Truth

Happy Friday! The weekend looms near, which means raking leaves is on the agenda. It's also time for Five Minute Friday. Today's word prompt is truth.

We only have two small trees in our yard, yet when the autumn winds blow, our yard is quickly covered by leaves from the neighbors' yards. That seems to be a theme for us; it was the same way in our last house. While I don't relish the thought of spending Saturday afternoon cleaning up leaves, the truth is that I love living in a neighborhood with mature trees that we can enjoy spring, summer and fall.

One of the tasks on my to-do list that is oft-neglected is cleaning the shower. I detest cleaning our shower (for a number of reasons) so I usually only do what's necessary to keep it in moderately good shape. It's time for a full-on scrub-down, including scrubbing the tile grout. The truth is, I love the finished result when I put in the elbow grease, so I should just stop procrastinating and get to it.

Life is hard and it's easy to become overwhelmed by bad news on the radio, political arguments, family concerns, fear of the unknown. In some seasons, wave after wave after wave crashes on the shores of life. The truth is, there's something to be grateful for in each wave and looking for the blessings can redirect my heart and mind away from the waves and onto the hidden treasures.

Every day in November, I'm posting something I'm grateful for on my FB page. I know some people may think it's trite and probably I should write a gratitude post every day of the year, not just during the month when our country celebrates Thanksgiving. The truth is, sometimes I need to rejuvenate an attitude of gratitude and daily FB postings for a month seem like a good way to hold myself accountable.

The truth is, there is much in life to be grateful for and when my focus is on gratitude versus complaint, my outlook is more positive, my joy is more complete and the journey of life is sweeter.