Gratitude: 101 things I’m grateful for in 2021

First, I’d like to share a simple meditation to ground us into the present moment, and second, I share my list of 101 things I am grateful for in 2021

Well, dear friend, we made it.

Here we are.

2022

We made it through to another year.

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge how far we have come, the difficulties, losses — and gains we’ve been through, especially the last two years.

Let’s take a moment to settle into our body’s so we can fully appreciate and acknowledge the significance of this moment.

We are here.

We are alive.

We are together.

Over the last two years, thousands of lives were cut-short, homes were disrupted, jobs lost, and life turned upside.

Yet, we are still here.

I invite you to look around your immediate environment.

Notice your feet on the floor, your hands resting wherever they reach.

Notice your buttocks on the chair, the surface you are sitting on.

What sounds can you hear in the space?

Take a moment to orientate yourself in this present moment of togetherness.

And if you feel called, I encourage you to say a quiet word of thanks.

A quiet word of gratitude and appreciation for yourself.

Bring to mind any friends, family, strangers even who have supported you, particularly over the last two years.

And say in your heart a quiet word of thanks for 2021.

It has been challenging.

The light hasn’t always shone bright, and many days you may have felt lonely, angry and afraid.

Yet, somehow, we made it through.

My hope and prayer are for peace, brighter days, more joy, more rest, unity, hope, and restoration.

Now, we’ve settled ourselves.

I want to tell you how I am easing into 2022.

Recently, a friend mentioned the value of reflecting and acknowledging everything we are grateful for in 2021.

I must admit, when I first heard this nugget, my first thought was,

“yeah, that’s a pleasant idea, but I ain’t got time — or energy to sit down and think about everything that happened last year.

That will take forever.

Let me start 2022 with a clean sheet and move on.”

Yet, the more I sat with my friend’s words and noticed what was happening in my body, something stirred.

Has that ever happened to you?

You hear something; it sounds like a good idea, but you don’t have the energy — or motivation to follow through.

So you bookmark it, swipe right and say you’ll come back to it another day!

That was me.

However, her words were like a gravitational force.

Something was drawing me to sit down and do this “gratitude exercise”.

So, I did.

I set myself the challenge that before even thinking about “2022 New Year resolutions and intentions”, I would take my time, reflect over 2021 and journal 100 things I am grateful for in 2021.

And, to make it easier on myself, I made this 2021 Gratitude List part of my morning routine.

I spent the last ten mornings meditating and reflecting on the past year.

Making 10 bullet points every day in my journal about what I was grateful for in 2021.

And when I finally finished this list, I felt so proud of myself, and I wanted to share my insights with you to see if you’d be interested in creating your 2021 Gratitude List!

And here’s my list of 101 Things I am Grateful For in 2021

Spending unlimited time with mom and dad.
Feeling the sun on my skin.
The cocks crowing, opening the day.
The dawn chorus.
The local dogs barking “good morning” to each other.
The full moons
Wi-Fi. Oh yes, Wi-Fi!
The love of my daughters.
Random texts I receive during the day from my daughters.
The messages of love and connection online with friends, loved ones, and family.
Family.
Listening to sacred chants and mantras as part of my daily morning practice.
The joy of early morning walks.
Access to clean water.
Fresh, Grenadian air.
My parent’s sacrifices enable my daughters and me to have the opportunities we have.
My great grandmother for her vision.
The rustling of the wind.
Ms ReRe, hairdresser, for helping me to care for my locs.
The joy of having a consistent daily morning meditation practice.
Regular updates from Virgin Atlantic while I was “stranded” in Grenada.
Receiving a scholarship place to take part in the Radical Darshan 300 hours Advanced Yoga Teacher Training.
YouTube creators, especially Stewart Hamblin, for his dedication to sharing Feldenkrais Movement videos.
My journal.
My daily breathing practice.
Cosy bed.
Radical Darshan peers and facilitators.
Being able to go for walks and feel safe.
My connection with spirit.
Being able to teach yoga and meditation online.
Eating fresh seasonable fruits and vegetables.
Juliet, my stylist, for fun shopping days.
Kelly Diels for her guiding light, trust, and belief in my work.
Team Kelly Diels — Julie and Trevia Woods for their dedicated service and care.
The goats and chickens randomly accompany me while I am out walking in Grenada.
Vegetable roti.
Travelling packing cubes.
My mobile phone.
My laptop.
My iPad
Adult colouring books.
Daily Yoga Nidra meditation practice.
My brain.
My intuition.
My tripod.
Being in a natural sunny climate.
My morning meditation practice.
Listening to relaxing music to wind down in the evenings.
Cousin Denis and the gardeners for helping dad care for the garden.
Cousin Verone and Ian for their love.
Radical Darshan weekend training sessions.
Breathing by the seas.
My creativity.
WhatApps and FB messages and calls from overseas friends.
The sun warming my bones.
Spending time in nature.
Life.
Washing machine.
Seeing goats amble by whenever I sit on the veranda.
A wonderful selection of home-cooked takeaway foods is available.
The convenience and selection of fruits and veg on offer from the local grocery store.
Finally, getting to see Uncle Neddie.
Regular FB conversations with cousin Paula in America.
Sticking with daily yoga breathing practices -especially at bedtime.
Hugging my daughters for the first time after 18 months of being apart.
Thankful for my parents’ health and stability.
Friendliness of Grenadians.
Food in shops.
Dad driving mum to church.
Cousin Archie for caring for the land.
Cousin Angela for holding the family together.
Cousin Gary and the Tallboys helping Dad out around the home.
Mr Grant and Mr Graham for being kind neighbours.
The man who has the local jewellery stall in Market Square.
Mum’s homemade soup, especially her dumplings.
Early morning beach walks with mum and dad.
Getting to know more people on the beach.
Hand sanitiser.
Nat, the shopkeeper, found my purse and kept it safe until I collected it.
Trevor Noah’s Daily Show on YouTube keeps me entertained and aware (especially reading the comments!)

81. My Kindle for easy access to reading.

82. SOARS Book Club for the variety of books shared and delightful conversations.

83. Recommitting to daily Japa Meditation practice.

84. The 10-minute sketches my daughters and Curtis created.

85. Daily Duolingo (French) practice.

86. Been able to get gluten-free muesli in Grenada.

87. Strong arms and back to bear the responsibilities I carry.

88. Early morning view of blue sky swaying palm trees when I woke up in Grenada.

89. My breath.

90. Connecting with my spirit guides.

91. Medical care whenever we needed it.

92. Dental work.

93. Spending Christmas 2021 with my girls and parents.

94. Reading in bed.

95. Spending my 59th birthday in the UK with my daughters.

96. The cemetery workers looking after my Brother John’s grave.

97. Neighbours and friends who looked out for my girls while in Grenada.

98. Connection with friends online and in real life.

99. The stars at night.

100. Daily sunrise.

101. Your love and support in reading my first story in 2022! -Thank you.

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Well, dear friend, as you can see, once I got going, there were many things I found to be grateful for in 2021.

What do you think of my list of gratitudes?

Does anything stand out for you?

I would love to hear your thoughts, and now over to you.

What are you grateful for in 2021?

Drop your top-of-mind 2021 gratitudes in the comments below and let me know.

In the meantime, much love, dear friend.

May 2022 bring more love, joy and restoration as we call in another trip around the sun.

Ntathu