About Me
About Me
Over the past twenty-five years, I have been a freelance writer, a workshop designer and facilitator, and conducted market research. In 2010, I started blogging on mindfulness and gratitude to bring myself out of depression.
I have posted reflections on things in my daily life that sparked grateful feelings almost every week for more than a decade. This gratitude practice helped me elevate my mood and so much more. Hope and confidence became core aspects of my outlook.
NoSmallThing.net is not just a blog. My offerings have expanded, but my purpose has sharpened. Now, through writing (blog and books), courses and coaching, I have a clear purpose.
I teach and support people in the application of mindfulness and exploration of personal gratitude experiences so that they can live a happier life.
Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.
Story of No Small Thing
I want to share the No Small Thing story with you.
In deciding to start this gratitude practice, I found inspiration in Eckhart Tolle’s words, “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” When I started writing about things from my daily life that I appreciated, I quickly came to understand several important things.
I had brighter moods because I felt engaged with life. I was always looking for things to write about. Things that made my life easier, more pleasurable or more meaningful were all around me. I just had to set my intention on noticing them.
I didn’t need to experience a big event in order to feel grateful. The feeling, not the degree, was what mattered. (This is what’s behind the blog’s name, “No Small Thing.”) After re-reading my first few years of blog posts, I noticed that I tended to write about a handful of themes, the underlying essence of why I felt grateful in those circumstances.
Grateful Dozen
I started referring to my personal gratitude “themes” as my Grateful Dozen, and I realized that knowing my themes made it easier to identify things I could appreciate in new situations. I concluded that everyone has their own set of personal gratitude themes.
This is the essence of what I teach. I refer to this principle as “intentional gratitude.” By knowing what your personal gratitude themes are, you can actively, intentionally, train yourself to find things that authentically lift your mood in all range of circumstances.
This discovery was so important and useful, I made it my mission to share it with others who are striving for happiness, confidence, and self-empowerment.
News & Events
We Are All Pilgrims: Free Talk and Discussion
Pilgrims are people that make great, often arduous journeys of moral or spiritual significance. Thanksgiving paintings of modestly clothed pilgrims from England sharing food with indigenous people represent limited examples of enjoying the fruit of such a journey. Every year, pilgrimages are made throughout the world to trace to lives of saints. Pilgrimages are also made to find our own hearts, that which is perfect and whole within us. Join us for this talk and discussion on pilgrimages we all make to find ourselves.
Wednesday, November 16th, 7:00 PM CT (Email deborah@nosmallthing.net to reserve your spot. The first 30 people will be sent links for this program.)
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