Sharing Thanks

I am thankful for this warm and springlike December. I have been enjoying hiking in my favorite local parks. I love the bleak greys we often see this time of year. I filmed this short 30 second video from the pier at Norman Levy State Park. The Bay was calm and the sun's light was dancing on the water. I enjoyed viewing the beauty and just breathing in the energy and breathing out my stress. Use it to enjoy a small relaxation break

Angel at Rockefeller Center Kind people make all of our lives better, sometimes with simple gestures that enhance our lives and bring smiles to our faces. Today I am giving thanks for the wonderful people in my life. I am trying to go back to the basics of why I started my sharing thanks blog. To share a few things everyday that I am grateful for and to encourage you to share your gratitudes in the comments, or email me at www.sharingthanks@gmail.com and I can repost them. In this season of light and giving let us give thanks to the people who bring us of tidings of joy. I am thankful for my family. To my parents who taught me how to appreciate nature by taking us camping and on hikes. "Look at the Stars" is a mantra I have grown up with. They also taught me to work hard and play harder. The most important thing they have taught me was how to love and be loved. I am thankful to my fellow musicians in the South Shore Symphony. I am lucky to get to play the Nutcracker ...

Animated Favorites INSIDE OUT! vs MINIONS I love the movies! I have been enjoying movie nights with my film major daughters this summer. I love the experience of seeing movies in the theater. Our family loves going to  Regal movie theaters  because they have amazing caption high tech SONY glasses. My youngest daughter is deaf and she loves seeing movies with the subtitles that only she sees with the SONY glasses. We have seen a lot of great movies this summer. I am thankful to share these movie moments with you. We loved both Inside Out and the silliness of the Minions. Inside out takes us inside Riley's head as she learns to manage her feelings after the family moves her to the west coast. I loved Lewis Black's amazing anger voice. So happy to see a new imaginative animated film. I loved the depictions of Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Anger. I would have loved to see a Gratitude character. I wonderful ride into our amazing brains. We really need all of our em...

Liz dancing in a summer rain! We had a small heat wave earlier this week.  Temperatures were in the 90s! It was a hot summer day, and I was being a sloth and relaxing at home. I have been doing the Oprah and Deepak Chopra Manifesting Gratitude through grace meditation exercises. I don't like to watch TV during the day and I decided it was a good time to just sit and meditate to Day 4: Grace is replying. While I was meditating listening to Chopra's soothing voice, it started to rain. My daughter Liz was home and she said come outside. I thought she saw a rainbow? So I ran outside and it was a sun shower, raining hard. She was happily dancing in the rain. I joined her. The cool rain felt exhilarating! Its been a long time since I splashed in puddles. It was a joyful moment filled with Grace! After our water ballet in the rain, we both went in the house and changed into dry clothes. I was thankful to have shared this cool moment of joy with my daughter. What's helping you ...

White Wildflower at Norman Levy Park I had an epiphany at my morning meditation class today. At the end of the class which is held at our local library I heard the sound of a dog barking. It turned out to be someone's cell phone ringtone.  Sometimes my smart phone feels like a pavlovian dog. I jump everytime it rings, beeps, bells, and vibrates. We have all put ourselves on call 24/7 being available to the next facebook update, tweet, email, emergency, text, and phone call. When did we all become on call doctors to one another. The stress of being available to everyone all the time makes us jump when our phones vibrate!  I was thinking about what activities get me to turn off my phone. I turn off my phone for meditation class, for orchestra rehearsal, when I am at a play, or a movie. This got me thinking, I got that aha moment of clarity. I should turn off my phone when I am enjoying being out with my friends, at family gatherings, on my walks on the beach, or hikes in n...

I am so thankful to live 15 minutes away from the beach. It was a beautiful morning for a beach walk. I love to go to Jones Beach during the week for a relaxing walk. I usually walk one mile on the boardwalk and then head down to the shoreline for the walk back. I love listening to the soothing sounds of the ocean, while cooling off by getting my feet wet. I love looking for shells, smooth stones and beach glass. I love the tranquility of just listening to the waves roll in. I breathe in the sea air and the energy of the sun. It is such a wonderful way to start my day. I took this small video this morning to share my beach moment. Watch the video for a one minute beach break. Just relaxing and breathing for one minute will rejuvenate you!

Thanks to the stranger who took this picture of me and my good friend I love Spring in Manhattan. Although I live in the suburbs one of my favorite things to do is to spend a Saturday in New York. I love exploring the city. I am lucky to know kindred friends to share in my NYC adventures. One of the best free things to do in the city is to walk on the High Line. We took the train into the city and got on the High Line on 32nd street and 11th ave. The high line offers great views of the Hudson River. At one point you can actually catch a glimpse of Lady Liberty! I love all the public seating, installation art and beautiful architecture you see on this trail. I love that you are above the traffic and the new perspective from being elevated. It was wonderful to celebrate this top ten Spring Day with a good friend. I love this picture a stranger took of us with all the wonderful spring pinks and greens. At the end of the Highline you can see the new Whitney Museum building and all the ...

I am always thankful to read a good book. So I am going to add a new feature to Sharing Thanks. Every month I am going to share what books I'm reading! These selections are books I fell in love with over the month. They either provided me with inspiration, comedy, or wild imagination. I love reading while I'm soaking in a hot bath. I also love to read while I am waiting. I am happier waiting if I have a good book. It turns down time in to a learning time for me! This month I loved reading, " 10% Happier" by ABC Nightline reporter Dan Harris.  Don't we all want to be at least 10% Happier. This is a great read as Dan Harris has interviewed many self-help gurus over the years like Eckart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, and even the Dalai Lama. I enjoyed reading about how Dan Harris started practicing meditation. He has some great instructions in the appendix of his book about beginning a basic mindfulness meditation practice, as well as how to do walking meditat...

Sharing thanks today by sharing a video my deaf daughter shared with me in a link last week. Since she sent it to me, it seems to have gone viral and I have seen it on the Huffington Post. Having a disability cuts you off from people when you don't speak the same language. How wonderful that this man's neighbors would gather and take the time to learn ASL, to give this man a day he does not expect, We all need to find ways to connect with one another. Enjoy the video and be a good neighbor!

I am so grateful to the 92nd Street Y for showcasing "Seymour: and introduction" in their reel pieces screening and talks. Seymour is about retired concert pianist Seymour Bernstein, who continues teaching lessons to students and master classes at NYU's Tisch school for the arts. I got to share this amazing experience with my good friend and musician Liz. The piano score in the movie is breathtaking. The film documents the emotional experience that music offers to us all. Ethan Hawke's direction to tell Seymour's story and impart his wisdom about how practicing a talent carries over to the discipline and values we hold dear in our personal lives. Below are 4 lessons I learned in watching this brilliant portrait of an artist. Finding and practicing your talent is part of the purpose of your life. Excellence comes from much practice and study. When we listen to an artist perform we need to appreciate the practice and courage that has been done to get a flawl...

Gratitude is scientifically proven to make us happier. I've put this Top Ten List together to help jumpstart your gratitude habit! This new thankful attitude will help your mind focus on the little joys available to all of us everyday. These suggestions are easy to do! Share your experiences in adapting some of these thankful habits. Wake up Thankful: When you open your eyes, Say thank you, thank you, thank you! You are alive, and the new day is filled with possibilities for you! Take time to stop and smell the coffee! Take the time to breathe in the sweet aroma of a cup of coffee, or home made blueberry muffins.  Enjoy your morning shower. Is there anything better than clean hot water streaming down on you, especially on these cold winter days. Be thankful for the clean water we have. Take a gratitude break. Incorporate a 1 minute break by taking a deep cleansing breathe and think of something your thankful for in this small moment of peace. Give thanks for your food...