I have been going to body conditioning classes twice a week. During these classes we use free weights and body bars, as well as exercises to tone various muscles, such as squats and lunges.

So the other morning, I was in class and doing my plie’s. Legs hip width apart, toes pointed outward, I bent my knees. As I started lowering my body, I let out the loudest fart ever recorded in the history of workout classes.

I am grateful that the music in class was VERY LOUD.

My mindfulness and journal prompt for the week is celebration.

Here’s how it’s used in the books I’ve been reading:

  1. Or the crowd could be celebrating her lanky older sister, with the straight, ashy bangs, who has finally, after some struggle, learned to read. Emily Henry
  2. I was smarter than Christine. But she was happier because she celebrated all victories, real or false. Qian Julie Wang
  3. When Herbert came, we went and had lunch at a celebrated house which I then quite venerated, but now believe to have been the most abject superstition in Europe, and where I could not help notice, even then, that there was much more gravy on the tablecloths and knives and waiter’s clothes, than in the steak. Charles Dickens
  4. It’s human nature to strive for more, but if you want to cultivate an abundant mindset, you must also focus your energy and attention on noticing and celebrating the abundance of what you already have. Shira Gill
  5. Stand By Me. Because despite being a film about a search for a dead body, it is a celebration of youth and friendship and life. Matt Haig
  6. I took her by the hand and led her to the bus stop. Aminat stomped in the puddles and splashed water all around. I hardly reprimanded her, though, because my own heart was celebrating. Winter was fading; the snow was shrinking into itself and turning gray. The air was warming and filling with scents. The trees were still bare, but their branches had a new vitality. Alina Bronsky
  7. Mama takes me over to a wall covered with hundreds of white bras, some with lace and little frills or doilies like party favors, as if undergarments are a cause for celebration. Parneshia Jones
  8. Whether we’re lucky enough to have a big cosy kitchen or not, it is never just to store and prepare the food. We work in there to create the meals that celebrate the company of friends and family, where spontaneous kitchen discos can happen as we feel free to dance to the radio, a chance to let go and have some silliness in our lives. Kate Peers
  9. Peter and I, feeling optimistic and festive, plan a party to celebrate our union. Delia Ephron

Here’s some thoughts that I am going to ponder when thinking about the word celebration:

  1. Do people want to celebrate little things, or do we wait for BIG things?
  2. Are people afraid to celebrate because others might not have the same things? Think Mother’s Day and Valentines
  3. I’m reading a book of poetry that is supposed to be dedicated to women. Why does only one poem in the anthology contain anything about celebrating. Are woman not supposed to celebrate?
  4. Does celebrating make one feel bad or does it put too much pressure on someone?
  5. Do some people need to celebrate more than others?
  6. Has celebrate become a bad word?
  7. What’s the last think I celebrated and why did I celebrate it?
  8. Why do quotes 2 and 4 resonate with me?

When you think celebrate, what thoughts does it bring to you?

44 thoughts on “Gratitude and Mindfulness: 5/14/22”

  1. Today we are going to a birthday party to celebrate a one year old. How wonderful we can actually have a family party to do this. The pressure comes when celebrations are meant to impress. Although a little pressure might be a good thing – such as it gets me to clean the house before a party. Quote #4 speaks to me.

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  3. Celebrating big things can get overshadowed as everyone’s doing it and done it before, but the small things are usually more unique, curious and relatable….maybe 😊 I think if something makes you happy bug or small) and it means something to you – then that will comeacrosss to whoever you share it with, that energy will always keep it interesting and engaging.

    Lol, regarding the loud music, technically this is helpful as music gets you going and energizes us so it should be loud for a work out 😉

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  4. First of all I’m impressed that you can do lunges and squats. That to me is worthy of a celebration. Wahoo! Yay you!
    I’m big on celebrating the little things. Then again, after teaching elementary school for over three decades celebrating accomplishments has become a way of life. Every little achievement was a big deal when you are working with children. I started out in the 1970’s doing happy dances when the children performed well and understood difficult lessons, or students did well on state tests. By the time I retired, around 36 years later, I had my laptop and smart board linked and I could press a key, and suddenly Cool and the gang’s song “celebration” would come on. The entire class would then stand up, take a few minutes and dance to the song, and applaud.
    The smiles and looks of accomplishment on the faces of children is EVERYTHING! And they become confident when they feel they have achieved a goal.
    In life, I now celebrate the little things. Because the little things build up to bigger accomplishments.

    LA if you were a guy, you’d probably celebrate that fart. We women have difficulty with bodily functions. But men? They seem to embrace burps and farts. Lol

    I say, celebrate the moments that are important to YOU. I’ve learned that life is a gift and to celebrate the special moments whenever you can. Don’t wait for birthdays or holidays. Just celebrate living!

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  5. Thanks for the laugh this morning! Personally I suppose “celebrate” has always referred to something big, momentous, important…a celebration is designed to focus on something major occurring in one’s life. Maybe that’s not the best way to approach it though. Why not feel free to celebrate the smaller stuff as well? Although perhaps in a quieter manner.

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  7. Milestones tend to be celebrated but I will say our monthly visits with my brother and his family for dinner dessert and a movie have been mini celebrations. It stemmed from my therapist once asking me how often do i see my brother (I only have one and he is 5 yrs older) I said maybe twice a year for holidays. She asked me when was the last time that wasn’t a holiday, and I said it was about a decade. That bothered me. So every month is celebration of family.

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  10. I think it is important to celebrate the little things, but we don’t do it often in our family because “one of us” views the glass as less than half full and makes Eeyore look like an optimist. Oh, well. I love #4. We should celebrate the abundance of what we have; we are blessed. #2 I don’t get: why would anyone celebrate a false victory?

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  11. When I think of celebrating, I fervently hope no one will give me a surprise party. There was one for our 25th anniversary, but luckily someone spilled the beans accidentally, so I was mentally fortified.

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  13. You made me laugh! I took ballet until my late forties. We were at the barre in an arabesque and I can’t remember the term but you lower you upper body from the waist while your leg goes up behind you to the sky. My ballet teacher came over to me and pulled my leg up higher and I farted in her face!

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  15. I’m trying to remember to celebrate everything, big and small because we don’t know how many more days we have to celebrate things. Not sure I’d celebrate a fart but I’d celebrate that no one heard. Our son picked me up once and I farted. He got a great laugh out of that. Must be something that happens as we women get older. My mom would toot all the time.

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  16. So much to consider.
    First and foremost, I am of the age where farts just flow out, so here we are…
    I used to save my celebrations for special occasions. Then the pandemic struck, and it altered my perspective on life. I now celebrate almost every day. But it’s taken a lot of soul work to get here, and that soul work must continue on a daily basis 🙂

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  17. Oooh I love your humor ! “Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they will never cease to be amused!”

    To me we need to celebrate the small and big things! Celebrating the small things is Celebrating life! But I am not saying it has to be a big, costly celebration. Simple things like going out for icecream can be a celebration.

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    1. You know what’s funny? I was just thinking how Celebrate used to be the big songs at celebrations…but I was at a wedding and bar mitvah this year, and it wasn’t played at either. However…Don’t Stop Believing is the new party song

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