An Attitude of Gratitude

One of the things I love most about CZT Seminars are the conversations that I get to have with tanglers from all over the world. There is something special about people from all different backgrounds with all different experiences coming together for a shared passion.  

One of the comments I hear most often at seminar, or when talking to tanglers in general, is how once they started tangling they started to notice patterns everywhere. Last night at dinner, this topic came up once again and one woman reflected on her walk back to her hotel when she was noticing patterns all around Providence and she said something that really resonated with me. She said, “...even the sewer covers, they were beautiful!”

Sewer covers? Beautiful? Really?....

One of the magical parts of practicing the Zentangle Method is that it really does change your perspective. Not only do you start to notice patterns everywhere, but you start to notice beauty in places you would of never before – like the sewer cover. You begin to admire and draw inspiration from things you would have normally overlooked and the world around you suddenly becomes a much more beautiful place.

As time goes on, you realize that finding beauty and joy in the small things fills you with gratitude for those small things. It is no coincidence that Gratitude is the first step in the Zentangle Method. Practicing gratitude is a small thing you can do each day that has immense benefits.

Starting your Zentangle practice with an appreciation for the time you get to sit and tangle and the materials that you are using, sets the tone for that tile. But, don’t stop there – start your day with gratitude and appreciation and take the time to notice and appreciate your cup of coffee, your morning commute and the tangled sewer covers on the street and see what happens to your mood.

After I wrote this blog, I went outside to take a picture of the sewer cover to include in this post. I stopped at the first one and snapped a picture…

But then, I noticed few feet down the sidewalk a different one…

 
I realized I didn’t know which one the woman at dinner was referring to. I then saw one across the street, so I went over and sure enough, it was different. Before I knew it I was going up and down the streets of Providence looking for all the different metal street covers I could find. I must have looked a bit silly, but I was delighted bouncing around taking pictures of the side walks and streets. I’ve walked these streets many times before, but never had I paid attention to a single street cover… much less 7 or 8 different ones.

After my adventure, I went and found Darla, the woman who originally mentioned them to me and told her about this blog and the photos. I needed to know which one she had noticed. Turns out it was this cover that caught her eye, although we both agreed we have a new fond appreciation for all the beautiful metal street covers.

 
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Thank you to everyone who commented on last week's blog post about what you do with all your Zentangle tiles! It was so fun to read through all of the ideas! We have randomly selected Paulette Kirschensteiner as our winner! Please email info@zentangle.com your snail mail address so we can send you a gift!