The 'Thank You' Book

Some of you have been asking what was next for me once my year of giving public thanks daily was done... Well, you can think of this post as of an official announcement - I am writing a book on thankfulness! This new challenge of mine is to celebrate gratitude and the amazing people who followed me on my thankful journey - you! If any of you amazing people want to make a valuable book contribution here and now, do not hesitate to take a look at my thankful survey and have your say!

So yes, maybe it's too early for you to be breathing out - I hate to break it down to you, but every now and then you'll still have to deal with my thankfulness on blogger. To make you more thankful for my upcoming updates, I promise to try and keep each as short and informative as a good classic thankful post should be. Oh, and if you're wondering what's that I'm thankful for today, it's my newly found internet independence! What a luxury is it to come home after work and boycott my laptop for as long as I want, because I can! Yes, I can!

Sept. 25. '09 - Sept. 24. '10

Yes, this is really it! 365 thanks officially given as of yesterday, 365 days of pure thankfulness in a row. And although there are still so many more things to be thankful for - gratitude is truly an unlimited dimension, something we can never give too much of - this blog project is now officially over.

To all those of you who have discovered The 'Thank You' Project just recently, or those of you who still want some dose of thankfulness by yours truly, I can suggest looking through the past entries. I've been thankful for various things FOOD & BEVERAGE more than once, so if you like food that's what you might want to check out; if you're into NATURE I've got something for you too; you can read thanks given to my native MOSCOW or other CITIES; if you need help finding the good in bad situations, take a look at my SILVER LININGS; or maybe you're interested in PETS & ANIMALS, or maybe you just like PICTURE POSTS... Or, you can take a trip down my personal FAVORITE (for whatever reasons) posts!

If you happen to stop by any of the posts and have something to say, do not hesitate to do so - I will still recieve your comment, will read it and get back to you if needed. 

In the meantime, please take a few moments to complete MY THANKFUL SURVEY - you can be more than sure that your time and input will be greatly appreciated.

To stay up-to-date with what's going on in my thankful world, you can watch this space for the news or "like" The 'Thank You' Project on Facebook.

P.S. Maybe me not having to devote time to updating this thing every day any more means more time to visit your blogs... It's all about seeing the positive side in everything, I'm telling you!..

365

I'm thankful that it was, I'm thankful that it's over, I'm thankful that it's only the start of the rest of my life.

Practical Thanks

I'm thankful that I actually like working out. I still would even if I didn't, but enjoying it sure helps!

Future Gratitude

A funny thought I'm having here - I was just thinking the other day how it's not possible to be thankful for something that was still to happen, yet I feel like I'm thankful for my upcoming vacation... Maybe I'm just really looking forward to it and confusing it with thankfulness, or maybe I'm predicting my future being thankful for it... Either way, today I'm thankful for this funny and confusing feeling!

What do you think, is it possible to be thankful for something that hasn't happened yet? I still think it's not.

P.S. Check out my Q&A with Giedrius of Inspirisimo!

No Giving It Up

I'm thankful that the whole not giving up thing is so contagious, and I'm even more thankful that I keep picking it up from my own self. See, I've just realized today that the more I take certain risks, the more I'm willing to fight for something, the easier and the more natural the decision not to give up next time comes to me, the more determined I am to succeed. Totally awesome how this thing seems to work!

Unzipped

I'm thankful for yet another funny episode at work (some of the previous ones included me having chocolate stains on my butt, me ending up being bare legged at work and wearing plastic bags). It took me 5 (FIVE!!) hours to realize why my booties felt so loose all of a sudden - turns out, I forgot to zip them before leaving for work and have been walking around the office in undone shoes for more than half a working day. I'm thankful for it, because when I noticed it made me laugh and lifted my mood instantly. I'm still giggling!

P.S. Zipped shoes feel so good on my feet... I think I'm thankful for the feeling of zipped shoes too then!

Creative Outlet

I'm thankful for the kind of a great creative outlet this project has been for me. I used to write on the go all the time because my mind just needed it, and this blog has managed to concentrate most of my writing in one place, giving it all a mutual purpose. I guess I kind of missed my past writing habits, but I'll soon be able to get right back to them and who knows, maybe somethign good will come out of it too.

Know What Your Heart Is For

I'm thankful that I know what my heart is for. You know, just thinking now that so many people are scared of their own feelings and emotions... I'd say, if you have it, make use of it!

Excitement

I'm thankful for a feeling of excitement. No matter the source or reason,  it's a feeling like no other!

Bathing Rhett

I'm thankful to my dog for being such a good boy when he's taking a bath! He's never too happy about that and always has this sad look in his eyes, but he's always quiet and patient.

Simply

I'm just simply thankful for today. For simply being alive, for being able to plan my day and to go about my simple day filled with good news and fulfilled expectations. I'm thankful for the simple day that was simply out of the ordinary - just like every day should be.

Not Your Average Young Girl

I'm thankful for having some very unusual and unexpected life experiences (the memories are fantastic) that are not so common among people from my walk of life and definately not common among people my age. My favorites would have to be me assisting in helping a cow deliver her calf baby and my pilgrimage trip through a few Russia’s holy towns (especially so since I am not religious at all). Yes, I'm pretty crazy if you're wondering (I'm smiling as I type this). Any unusual experiences you're willing to openly share on the internet? No?

Communication

I'm thankful that I've learnt how important it was to communicate my desires, ideas and needs. If you don't ask for something or suggest something, you'd never know if it was possible to get it or have it happen. Hearing an occasional "no" is nothing compared to an opportunity that might as well change your life if you just go for it. Plus, other people are really not supposed to read your mind at all times... Even I would only do so sparingly... Oh yes, I can read a thought or two if I absolutely have to, ha!..

Peaceful Mornings

As I am all in a dreamy vacation mood these last couple of days, I've been reminscing about past trips to beach side destinations... One of the things I really like and always thankful for is waking up early and soaking up the sun by the pool while most of a resort guests are still fast asleep. Such mornings are peaceful, and it totally feels like the world revolves around you...

I Know I Can

I'm thankful for people who discourage and make you question yourself and your ideas. Encountering such people puts your aspirations to the test, leaving out the unnecessary things and making space for the worthy ones, and it also makes you really appreciate those people in your life who give you strength and make you believe in yourself and what you do.

Vitamin D

One of the thankful people on The 'Thank You' Project's Facebook page reminded me I have never given thanks to and for the Sun, which is pretty amusing since I love it so much - talk about taking for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude!.. Sun equals life, basically! I'm thankful for the energizing and mood lifting effect the Sun has always had on me - I swear I'm a much more cheerful person when it's the sunny season here where I live. Do you change when it's sunny?

SMS Notifications

I'm thankful for the SMS notification service - it's so handy!

Chair Enthusiast

I'm thankful for my chair design enthusiasm. It gets ridiculous at times, but it brings too much joy!

P.S. The photo above is taken in Milan. Milan must be one of the coolest cities when it comes to display windows of all sorts!

En Route

On the way to work I was crossing a road and had to turn my head to see if the road was car free... And there was this super cool movie like moment when I turn my head, the sun shines right between the frame of my sunglasses and my left eye with its soft yellow haze, and the music in the song that was playing in my iPhone slowly stops (and starts again as I turn my head back) - it was just a mere seceond maybe, and all of that happened at the same time in one tiny moment... It felt ridiculously cool, and I'm thankful for living it!

Looking Up

I'm thankful that things seem to be looking up for me travelling wise... After a year of totally random and inexplicable obstacles that kept getting in the way each time I tried to make a trip to anywhere happen, having been able to book tickets feels like a miracle. Hope I'm not speaking too soon, ha! Anyway, I am thankful for the opportunity that seems to be real this time!

That Night

No matter how long ago it happened, and what happened or didn't happen after, I'm thankful that it was. And I actually really like it that by this photo above it's impossible to tell who, what, where and when... Ha.

Full of Thanks

It's amazing to see the rise of various mission or daily happiness projects meant to spread the positivity that are documented online - i ♥ strangers, Operation Smiley Face, My Year In Haiku etc. Personally, I think it means that more people want to make this world a better place and they're starting with themselves... Inspiring, isn't it?

I'm thankul for coming across, being refered to or found by those amazing people behind these positively inspiring projects. Each such project is unique in its nature and each person behind it is someone you can get inspiration from. With that being said, I want to introduce you to another such person on a mission - Sandy and the 1000 Paper Cranes. Sandy was inspired by the true story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, and what impressed me the most about Sandy's project is how serious she took it long before the project went public. The crane maker girl took enough time (a year or so!) to carefully choose the best 1000 positive and inspiring words to put on each of her paper cranes! Yesterday marked the release of the Thankful Crane pictured above, read more about it here.

Photo courtesy of Sandy.

Once Upon a Time

I'm thankful for those simply good days when everything just clicks and goes smoothly. Those days are especially cool when you just know on the inside that everything's going to turn out exactly the way you've planned  - you just know it and you don't stress about it.

Office Equipment

I'm thankful that I can use my office equipment for personal purposes too, any time I need it. This is super handy, and sometimes proves to be super useful and it saves time too!

Teach You, Teach Me

Back in school I really disliked and disrespected some of the teachers' approach to their job. Teaching is a hard work, and it was hard for me to understand why someone who is impatient and can't get along with children would want to be a teacher. But at least seeing bad teachers at work made me feel grateful to those rare ones who had real knowledge in their field of expertise, real passion for sharing what they knew and real talent in explaining the virtues of their subjects and really educating their students. 

With this being said, a huge enourmous thank you goes to my physics teacher in high school - Irina Vladimirovna S.! (Not sure if I should mention her full name). As for college, my sincere thank you goes to my civil law professor Daniil Viktorovich Ch. And if I'm being completely honest here, there's something I most probably should and do feel ashamed of before these great people and exceptional teachers. In a way, I didn't live up to their high expectations of me, and maybe I should've never put effort in gaining their trust and respect in the first place. Thank you so much and I am sorry.