Top Ten Gratitudes

It's common knowledge that gratitude improves quality of life. Simply put, when we feel grateful, we feel good. And feeling good makes life feel better. 

When our daughter Helena was one year old, we began a family ritual. Every night as we sat down for dinner, before picking up a fork or taking one bite of food, we would share three things we're grateful for. What began as a way to bring more joy into our lives has not only lifted us up after long days at work. It has made us laugh and probably helped us digest our food better and eat more mindfully, too. 

At first Helena would say, "I'm grateful for blueberries." That was it, blueberries. That was her thing for weeks on end. Other fruits entered the scene, and then it was "pink" for a while. Tonight at dinner it was, "All the colors." Her shares are almost always more laugh inducing than mine. 

So in the spirit of this delightful child we've been blessed with, and in the spirit of The Child, who lives within each of us and freely shares her/his joy, let me share my Top Ten Gratitudes for the day. Just for today -- tomorrow they may be different. 

As is the case with most of my writing, this is both an honest, personal share, and an invitation for you to explore what brings you joy... what you're grateful for... Both are an expression of my love for humanity: all of you, and me.  

10) I'm grateful to have a pro skateboarder friend who's super kind and generous and will gladly send a few skateboarding goodies to me for my young skater pals' birthdays. His generosity feeds the healthy passions of my young pals.

9) I'm grateful for the last 3 weeks off Facebook. I don't miss it. 

8) I'm grateful my ego gets weaker every day. 

7) I'm grateful to like who I am, even though I sometimes piss off close friends with the bold things I'm not afraid to say. 

6) I'm grateful for the college professor who encouraged me to write my own major. 

5) I'm grateful my husband loves to cook, and is really good at it. 

4) I'm grateful our daughter survived after being born with pneumonia. 

3) I'm grateful for our backyard golden raspberries (pictured above). They are my favorite thing about our current home, ripening abundantly every spring. 

2) I'm grateful to have studied communication since I was about 8 years old, even though it took childhood trauma to launch this passion. 

1) I'm grateful for acupuncture, frisbee and smart friends to help me refine my resume. 

It's addictive! See how I snuck in three on that last one? ​What are Y-O-U grateful for today?

Get out a pen, write down your ten. Choosing to feel grateful results in feeling more grateful. What we focus on, grows. Simple physics. What we acknowledge, we get more of. If your attention is on it, you are giving it power. 

I'm grateful you just read my blog post. 

​Good night~