"Gratitude unlocks the Fullness of Life..."

 

I always try to keep a gratitude journal.  I like to remind myself of the little things that bring me joy. At this time of year when it gets dark earlier.  (something that I do not like, I am a sun lover)  I try and think what makes me happy when the sun goes down. 

Curling up with a blanket to watch my favorite show.  Lately it's been Blacklist on Monday night.  Makes me look forward to the start of the week.
Socks on my feet.
Warm baths.
Extra Quilts on my bed.

As the days get shorter, instead of dwelling on that fact.  I think and am grateful for  the coming holidays.  Loving Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

And of course when it snows.. being able to enjoy it inside from a warm home.

A few thoughts on gratitude as I go into this lovely month.

 

 

And one of my all time favorite songs. 
Love this...

 

Happy November.

 

Life Is Measured...

My friend gave me a frame with this saying on it. 
I thought this picture of Jim with Whitney on her wedding day was the perfect image for these beautiful words. 

Jim's face says it all as he hugs his beautiful daughter. 

 

 

 

Lately, as my days go by,

 it seems that I am just taking breaths til I go to bed at night.
 

I forget how many blessings...

 

 

 

 

Take my breath away.

"It is your Reaction to Adversity..."

These last couple of months we have had our share of adversity. 

When it rains it pours. 

After Jim lost his job we have had many rainy days. 

 But as cheesy as it sounds...the sun always comes out after the rain. 

 For as many down days as we have had..there have been days full of blessings. 

 In February Jim got called to the Bishopbric, which has been a great blessing in our lives. 

 We also had time in February to visit the PA gang which we usually don't do in the winter months.  Each time I go through a difficult time it makes me aware of those around me who have it worse and my compassion for them deepens. 

 Going through adversity continues to strengthen my faith. 

I love this quote. 

 I remember telling my son when he was going through difficult times that when things get really tough, give yourself a day or so to be sad, but then pick yourself up.. start thinking of what you have to be grateful for and get on with life. 

 Have faith that things will work out. 

 Things do work out one way or another. 

 

This last week another bump in the road. 

 My back has gotten to the point where the nerves have made it so I am limping. 

 My left leg is getting more numb and dragging quite a bit. 

 The doctor is worried that some of the damage to my nerves is beyond repair. 

 So I have been a bit down this past week,

 wondering again why..

why is it pouring rain yet again?

And then I go outside

I look at the signs of spring.

I see my lilac blooming

 (the very lilac that Maude gave me for my birthday so many  years ago) 

It thrives and blooms each year reminding me of that sweet lady who taught me to love trees and flowers and nature. 

 I hear the sound of my fountain, so soothing as I fix our evening meal.

I see these beautiful plants waiting to be put in the ground. 

 They will make my garden lovely.

I look out from my front porch and see this view and am uplifted. 

 

So with any adversity that goes on in my life,

 I don't even have to leave my home to find many wonderful things

 to make me grateful that I am alive. 

Things that strengthen my faith, and help me know that all will be well.

Giggs Bagley-Lessons learned from my dad

I've had the flu the last couple of days.  As a result I'm laying around in bed, thinking a lot. 

 Last night I started thinking about dad.  I thought of all the things he taught me. 

He was part of the "greatest generation,"  growing up during the depression. 

He wrote,

"I consider it quite a blessing that we had no money.  We had to scratch.  When I finally got a dress coat, I was out of high school.  We were always in deep trouble with money.  We did any old thing to make ends meet. We picked strawberries, we picked cherries.  We couldn't wait until June and July when the fruit came in.  When we picked it we could get a quarter per case.  One summer we went up there to Mount Olympus and picked worms." 

 He learned  a hard work ethic and sticking together as a family from those early years.  He fought in WWII as a young man. 

I learned from him a deep love of this country.  To never take for granted all the wonderful opportunities and blessings this great nation has to offer. 

After the war he married our mom.

  A woman he cherished throughout his life.

  He was a devoted family man. 

He loved his June and us kids more than anything and gave us everything, not just monetarily. 

He gave us a magical childhood.  We had fun growing up. 

 There was lots of laughter..much joy.

He taught me about persistence. 

One of his favorite quotes was by Calvin Coolidge.

"Persistence

Nothing can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not:   nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.

Genius will not:    Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not:    The world is full of educated derelicts.

 

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

He certainly lived this. 

There were many examples where he taught me this principal.  While he worked as an optometrist, coached, approached any problem, but one in particular comes to mind. 

He always wanted to build a golf course. 

As a young boy, he would caddy for "a dollar a loop,"  at the Salt Lake Country Club, hoping for a dime tip so he could buy a hamburger. 

 When he got older and had some land in Parleys Canyon, he could just see a world class golf course rolling through those hills.

  It couldn't be just any old course, it had to be the best.

  So he just called Arnold Palmer and made it the beautiful world class course that it is today.  Every time I drive up that canyon  and see that golf course I am reminded of the lesson of persistence my dad taught. 

 Also, that one of following a dream. 

 

He certainly followed his dreams. 

Which leads me to another thing I learned from him. 

 Dad became very successful.  He always told me that all the" things" he had were nice and even fun to have, but they were just" things". 

 The trick was to remember that, and to be just as happy if you didn't have those things as you are when you do have them.

He proved this to me, when one day he lost most of what he had.  During that time he became great to me, because he lived what he preached. 

 He was as happy as before. 

 He continued to work, to be joyful, because he had what was of most importance to him. 

He had his wife, his family

 his faith..he could work. 

The challenge was before him, and he was no quitter.

 

I learned faith from him. 

 He had an unwavering faith and was a positive thinker. 

 He knew things would work out, as the scripture says.

 

"Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly."

 

D&C 90:24

 

I learned about imperfections from him.  For all that he accomplished, he was not perfect.  No man is.  Jesus Christ is the only person who has ever been perfect on this earth.  But I learned that you can always keep trying, I learned to not let imperfections get in the way, to strive to be better, to learn and to move on striving to be a better more compassionate person. 

 

Mostly I learned from my dad, that family is the most important thing this world has to offer.  For all the trials he overcame, when he lost his June, I think that one was just one that was too big for him, yet he did have his kids and grandkids to surround him with their love and that was the greatest blessing to him.  Because of his love for them, those grandkids circled around him and poured out love unimaginable. 

 

Thank you dad for these and many more valuable life lessons. 

love, polly

 

 

(just a little of Giggs and June's posterity-still having fun and carrying on as they would have us do)

"Have I done any Good in the World today?

I found something out yesterday that was rather disappointing. 

 For years I thought I was my Aunt Ginny's favorite niece. 

 I thought I had a special bond with her that no one else had.

I went to her funeral yesterday and spent the day with many cousins and friends of my Aunt Ginny's, and I find out that they were also her favorite..

and that many had that special place in her heart. 

( Even though secretly I know that it was me that was her favorite, I will let the others go on believing that they were.) 

 

Aunt Ginny was special, because of the very thing I'm talking about. 

 She made everyone feel special. 

never seemed like she was in a hurry when she was talking to you

She was interested in what was going on in your life. 

It was because she truly loved those that she came in contact with and made the time to make them feel of her love. 

 Aunt Ginny taught me this valuable lesson. 

She always had time for me..as well as the many others demanding her attention. 

 

She taught me that people were more important than things and she constantly gave of herself.

 

 

She taught me that being cheerful and happy, regardless of our circumstances is a choice.

 

 

She taught me to remind myself to think of others, to go out each day and find some way to improve somebody else's life, rather than thinking about my own.

 

She really made me think. 

I want those I love to know that they are my favorites. 

 I want to make sure that I take the time to cherish family and friends. 

 

 

It's a good question. 

 

It's never too late to set goals, to improve to strive to be better.

I'm grateful for a wonderful family who are examples to me.

Each one helps me want to live a better life.

 

 

 

"Courage does not Always Roar

I love this quote. 
It reminds me of some very courageous people I know who are going through difficulties. Through it all they continue to get up each day, have a positive attitude and think of others.
 One of these people is my neighbor Danna. 
She has cancer. 
Throughout her chemo and radiation she has continued to teach her fifth grade students each day.  When I visit her and ask how she is, she immediately turns the conversation around and wants to know how I am.
 She continues to serve others while she has been sick. 
She rarely feels sorry for herself.
 She is one of my heroes.
 Another is a little boy named Tyler Hallsey.
 He is battling a tumor in his brain.
 He is the son of  Cricker Hallsey who used tend our kids and hang out with our boys, James and Tyler.  This whole family is facing this trial with optimism and a fighting spirit. 
You can follow Tyler's journey on his facebook page. www.facebook.com#!/whateverittakestylerhallsey.

 I am also amazed by my niece Sarah.  She is going through the heartbreaking issues of infertility.
 As the years have gone by and as her sisters and the other nieces have had their babies, Sarah is always the first to offer to help with showers.  She steps forward with lovely gifts..she always thinks of others..even though her heart is breaking. 
She continues to look forward to the future with optimism and hope. 

These people give me hope.  They are an example of perserverance.  They are the quiet ones who face each day with courage.
 They show me, through their example to "try again tomorrow" to overcome difficulties and be a better person.

My Gratitude Journal

I have always tried to be positive, to show gratitude for all that I have.  It is something that is a part of who I am.  This past month I have been slipping a bit and need to recommit myself.  There are many things in my life that I cannot personally control.  I can try to remain healthy, but when illness hits, there is nothing to do but ride it out.  When some kind of adversity hits that is beyond my control,  I must also do the same.  When I feel down, there is nowhere to go but up.  When I feel hurt, it is up to me to get rid of those hurt feelings and think of someone else, someone who is in worse circumstances, then go and do something for them.  My feelings and the way I look at things are truly the only things I can control.  
So, I feel that I need to strive to pick myself up.  I need to remember back to when I was ill, when I thought that I would never be able to do anything again without my oxygen, and then realize how far I've come.   I need to go back to writing down the simple things I am grateful for.  I remember sometimes it was just that "the sun was out."  Yet what a miracle that is!  It is hard to get rid of the negatives and focus totally on what is good in this life.. yet there are so many things that are good.

1-The beautiful snow
2- A warm house
3- A comfortable bed
4- clean sheets
5- feather pillows

It's a start.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
~Melody Beattie