. I looked at that IG feed and thought “Wow…the last three years have been really good.” It all happened and is still happening!! This is the year we buy our first home (I’m speaking it into existence).

So, I’m going to close this out because I’ve kind of ramble through this. In my defense Allison told me I could just write, LOL. But I want you to think about all the things you wanted years ago. Make a list of those things and see how many you have checked off. After that, write a letter or list of gratitude for those things. Lastly, write a list of goals for the rest of this year, and maybe even some for the years to come, then start writing notes of gratitude for those things that have not come to pass yet and watch God (or the Universe if that’s what you’re into) work wonders in your life. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it and that God blesses you and your family abundantly this year!

XO,

Dani

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A word from Allipwells:

I am incredibly blessed to have such an amazing person to call my aunt. The positivity that Danielle brought to the table today is 100% her all the time. Even in trying times like we are experiencing now she is able to stop, count her blessings, and continue striving for a better future. I hope to be able to do that as effortlessly one day. As always stay active in efforts to bring about positive change but also take the time today to find gratitude moving into a new week. Things will get better, thank you to Danielle for reminding us of that.