A Running 3 x 3

Today I am grateful for my first bike ride of the year, and for the motivation to eat healthy and keep a few pounds off. I am grateful for the ways grace and gratitude show up in my days, when I am paying attention.

I haven't done a 3 x 3 lately, so how about a running one now?  Try it yourself on anything you want. It helps further explore and deepen gratefulness. Pick anything or anyone, list 3 reasons why you are grateful for that person, thing, or situation. You can stop there. Or you can put three more things under each of your first three. Like me, you may just find that
3 x 3 > 9.

Running

1. Being able to be outside.
      a. Enjoying the fresh air.
      b. Listening to the birds as their numbers and songs grow this time of the year.
      c. Running past a brown and gray hillside, knowing that in a few weeks it will be green and alive.

2. A clearer head.
     a. I don't run with a radio anymore. I prefer to be alone with my thought process.
     b. Welcoming the thoughts that come through, even the challenging ones. It all helps.
     c. Finding clarity and direction in little and big ways often happens for me on runs.
   
3. A sense of physical wellness.
     a. Appreciating adequate lung capacity, even though my pace is slowing some.
     b. Being able to run pretty much pain-free, even with my bunion and other toe issues.
     c. The strength I feel when I push up a hill, or push my pace at the finish.

I count 13 reasons to be grateful. Gratitude grows when we seek it.