From Thankfulness to Mindfulness

If you are connected to social media, you may have seen various versions of the "Thankfulness Project", where people give thanks for something each day of the month and post it on their Facebook or other social media feed.  I tried it last year.  I was so inspired by it that I decided to launch a "Thankfulness Project" in 2015 where I would write one letter a week to someone in my life, expressing my gratitude to them.

Made it to the middle of March before life interrupted and the project fell off.  (I read that February 8th is the average date by which most people quit their New Year's resolutions, so at least I made it past that benchmark.)  But even though the project was a completion fail, I have noticed myself feeling and expressing more gratitude throughout the year.

At any rate, I wanted to participate in the Challenge again this year, only this time I also created a chart for the whole family to fill out daily.  They have been good sports about it.  We read each others entries and some days we chuckle at them (Adam: Thankful for how my wife stretches me from my comfort zone), sometimes we cringe (Aislynn: Thankful for cold weather that leads to snow), and sometimes we are inspired and humbled (Sarah: Thankful to wake up to caring people every day.)

But the real gift is how this little gratitude project makes us all more mindful of each other and the good things in our lives.  I notice the girls saying "please" and "thank you" more often, and there seems to be an increase in how often we compliment rather than criticize one another. I also notice more cheerfulness when I ask for help with tasks around the house. Coincidence?  Or does gratitude help us to be more appreciative, to operate more as a team, and to be more content?

It got me thinking about our artists and arts organizations.  The Creatives are "doers" and "problem-solvers" and are also incurable "perfectionists".  They work magic with never-enough resources, time, help or money.  But truthfully, Evanston's arts community accomplishes an amazing amount. And their many projects, programs and successful collaborations contribute to the livability of our City.

For the Creatives, this is a great time of year to reflect on all the people who help us achieve these wondrous feats, who support our efforts, who enrich our lives and help us to do what we love to do.  And for students and patrons, it's a perfect time to express gratitude to an artist, teacher or organization inspires you or helps you experience something extraordinary throughout the year.  I wonder if this exercise could help to build energy, momentum and optimism for all we will undertake in 2016.

I'll.... off the top of my head and in no particular order:

• Thank you so much to all the artists, organizations and volunteers who did the heavy lifting and made the One State Conference a huge success.
• Thank you to Christina Ferraro, Alex Theis and the facilities guys at the City of Evanston who have been so gracious and competent with all the exhibitions we are installing.
• Thank you to Julie Green and the Block Museum for really impacting me with The Last Supper exhibition.
• Thank you to my boss and co-workers because they are supportive and generous.
• Thank you to all the Creatives who have been patient and helpful as I have grown and adjusted to this new city role.
• Thank you to Karl Johnson, Joann Rea, Peggy Lipschutz, Harvey Pranian and the Fleetwood Jourdain for the artwork you have lent the Civic Center.
• Thank you to the members of the Arts Council for your countless hours of service and for giving us your expertise and experience as we create policy and allocate funding.
• Thank you to Dino Robinson for a whole host of assists -- with the new Fleetwood Jourdain Gallery wall lettering, with the IT, with the public art criteria matrices -- just to name a FEW.
• Thank you to Fran Joy for your constant and abiding tranquility and wisdom.
• Thank you to Gay Riseborough for your leadership with our public art subcommittee.
• Thank you to Jaime Leonardi and the Chiaravalle Montessori School for coordinating the Neighborhood Community Love project.

I think I will keep adding to this list throughout November.  I want to invite all of you to do the same in the comments section, and here's to positivity and mindfulness as we prepare for another year of creativity!