Kristen Munson writes a blog called The Grateful Project, where each day she notes something in her life for which she is grateful. She explains how the blog came to be here, which includes this excerpt:
This action of pausing to consider what I am truly grateful for each day is an exercise I have repeated each day since. Because every day something happens to be thankful for. Every day. Even the days your heart winds up on the bottom of someone else’s shoes.
Kristen’s posts are short and often moving, especially when noting the ordinary. That’s the aha. We become desensitized to the ordinary, rather than seeing the extraordinary blessings.
I have much the same motivation as Kristen — if not her disciplined regularity. Gratitude is part of my spiritual practice, a means to keep centered and a principle for living a meaningful life.
Earlier this week, I saw the following on Kim Steele’s Facebook page, apparently a so-called trending topic:
Let’s see how many people can do this. Every day this month until Thanksgiving, think of one thing that you are thankful for and post it as your status. “Today I am thankful for…”
Inspired first by Kristen, then by Kim, I’ve adopted the practice, tweeting my expressions for the past several days.
Tuesday — Today I am thankful for airplanes, enabling us to travel and see the world.
Wednesday — Today I am grateful for a run through the cool and quiet morning, rewarded by a stop at Starbucks.
Thursday — This morning I am thankful for my daughter Andrea, who is being inducted into the National Honor Society tonight.
Friday — I am grateful for the ability to see, to see color, to see the dawn of a new day. (Inspired by the photo.)
Later in the day — An extra dose of gratitude today: I made my connection in PHL with barely minutes to spare, yet enough to have dinner with my family.
Saturday — I am grateful for renewing friendships: life stories, shared memories, laughter and food. Creating new memories.
Let’s see how long I can keep this going…
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