I spent the first week back after the holidays in a state of gratitude. Thankful for my family, for my circumstances, for my freedom to work in a career I love, for living in a city that I adore, for my health, for my amazing friends, the list keeps going and going.
You know those days or weeks when you are acutely aware of how lucky you are? So happy that you’re afraid to say it out loud in case you somehow jinx yourself? It was one of those.
I sent out a tweet asking what other people are thankful for and the responses were wide-ranging and beautiful. From fresh starts in life to the power of nature to family and friends, it appeared that a little prompt in a tweet opened a flow of gratitude.
I’ve written before about the power of gratitude, but more and more I discover that it really has no limits. It’s contagious and exponential. The more you are thankful for all that you have in your life, the more you realize you have to be thankful for.
Even in the darkest hours, gratitude can offer us a glimmer of light. And on a day or week or month when it’s a struggle to say positive, the ability to find small things to be thankful for can make all the difference.
So why not at the end of each day write down three things you are thankful for? Whether you have a notebook by the side of your bed, an app on your phone, or a service like happyrambles.com that emails you each night to ask you what you’re thankful for, let yourself recognize the people and moments and things that make your day.
And let me know: what are you thankful for today?
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