Ordinary Things to be Grateful for

It can be easy to get blinded to the magic in our lives while going through the motions each day. Everything just feels so "ordinary" sometimes and without searching for those little touches of magic and feeling grateful for the small things, we can lose that sense of awe and wonder we once had when we were little.

In this plogpost, I made a list of 10 Ordinary Things to be Grateful for, to help you in your journey of getting back that awe- and wonder you once had about life and maybe inspire you to notice the things in your life we deemed to be "ordinary" a little bit more.

So get cozy, grab yourself a warm cup of coffee or tea and let's begin!

1. For the fact that you woke up today

Imagine what life would be like if every time you went to sleep, you had to worry if you'll be waking up the next day. Most of us take waking up each morning for granted (me included, most of the time ^^), which makes sense because it just isn´t something we usually have to think about, but being able to start anew each day is something we can be grateful for!

I challenge you to say the words "thank you" tomorrow morning as soon as your eyes open and before you do anything else. That way, you'll be starting your day with gratitude and you might be surprised at how much better you feel, or maybe not, but it doesn't hurt to try^^

2. For having a roof over your head

I get it. You go on social media and see all of these beautiful, Instagram-worthy homes with big gardens, a pool, renovated kitchens and all the things... You then look at your own home and start nit picking. You see the big wholes in the wall from when you took down that painting, or the carpet with the stains on it, the old, mismatching furniture, the scratched up wooden floors and the well-loved little garden and you start comparing the perfectly manicured, never-ever-messy homes you see on social media with your own. I have definitely been there myself and understand that it can be tough to feel grateful for your home (and other things in your life) when all you seem to see are these curated, always perfectly clean homes on social media. Now, I would be a hypocrite if I told you that I don't enjoy looking at beautiful interiors and houses, but it can be all too easy to fall into that comparison trap if we aren't being intentional <3 Homes are meant to be lived in.

They are meant to be a little quirky, unperfect and well-loved ^^ While comparing, we can forget how absolutely fortunate we are to have a roof over our heads, no matter the size of it. I challenge you to look around your home today, whether you live in a mansion, camper van, or shared apartment, close your eyes and try to feel as grateful as you can for having a roof over your head. Think about the things you love about your home. That can be a particular room, a cozy corner, sentimental items in your home, or anything else that comes to mind. This exercise helps me a lot when I start getting a little stuck in the comparison trap, not only about my home, but anything else too. Looking for things to be grateful for about everything you have in life is such a powerful tool for improving your mindset and mental health.

3. For your body

Every day, your body is doing its best to keep you alive. Without even having to think about it, your heart is pumping blood through your vains, your lungs are filling themselves with oxygen, whatever food you eat is being digested for you and soooo much more.

When you think about it, isn´t it amazing how much our bodies do for us? And isn´t it crazy that most of us only really think of our bodies when we are either sick or feel pain? Especially if you are struggling with body image, which can be really tough, try thanking your body for what it does for you and view it less as something to be "looked at" and more as the thing that is keeping you alive <3 Our bodies are not made to be "aesthetically pleasing", as our society is often making it seem like. They are our homes and the reason why we are able to live.

4. For the love in your life

my love and I in Gouda, The Netherlands

It can be easy to start taking our loved ones for granted, but being loved, even if it´s by a pet, is such a gift <3 I challenge you to call one of your loved ones this week and tell them how much they mean to you. You might think that they already know that you care about them, but hearing you tell them that you love them might mean more to them than you can imagine. It can feel scary to be vulnerable and I totally get that, but I also know that we might regret it in the future if we don´t tell our loved ones how much we love them as often as we can now.

Self love is part of that too!

When was the last time you told yourself "I love you"?

It might sounds funny, or weird even, but why is it that we think it is important and even necessary to tell others that we love them, but when it comes to telling ourselves, it is something to laugh about? You are the most important person in your life and although priorities shift throughout life, the only person you always spend time with and the only one you truly know is yourself. You deserve the same love and care you give to others <3

5. For the fact that the sky is blue!

This might sound funny, but imagine if the sky was any other color than blue! Imagine it was red, or grey, or a dark sandy color! Our world would feel so much more dreary and everything would look different! When you think about it for a second, isn´t it magical how we have a blue sky, but then also fluffy, white flying clouds and sometimes there´s a bow made up of all different kinds of vibrant colors after there was rain and then we also have sunsets that make the sky pink and beautiful golden sunrises and, oh my goodness there is so much more beauty in the sky, but I´ll leave it here for now ^^

6. For bees

Bees aren´t only super cute, but vital to the survival of many many varieties of plants and flowers. As at least one-third of our food supply comes from plants and crops that are pollinated by insects, most of which are bees, without them we wouldn´t have a lot of the produce we have now and a lot of flower-varieties just simply wouldn´t exist!

7. For your smartphone (if you have one)

Smartphones definitely have their ups and downs, but they do also help us in many ways.

From being able to call a loved one on the other side of the world, to being our navigating while driving from one place to another, to connecting to millions of different people on social media and so much more <3

8. For running water

There are many families that don´t have the luxury of running water. There are people who have to travel long distances every day to provide their families with water and just the fact that we are able to turn on a tab and get clean water whenever we want is something not to take for granted.

9. For Flowers

sunflowers are some of my favorite kinds of flowers<3 They´re so happy and pretty, but also kind of quirky and awkward which I love ^^

Flowers are such magical beings with the most beautiful, intricate designs and so important to our ecosystems. Just imagine a world without them!

10. For electric light

Every time we enter a dark room, we can simply just turn on a switch to make it light!

How amazing is that!?

There are so many more things to be grateful for and I´d love to know what you would add to this list in the comments below!

Thank you for reading and I hope this list of "ordinary" things to be grateful for gave you some inspiration to notice some of the "little" things in life a bit more^^

Sending lots of love and coziness your way x