I suppose it’s appropriate that, with the approach of Thanksgiving, I am thinking a lot about gratitude. As my dad used to say, if you can get out of bed and put your feet on the floor, it’s a good day. I heartily agree–now that I’m older and wiser.
Back when the Simple Abundance craze was on, I started keeping a gratitude journal–simply put, in case you were in a parallel dimension when Oprah championed this most humble and most holy of virtues, you make a practice of recording 5 or more things, each and every day, that you are grateful for. Obviously, this causes you to look for good things during the day, thus there is a positive focus.
I must have a dozen of those little green books, neatly filled with one-sentence thank you’s. Somewhere along the line, I let the habit fall away–it wasn’t that I wasn’t grateful. I was just busy. Little by little, things got to me–like that big snowstorm last December–though mostly they were really small annoyances.
Recently, I have gotten back into the habit of keeping a gratitude journal. There are other factors, of course, but I think this is one of the main reasons why I feel a little better every day than I did the day before. I’ve realized that even in the darkest times, I had heaps to be grateful for. Counting blessings really DOES seem to attract still more blessings.
I recommend this highly. No need to buy a special journal for the purpose, unless of course you really want to–a composition book or plain notebook will do.
Among the many things I am grateful for, here are 5 for today, not necessarily in order of importance. 🙂
1) Sadie-beagle weighs 31 pounds. Finding a trainer and getting the weight off my sweet dog was a miracle.
2) I am no longer a smoker. Ditto. This seemed utterly impossible at one time.
3) I have the most amazing daughter, and I get to spend Christmas with her this year!
4) I have the best crew of ranch-hands ever–people who show up, suit up, and Get ‘er Done.
5) When I sit down to write this blog, I know you’re out there, ready to read it. Thank you for showing up so faithfully, and for buying all those books, too.
Be blessed and be kind. You never know what other folks are going through.
