When life gets hectic, give yourself grace – grace to forgive, grace to relax, grace to begin anew.

It seems that with spring comes a renewed energy for busyness. The sun shines more regularly. The rains from late winter, early spring give the landscape a fresh look. Our spirits soar as the birds and butterflies flitter about. We can feel the sunrays on us, and we smile more because of it.

Unless a person is just a grouch year-round, there’s a happier skip in everyone’s steps. We’re quicker to open doors for others and quicker to say, yes, I’ll help you. Yet, if we are suffering from a deep wound or loss, or even an unexpected misunderstanding, spring might not be so welcomed.

The key, though, to embracing the beauty of spring is to count our blessings. We are alive. We have at least one person in our life who loves us as we are – whether they overlook our deficits or even love us more because of our quirkiness. We have a roof over our heads – or I hope so – and a bed to sleep in at night. Not to mention so many other blessings such as food on the table, a job – if we work outside the home, transportation, and, hopefully, our eyesight, hearing, and voice, too.

April is a good time to reflect on where we are at in and with life. Do we like our job? If not, what can we do to improve one facet of it? Do we enjoy our family enough? If not, what can we do to interact with them more. Do we spend time with friends or are we always waiting for them to reach out?

With so much technology and information-overload in our life, sometimes we have to take a step back and reconnoiter. We have to evaluate how we can remove that which is not important to us, that which is not serving us well, so we can spend more time doing that which is vital to our optimum happiness.

What in your life can you change or improve upon to capture more joy? Do we need to stop scrolling Facebook, Instagram or other social media app so much? Do we need to stop work on time to get home for supper with our family? Do we need to take up an activity with family, a friend, or on our own that will bring more contentment and centeredness?

When we count our blessings, we adjust our focus. We become more grateful. We start to see what we can let go of. And we start to see what is more important to our overall wellbeing and happiness.

For me, I have missed sending cards and writing letters to those I love. So, now that we are getting more settled in our little casita, I’m trying to incorporate sending cards and letters more often. Not everyone is a writer, so I don’t ever expect to receive a reply in return. When it comes – in the form of a card, letter, text, email, or phone call, I am touched and energized by their thoughtfulness. I feel loved, like I matter.

I hope today you will take time to consider how counting your blessings and being grateful for them can improve your life, your mindset, your attitude about your interactions. Whether everyone likes you or not or you like them or not, you can still greet others with grace and with forgiveness. Not everyone has to agree with our philosophy of life. But by giving each other grace, we can have more love, joy, and fulfillment. These kindnesses build not just our relationships with those around us but also with ourselves.

What can you do today in the month of April to have more gratitude and build a sense of personal peace and satisfaction? It really does start with us, as no one else can or should be expected to fulfill our every dream, wish, or desire. So start today by being grateful for at least one blessing. Then, see how many you add by the last the day of this month. I think you will be amazed.

April blessings to you!

Love & hugs, Virg

PS. Book Two is in the hands of the last four of my reading/editing team. I’m so grateful for the time they are taking to read through my manuscript and share their corrections and or suggestions. It’s my greatest hope for it to be published by the end of summer. And I have a special date I’m aiming for. Let’s see if it can be done.