Challenge #20--Midway Reflection & Voting Reminder

Hello everyone! We have reached the midway point of Challenge #20. The theme for this challenge is all about GRATITUDE.   As usual, I am going to share a little introspection with you all that I am also presenting on my own personal blog in my "Motivational Monday" feature.

 Give Thanks

The concept of giving thanks is a universal one.  We all have something in our lives which we can be grateful for.  The list differs for each of us because we all live in our own unique part of the world.  For some people when they get out of bed in the morning they can be thankful there is a roof over their heads.  For others not so fortunate, they can be thankful that no one came by and robbed them or worse, throughout a long cold night on the street.   And for many more, not hearing bombs go off during the night, can be what they wake up grateful for.  There are many people throughout the world that have lists and lists of things that they should be thankful for, but never are.  Then there are people who have so very little or are in pain or suffering great hardship, who make sure to say quiet 'thank yous' each and every day.

Regardless of your circumstances, I hope that there is still something, even if it is something very small, for which you are able to show your gratitude.  Being grateful is a mindset.  We can choose to show gratitude and take a more positive stance on things or we can choose to wallow and fixate on the negative. Being thankful, not just for the larger things but for the smaller ones too, allows us to fill our lives with love and appreciation.  It reminds us of all the good things that we have going for us. No, gratitude won't make the difficult things we are facing in our life go away, but it will help to provide us with a different perspective.  For example, I can complain about how painful and difficult it is for me to sit, stand and walk unassisted or I can choose to be grateful that I still have the capacity to do all three regardless of how long for the first two, or how far for the last.  Most days when I'm within my home, I can get by with the assistance of my canes.  While I have a wheelchair and scooter, I generally only need them when I leave my home or when I have a rather difficult day.  Under different circumstances I might be in that wheelchair permanently. For today I'm grateful that I'm not.

Whether the act of gratitude comes easy to you or not, it is definitely worth the effort.  Remember, everything in life that has any importance, takes hard work to achieve. There have been studies done that show the benefits of gratitude.  They indicate that people who demonstrate their appreciation on a daily basis, tend to be:

• more full of life,
• purposeful, 
• healthier,
• more creative,
• have better exchanges with their peers,
• more optimistic,
• able to deal with stress and personal challenges more effectively.

Sounds to me, like reason enough, to practice gratitude on a daily basis.  During my research, I came across this quote which summarizes some of those reasons nicely:

"In the face of demoralization, gratitude has the power to energize.  In the face of brokenness, gratitude has the power to heal.  In the face of despair, gratitude has the power to bring hope."  (Emmons, 2013, para. 2)

So, why not try giving thanks today and everyday?  With so many advantages to gain, what do you have to lose?!

References 
Adamski, Carol . (N.D.). The Value of Practicing Gratitude. Available: http://gratitudehabitat.com/be-grateful/. Last accessed 16th November 2014.
Emmons, Robert. (2013). How Gratitude Can Help You Through Hard Times. Available: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_can_help_you_through_hard_times. Last accessed 16th November 2014.

To help inspire you down the path of gratitude, check out the wonderful projects a few of my Design Team had the opportunity to create...

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, November is Lynda's last month with us, so this makes it her last official card posting for our challenge; although, you will still see her input in our DT Delight for Challenge #19.  Thank you so very much Lynda for all your great creations and insight during your time with us.  You will definitely be missed but we wish you only the best.

For Lynda's midway project she chose to use the image called Bella Picking Berries from our second regular sponsor, Creative Bug Digis.   Such a cute image.  Unfortunately, Naomi has had to close down the store; however, her images will still be available for DT Delight winnings and other sponsorship opportunities.  They just will no longer be available for sale in the foreseeable future.

Monica decided to work with the image called Lillies for You which was one of the images the team got to work with from our guest sponsor for the month, DigiStamps4Joy.  This image is another perfect way to express gratitude as the act of giving someone flowers is often done, for saying thank you of some nature. 

Pat decided to use images from the Female Troops Bundle, from one of our regular sponsors, Ike's Art.  This set showcases women of strength.  There are so many women (and men as well) that fight for each of our countries, that we should be taking the time to thank.  This image is currently located within the 'My Latest Designs' section.

Vicky worked with the same image that Monica did, Lillies for You.  You can find the watermark under Monica's project above.

Penny worked with the image called, KT Swings, also from Ike's Art.  Such a carefree loving image that works perfectly with the sentiment Penny used.  This image is currently located within the 'My Latest Designs' section as well.

Finally, that leaves our...

Once again a team member from DS4J will be our guest designer.  For the midway, it is Julie, from Muddy Paws, Inky Fingers, who we were fortunate to also have as a guest last month.

My name is Julie Odil, and I am thrilled to be guest designing again this month for the Path of Positivity Challenge blog. This time I am representing Digistamps4Joy. I just love this challenge blog and the philosophy behind it, so being able to guest design two months in a row is very exciting.

I love being creative. Whenever I have spare time, you will find me in my craft room, working on some project. While I like to use dies, paper (who doesn’t?), ribbon, twine etc. my favourite technique is stamping. I stamp on almost every project I make. On this project I used the Digistamps4Joy stamp “Diamond beauties”.

You can find out all the details about this card, and see what else I’ve been creating at http://muddypawsinkyfingers.blogspot.com

I’d like to thank Lisa and Path of Positivity design team for this great opportunity. I am filled with gratitude!

She created this sweet card...

As Julie mentioned in her bio, she used the pretty image called Diamond Beauties. Such a beautiful image isn't it?  I love that the flowers only go around the one side.  By adding a sentiment to the open area like Julie did, it creates a very balanced piece. 

Clicking on the team members name (or in the case of our GDT, the blog name) will take you to their blog where you can check out the details for their inspirational creations!  Clicking on the DS4J or Ikes's Art watermarks will take you to the section of the respective store that they reside in.

So if you haven't entered already, what are you waiting for?  Create a project and/or post that is positive AND relates to gratitude, provide an explanation of how your project and/or post relates to the theme somewhere in your post or come over and leave a comment with the explanation.  Easy, peasy!  You can enter our latest challenge by clicking HERE.

Also, I know that the participants would love for you to go and pay them a visit.  Remember we're creating a Path of Positivity to follow one project at a time and we'd love to see you somewhere on that route even if it is just by leaving a comment on an entry from someone who has touched you somehow with their project and/or post!

If you are new to this unique challenge, you can find out the impetus behind why I started it under the 'Introductions' tab and all the details you need to know in order to participate, in the 'Challenge Details' tab (both tabs located at the top of the blog).

Don't Forget...

You still have until 11:55 p.m. tonight, to vote on your favourite entry for Challenge #19.  Voting is quick, easy and painless so I hope you will consider casting your vote if you haven't already.  Don't forget, if you leave a comment after voting, you have the opportunity to walk away with a selection of digital papers created especially with your interests in mind. To check out all those eligible and cast your vote, click HERE.  Winners for challenge #19 will be posted next Monday.

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE ON GRATITUDE?
If you need some additional motivation to help inspire you, I've provided another sentiment on this month's theme (the first is available HERE), free for you to download.

 Left click to bring the image up into the lightbox in its full size and then right click and scroll down to 'save as'.

Credit Notes For This Creation:
© 2014, Lisa L. Décosse.  PUO.  However, you are allowed to use the sentiment on handmade projects that you intend to sell on a small scale basis provided credit is given. You also need to include a credit note and a link to this blog should you use any of my images in your creations and post them on your blog. Please be sure to familiarize yourself with my full terms of use found in the 'Download Instructions & T.O.U.' tab at the top of this page.  Of important note:  Please do not share my images with family, friends, etc. Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Box®, 4-Shared®, etc. Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves. If you would like to post a watermarked version of the image, please contact me to obtain one. 

This word art creation is in png format and published at 300 ppi. It is quite large in order to accommodate different programs that people work with.   If you are a card maker you can always resize it smaller without distorting the quality.

Font Information:

• Leafy font created by West Wind Fonts
• Scriptina Pro font created by Cheap Pro Fonts

Click on the font name to take you to a download location.  These fonts were listed as free for commercial use at the time this project was made.and as such, it is my understanding, that I am within my rights to use these fonts in my creations and offer them to others.  Please refer to my full terms of service for what you can and cannot do with this digital creation.

SUMMARY
Whether you are new and need to familiarize yourself with all the details,  or a returning participant and just need to refresh yourself, you can always find out everything you need to know in order to enter this challenge in the 'Challenge Details' tab at the top of the page. You can enter the challenge by clicking HERE to take you to the current challenge post where you can also find a quick summary of the details related to this challenge, towards the bottom of the post. 

GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY...

Please show your support to our wonderful sponsors by going over and checking out their work and saying hi if you have the chance.  This month our guest sponsor is... 

Our regular sponsors include...

 

 

That is me and I'd love for you to visit me on my personal blog.

If you ever have any questions be sure to EMAIL ME or just leave me a comment.

We look forward to seeing you participate!