I started a little game with my daughters that we call the gratitude button game. To be completely honest I am the one who needed this game the most. I had all of these handmade clay buttons from the button pots that I make. Many times I make a few extra, and I never had the heart to put them in the reclaimed clay, their was just something about them. So I would set them aside, not exactly knowing what I was going to do with them. My daughters love the buttons, so I glazed and fired a few of them.
One day my daughters were fighting over something I found trivial and I was at my parenting wall. I could not take the complaining and constant requests for one more second. So I handed them one of these clay buttons and made them say something they were grateful for, and pass it back and forth. Every time you touch the button you have to say something you are grateful for, no matter how big or small the thing is.
It touched my heart the things my daughters thought of to be grateful for. They gave thanks for things like our family, our day at the park, our cats, their water cups, and so on. My tactic to make my girls stop with their bickering and ungrateful ways actually made me stop in my tracks and realize how guilty I had been. How much I have taken for granted, and how much I have to be thankful for.
We get so caught up in where we are going, that we take for granted where we are. We continue to chase that next goal, and forget to give ourselves credit for everything we have crossed off our to-do list already.
My daughters have a small collection of gratitude buttons and they love stating what they are thankful for. Sometimes they make fun of the game and say silly things (they are 4 and 6) and burst into laughter, I then give thanks for the giggles that are filling my home. I started to keep one in my purse and on my nightstand to remind me whenever I see or touch it to give thanks for something, big or small. It is a simple thing, but it makes me feel better, and helps bring down the stress of everyday life just a little, and every little bit counts and compounds over time in making our lives better. I have decided to spread this wonderful game onto others, with every one of my pottery orders I have begun to send a gratitude button with, as a thank you.
So thank you to all of you, who have bought my work, subscribed to my Studio News, follow me on social media, have liked a post or commented on one – all of these are forms of supporting my work, and I am grateful for all the support I get. Thank you so much!
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Lindsay Klix
Off Your Rocker Pottery