“Gratitude is the
inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to
express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.”
—Henry Van Dyke
Gratitude has much to do with happiness, and I sometimes
forget to stop and think about what I’m grateful for. As a part of paying more attention to my life, I’m making it a regular practice to jot down what I’m grateful for
at least once a week. Here are just five things I came up with this morning:
Libraries. I’ve learned so much from library books (how to
grow herbs in Florida , where to
stay and eat in Boston , what is a
happiness project?). I’ve been entertained by fiction and magazines, DVDs and
CDs. I can download free music (through Freegal) and borrow materials from
libraries all across the country. And those are just the services I use. My library offers much, much
more. I don’t know what I’d do without the library system and I’m so grateful
to be able to access it.
“Ordinary.” I love my daily routines and “ordinary” life
(which I know is a very nice one). I don’t need anything big and extravagant to
happen—I’m 99 percent content with the stuff of everyday life. That is a huge
blessing.
My office. When I walked in here this morning and flipped on
the light, I felt a rush of peace, contentment and happiness. I’m grateful to
have my own space to inspire and recharge me.
My mother-in-law. She’s one of my best friends, and I know
I’m lucky to feel that way.
Freedom to set my own schedule. I have plenty to do—as do we
all—but I answer only to myself. I can decide when to write, when to cook or
clean, when to run errands or when to chuck it all and play. I’m in charge, and
sometimes I forget that. When I contemplate working in an office for someone
else, I’m grateful that, for now, I don’t have to.
What are you grateful for?
“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.”
—Henry Van Dyke
I am grateful for so much this Thanksgiving—family, friends, good health, and my wonderful readers and followers. Thank you for sharing yourselves with me these past two years. I hope you have a marvelous Thanksgiving!
There’s lots of cooking and cleaning going on at the Johnsons as we prepare for Thanksgiving. (Mmmmm, pie…) In between being thankful for the big things (good health, my family and friends, etc.), I’m thankful for the little things—those simple pleasures and everyday adventures that make up the details of my life. Here are five little things I’m thankful for this year:
Cranberry orange scones from my favorite grocery store’s bakery. I discovered these this year and I’m totally addicted. I break off a little piece to eat with my coffee every morning. Kind of makes waking up bearable.
A fire in the fireplace. Yes, in Florida. Now that it’s not 900 degrees outside, we WILL have a fire on Thanksgiving (even if we have to run our air conditioning at the same time).
Glider Rockers. There’s something so soothing about the rocking motion of a rocking chair—and gliders are the smoothest. We just refinished the one on our front porch and I’m looking forward to spending some time in it.
Water brushes. Laure Ferlita of the Painted Thoughts blog introduced me to these little wonders. Using them is like a hybrid of painting and drawing, and so much fun! I’m practicing with them so that I can take one of Laure’s Imaginary Trips next year.
My iPod nano. My husband gave it to me for Christmas several years ago, and I love it! My car is so old it only has a cassette player, so I use a cassette adaptor for my iPod to listen to music while I drive. (And I admit, I sing along. Sometimes loudly.)
Wishing you all a pleasure-filled, Happy Thanksgiving! And pie. Lots of pie.
