{"id":150,"date":"2011-04-22T10:04:44","date_gmt":"2011-04-22T14:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/myhappyplace\/?p=150"},"modified":"2011-04-28T12:01:09","modified_gmt":"2011-04-28T16:01:09","slug":"simply-grateful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/myhappyplace\/2011\/04\/simply-grateful.html","title":{"rendered":"Simply Grateful"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/myhappyplace\/files\/2011\/04\/gardenflag1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-156\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/233\/2011\/04\/gardenflag1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Shaking out the pastel yard flag and looking closely at the big  fluffy white cartoon bunny with gardening tools and carrots, I actually  laughed out loud. I was so ridiculously *happy* and over something so  simple and silly.<\/p>\n<p>Before we go any farther, you must  know&#8211;if you had told me five years ago that I would LIKE a yard flag  (of any sort)&#8230;.a yard flag in pastels&#8230;.a yard flag with a gardening  rabbit&#8230;I would have laughed in your face! I had taste. I was dramatic.  I only chose the aesthetic.<\/p>\n<p>But some time within the last  five years I looked for&#8211;and found&#8211;my authentic &#8220;niche&#8221; and it  includes gratefulness. This yard flag is not about decorating or  impressing the neighbors, this yard flag is a gift from my dear sister  who knows that rabbits and gardening speak to my heart. Digging in the  dirt didn&#8217;t fit my previous image of myself but then I tried it&#8230;and  liked it&#8230;and realized that growing things to eat pleased me deep down  inside. It spoke to me. It made me HAPPY. And the bunny yards&#8211;with  healthy rabbits who trust me and depend on me&#8211;that is my &#8220;happy  place&#8221;.\u00a0 And so I am happy&#8211;and grateful&#8211;for simple, silly things such  as a yard flag, a rabbit, a fresh egg plant or tomato. I still like the  &#8220;big things&#8221;: the vacations, the perfect outfit, the redecorated house,  the outing with friends, but I have learned to stop and really relish  the upcoming cup of coffee, a two hour rest with a dvd, or a chance to  check my Facebook.\u00a0 This way I don&#8217;t have to wait for the next vacation  to feel happiness, I can find it minute-to-minute.<\/p>\n<p>Happiness can be in a rabbit yard flag.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shaking out the pastel yard flag and looking closely at the big fluffy white cartoon bunny with gardening tools and carrots, I actually laughed out loud. I was so ridiculously *happy* and over something so simple and silly. Before we go any farther, you must know&#8211;if you had told me five years ago that I&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":386,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,51,54,53,68,87,56,17,11,52,69],"tags":[265,90],"class_list":["post-150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bunny","category-family","category-food","category-gardening","category-gratefulness","category-inspiration","category-planting","category-purposeful-living","category-rabbits","category-sisters","category-thankful","tag-gardening","tag-thankfulness"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Simply Grateful - My Happy Place<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/myhappyplace\/2011\/04\/simply-grateful.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Simply Grateful - My Happy Place\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shaking out the pastel yard flag and looking closely at the big fluffy white cartoon bunny with gardening tools and carrots, I actually laughed out loud. 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