THE GIFT OF GRATITUDE: AN ART FORM

What we do at Studio Comfort Texas is make art, promote and support Texas artists and poets, teach art classes and art workshops, craft fun and inspiring art experiences and excursions, and through this all, we find joy. But at the core of everything we do is gratitude and appreciation. 

No matter the time of year, gratitude is a beautiful gesture. Today is Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, and tomorrow our days start getting just a bit longer with each journey around the sun. Our moon is beginning to wane after a spectacular, full Cold Moon, which represents our ability to remain warm even through the coldest and darkest of times. And one of the best ways we’ve found to remain warm and optimistic in the face of dark times is to count our blessings. While there is some debate about this being the darkest of times for our world, the last couple of years in particular have certainly been a challenge for many, and it’s perhaps the first time in history that we’ve experienced it as such a connected, global community. 

With that, we propose that gratitude can be practiced as an art every day, all year long. We can express it inwardly in the little moments of our day, running errands, picking up the mail, walking to our cars, sitting at our computers. We can express it outwardly with demonstrations of thanks to those who play roles in our lives that make them better or easier. We can write notes of thanks or practice small (or big!) acts of kindness, whether in return or paying forward. Gratitude can be an act, a thought, a meditation, a prayer, an attitude–and it can be an art form. How will you hone your skills as an artist of gratitude?

Gratitude (n):  the quality of being thankful; a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness
Appreciation (n):  the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something
Reverence (n):  deep respect for someone or something; high esteem

What are we grateful for? 

• We’re grateful for our artists and poets and their ability to perceive, process and express the world around and within them for the rest of us to enjoy and contemplate. 
• We’re grateful for our students and their courage to try something new or deepen their existing skills. 
• We’re grateful for our art collectors, customers and clients, for your support of our artists and business with your dollars as well as your abiding interest, curiosity and enthusiasm for the artwork and poetry we offer in our little Texas art gallery. 
• We’re grateful for the two beautiful buildings we get to inhabit and for the owners of those properties who genuinely want to see us succeed. Thank you Marlene and Kai Geschke and Lisa and Mike Kelleher for your support. 
• We’re grateful for our Comfort Chamber of Commerce, the Comfort News, Merchant’s Association and others who work hard to help promote us and local other businesses.
• We’re grateful for our neighbors and fellow business owners who look out for each other and operate as though one business’ success is a success for us all. This is such a special dynamic and is not to be taken for granted!
• We’re grateful for our families and friends who have helped us scrape, paint, build, clean, decorate, cater, organize, plan, calculate and celebrate. There are too many to list!
• We’re grateful for our supportive local community, which brings us great Comfort! 
• We’re grateful for the natural wonders of The Texas Hill Country we get to call home.
• We’re grateful for you…for your interest in what we do and for reading this whole blog post! 

With this holiday season, we give the gift of gratitude and invite you to do the same. May we all be more mindful of who and what we're grateful for and do a better job of acknowledging that to ourselves and to others. We love what we do and have so much to be thankful for. We wish you all whatever it is you most need and want, what will bring you that much closer to your happiest, most fulfilled and fully expressed self. Whether you prefer Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice, Feliz Navidad, Happy Hanukkah or another greeting, we wish Happy Holidays and a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year to you all!

With appreciation, 
Cara Hines and Jeannette MacDougall
Managing Partners