Habitual Gratitude

Today I am grateful that yesterday I got to do something I hadn't yet. I am also grateful for the simple pleasure of a meal someone else made, shared in the company of pleasant people. What I got to do yesterday that I hadn't done yet was see the inside of the chapel at the Benedictine monastery near the school I work at. What a beautiful and calming space. What a spiritually inspiring design. I hope to spend some more time there. It was a busy week, leaving me exhausted. That brings to mind a fitting second "y" word- YAWN.  We all know that yawning is an indication of being tired or bored. But interestingly enough, we don't know all that much about why we yawn. I did a little reading on it and was surprised by how mysterious some aspects of yawning are. One more recent idea is that yawning helps cool the brain. Or is yawning more about social interaction and is that why a yawn from one person will often trigger a yawn in another? Animals yawn too. I don...

Today I am grateful for a ripe pear and comfortable jeans. I am also grateful for my family and friends in so many different ways. The A-Z trip through the alphabet that I have been taking is drawing to a close, but it's not done YET.  I am approaching a thousand posts, but I'm not there yet. One post at a time, one day at a time.There are plenty of places I hope to travel to but haven't yet. One dream at a time. One trip at a time. I have people I am worried about and praying for. I have job stress like many of us do. I have frustrations with finding time to do all the things I would like to do along with all of the things I must do. Yet, I am calm and content in this moment. Faith, gratitude, and mindfulness, all practiced with deliberate actions, make that peace possible. I have been writing about gratitude for twenty years, yet I never run out of reasons to be grateful. I never cease to be amazed at the little things that truly make a day a good day. That cup of c...

Today I am grateful for a good presentation to parents last evening on the topic of "Gratitude and Positive Psychology." I am grateful for the parents who attended and for their input and comments. XYST is an ancient word of Greek and Latin origin. In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, it was a covered portico. In ancient Roman villas, it was a garden walk planted with trees. This brings to mind for me a particular road with trees on both sides that is located near my family's property in Iowa. The trees were planted over 30 years ago. Many times over the years, we have walked up that road while home visiting. Maybe there were other siblings home and we walked together. Maybe my husband and I went for a walk or a run. Maybe I was going solo. Many times over the years. And slowly those trees grow. The changing seasons come and go each year. The trees are growing straight and tall. In the summer, the rows on each side almost join in the middle, creating that idea o...

Today I am grateful for the interest and joy I find in learning new things. I am also grateful for acceptance of my physical body. XIPHOID , as in xiphoid process, elicits a variety of thoughts and feelings in me. It is a small, cartilaginous protrusion at the end of human sternums and the sternums of most vertebrates. It joins the sternum and rib cage and also serves as an anchor for the diaphragm. I recall it as a marker used to find the right location for chest compressions in CPR. There's another thing to be grateful for-CPR. Think of the hundreds of various body parts that make up our complex, intricate, and fascinating skeletal, muscular, and organ systems. It is incredible how it all works together. Even the often forgotten xiphoid process has important roles and deserves our gratitude. What am I forgetting in my own life that deserves my gratitude today?  I will try to pause from time to time during my day today to consider that question. It promises to be a busy day....

Today I am grateful for my fingertips working on the keyboard. I am also grateful for the plethora of words at our disposal. Writers use WORDS . Singers use words. Everyone uses words. When you stop and think about how languages came to be and how they are translated and passed on, it is really quite amazing. How do I know and understand these words I just typed? There are over 400,000 words in the English language. That will give me plenty to talk about for years to come. Some thoughts that come to mind, thoughts that only make sense because I have words to describe them, are: *I am often surprised by what I might latch onto in the flow of writing, or what may come from a stream of inspiration. That is when writing really fires me up-when it just seems to come forth and pick up steam. *There are always more words to learn. My vocabulary isn't too shabby, but it's certainly got plenty of room for future expansion. *Words can wound if not chosen carefully, but they can a...

Today I am grateful for friends I can confide in. I am grateful for what wonderful ways writing has helped me. I am a WRITER. I have been a writer since before I was a teen. It is only more recently that I have become a published and paid writer, with a monthly column called "Gratitude Flow" in our local newspaper for two years now. I get paid $30 a column. Prior to that, I had three op-ed pieces on the "Opinion Exchange" in the Minneapolis Star Tribune over a couple of years, and they each paid $100 apiece. (They stopped paying the $100 now, so my 4th piece was unpaid, but I am still so grateful it went in. The payment was just a bonus really.) I am not raking it in, but I am indeed paid and published. I am also proud of the guest blog posts I have written for "Pink Ribbon Blues" and "Nancy's Point." Of course, the blogosphere makes it possible for anyone with access to the Internet to self-publish, but to have someone else feel my writi...

Today I am grateful for early morning quiet today, a lovely run in the sunshine yesterday, and a nice birthday for Sam. As I pondered my first "v" word-visceral-a second word came to mind- VERTEBRAE . They are two words that not only share a first letter. They share an important role in the lives of humans. They help us feel deeply, to move and be moved. I am a physical being, a runner, active, trying not to take my health and physical capabilities for granted. But I must admit I hadn't thought directly about my vertebrae in a long time. A more formal definition of vertebrae goes like this: each of the series of small bones forming the backbone, having several projections for articulation and muscle attachment, and a hole through which the spinal cord passes. There's a reason why we use phrases like "they were the backbone of the team, the family, our business." Our backbone is vitally important and contains vital components of our central nervous system...