Day 199: Continuing on...

So I have decided to keep going with the Gratitude Project. I had promised to do this through the end of 2011, but I'd like to continue. First, because I appreciate the exercise of having to come up with something daily and to distill my experiences down in this way. Also, I recently had an interaction with someone who told me I should sit down and do ten minutes of 'real' gratitude every week, not "just" my blog - which really upset me. It felt like he was calling this blog and what it has done for me fake or somehow less valid, which I found tremendously insulting given the journey I have been on with gratitude over the past year. But I realized something - I enjoy this work, this exercise, and no one outside of me has any right (or reason!) to feel he knows what true gratitude looks like for me. I am grateful that this person helped me to own myself and this process. This is something I have only for myself, this project has been something I've done for myself, and I am secure in my place on this journey. And I know that it's not done yet. There's more to be grateful for.