Gratitude

I hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend for those in the states. We went on a little road trip for the weekend and also had a lovely picnic. The day off was also nice to reflect upon service, and sacrifice. What did you do?

Lately I've also been thinking a lot about gratitude. My dad recently got back from a very developing country in Africa and I can't stop thinking about some of the images and stories he shared with me. It fills my heart up to know how much many of us have been given. Do you ever find yourself taking things for granted .... simple things incorporated in a daily routine like hot showers and air conditioning ... the internet? Unfortunately when I am not consciously thinking about it -- I do.

With all these thoughts of people dealing with adversity and gratitude running around in my head, I decided to renew my old habit of writing five things I am grateful for each day before I go to bed each night. Not a new concept for sure, but in the past I've found it to be a very uplifiting practice. I find when I am more aware and present -- more good things come into my life. There is a quote I just revisited by Melody Beattie that I love which states,

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, and confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."



Have you paused lately to think of what you are grateful for? What comes to your mind? Do you keep a gratitude journal? I'd love to hear about five things that have made your day today.

(images by my dad)