Gratitude

Once a year we celebrate Thanksgiving. In my household growing up we would go around the table and say what we were grateful for. That tradition has continued in my household today. Why only one day to acknowledge what we are grateful for? In a day and age where information is easily accessible and material goods and possessions are highly sought after, it can be easy to focus on what we do not have, where we cannot go, who we cannot see. I at times find myself at the top of a slippery slope of ‘what ifs’, complaints, and negativity. What has helped to stop myself from continuing down that slide of dread and despair, is a regular daily practice of gratitude. It can be as simple as it sounds. Start your day with a simple thought of one reason to be grateful. A few months ago I started my gratitude practice with beginning a list. Each day I would write down what I was grateful for and try not to duplicate what I had written on the list. Now, it has been while since I have actually written on the list, but not because I stopped my gratitude practice. I found as I practiced more it became easier to identify what I was grateful for. I no longer need to write it down, although writing can sometimes be therapeutic in itself.

This is not to say that life has been easier, in fact this has been a time full of challenges, stress, and uncertainty. The practice of gratitude has become a daily practice I am very thankful for. What are you grateful for today?