Sharing thanks for setting goals for 2013

Pine cones on my mid-morning winter walk today.

Happy 2013! Welcome to a new year filled with promise. New Years Day gives us a chance to reflect. We think about how we want to change. A new year feels like a clean slate which we can write a new story to improve our lives. I like to set goals for the new year, rather than resolutions. This helps me make a plan on how I can achieve my goals. One of my goals this year is to be healthier and lose some weight. This goal is going to require that I change some of my habits. I am starting out by making small mini goals. This will help me get into better habits gradually. Life is always changing and the more we can embrace this the more we can open ourselves up to opportunities and enjoying what we are doing right now! Another goal I have is to find a full time job! I am thankful to friends and family who will support me to help me achieve these goals. I am also thankful for myself for having the wisdom to make some changes for the better. Here is what I am thankful for today.

1. I am thankful for extending my dog walk and extra few blocks. I walk my dog several times a day so by walking a little longer everyday I am being more active!
2. I am thankful for using my camera to focus on beauty. I took my camera on my walk today and enjoyed finding these cool pine cones. To see beauty we need to focus to find it in ordinary everyday places. The more we recognize beauty and focus on it we wake up to the little miracles that are all around us.
3. I am thankful to perform a simple kind act today. During my walk I brought a trash bag with me and picked up some discarded cups and trash in my neighborhood. We are such a throw away society, I must have picked up 5  paper drinking cups with lids. No one likes to see trash on the ground. 
4. I am thankful for the good friends in my life. I enjoyed a lunch out at Bertucci's yesterday with my friend Sue. Believe it or not I am thankful for a hole in my pizza. We ordered a pizza to share for lunch and because there was a hole on one of the slices Bertucci's gave us an extra small pizza. I had lunch for two days. Sometimes mistakes can lead to positive acts of kindness.

I love hearing about what you are thankful for everyday. Please share by writing what you are thankful for in the comments. This is what sharing thanks is all about. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and grateful 2013.