one thousand gifts ann voskamp

It was a tense weekend.

A bank snafu that temporarily drained our cash reserves. 

A misunderstanding with a friend.

Anxiety over the unknown as Ian moves his office to Manhattan and I take over our local space.

The anniversary of the worst phone call I’ve ever received, that my father had died at age 59.

My heart felt racy and junky all weekend. Then, on Monday, just plain sad.

I crave solitude and find myself daydreaming about a cabin on the banks of the St. Lawrence River waay upstate.

But since feeling to the New York/Canada border is out of the question, I picked up Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts (which you really have to be in the mood for) and received this message:

Stress = fear

Fear = lack of trust

The antidote to stress is trust.

The antidote to fear is trust.

The way to practice trust is giving thanks.

“The only way to fight a feeling is with a feeling…We can only experience one emotion at a time. And we get to choose–which emotion do we want to feel?” –Ann Voskamp

Today, I will practice replacing fear with trust.

Today, I will practice replacing anxiety with gratitude.