Today is Gratitude Day!

Continuing my list of '100 Gratitudes', I am grateful for...

41. 'F**k It. The Ultimate Spiritual Way' by John C. Parkin - this is one of those great books that gets you laughing, and yet it also has a profound message in it as well. Parkin suggests that life is fun, life is meant to be enjoyed, and that using the phrase "f**k it" is a strong way to remind ourselves of this fact. Parkin says fill your life with the things that give you pleasure and bring you joy. Life flows along, without any help from us. So wouldn't it be better to let go of fear and stress and just flow with life? Life is far too short to spend it worrying all the time. And that's what I love about this book because it's so true - I often find myself worrying about little things, flooding myself with tension and anxiety, and for what? How does this serve me in any way? All it does is make me feel awful. And that's no way to live. So F**K IT!! Let go, relax, and move on.
To quote Parkin - "F**k It is a most profane way of saying the most profound thing: that when we relax and give in to the simple flow of life, we will experience the ultimate freedom."

42. bookshops - I've always had a thing for bookshops. I can spend hours in them, just browsing. I love to see all those books lining the shelves, or stacked on tables, or being displayed in the windows. It's not only because I one day hope to see a book I've written on a shelf in a bookshop, but because I simply love books. All books. There is something comforting about diving deep into the pages of a book. I've learnt a lot about life by reading books. Some books inspire me, some books entertain me, some books help me grow a little wiser. Books bring me joy. So when I walk into a shop that is overflowing with books, I'm instantly filled with excitement!

43. 'Fragments. Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters by Marilyn Monroe' - this book was just published recently and I snapped it up quick smart! Marilyn Monroe has always intrigued me. I've read a lot about her life. I've seen her movies. But this is the first time I've read anything written by her. Marilyn wrote many notes and poems, as she tried to make sense of her world and of life itself. She wrote down her feelings, often in poetic form, in an attempt to heal herself of past pains and to understand herself better. This speaks to me because I have always done the same. Long before I turned my attention to fiction writing, I kept a journal of my thoughts. Writing has always been my way of working things out. In that sense I will always be a writer, whether my novels ever find publishing success or not. Writing is a way of life, and reading Marilyn's musings and poetry has helped remind me of this fact.

44. 'Mslexia' - this is a magazine 'for women who write'. I enjoy reading the interviews with women who have achieved success with their writing - it helps to keep me inspired and motivated. And it reminds me that the dreams of a writer can most definitely come true.