Habitual Gratitude

Today I am grateful for our son Sam and what he teaches me as I try to do my best to love him, support him, and parent him. I am also grateful for a clean and convenient water source just a few feet away from me. How many people in the world don't have that luxury? Yesterday morning on my commute, another construction vehicle slowed traffic as we crossed the bridge, just as it had a couple days ago. That allowed my eyes and mind to roam a little, and I again noticed the bridge workers. I counted close to thirty who were already at work and doing a variety of things at about 6:30 a.m. It got me thinking about how everyone has a story. I wondered about each of those workers and what their stories are. How had they come to be part of this bridge construction crew? Do they have families? Are they locals or imports? Do they like their jobs? The questions could go on and on. Then, at school, I pondered how every student has a story, every co-worker. We each have a life story, ...

Today I am grateful for my husband Darcy and the many ways he understands and supports me. I am also grateful for some well-timed meditation and reflection time yesterday. Today's quote in my gratitude journal is: "Thankfulness is much more dependent on attitude than circumstance. When you feel the lack of what you don't have, thank God for what you do have." (Jim Stephens) I would answer the question posed in my blog title with a resounding "attitude!" Our perception of ourselves and the world around us is, I believe, very much shaped by our attitude about it all. My perspective is not chosen for me. I get to choose it. Certainly, circumstances impact my attitude, but they don't drive it. If I am driven only by circumstances, I feel like a victim and I stay stuck in the problem. If I am more driven by an attitude of gratitude, I tend to get unstuck and have energy to focus on solution work. I admit that I have tried long and hard to control thin...

Today I am grateful for a little touch of coolness in the air this morning. It's the first we've had in days. I am also grateful for friends, old and new. My friend Jenny, who I have blogged about in posts such as this one,  also blogs. She calls her blog "Manifesting the Magnificent." That fits nicely with the power of gratitude practice. Magnificent things surround us if we just pay attention. Actively practicing gratitude in and of itself manifests the wonders of life. In a recent post titled "How do I turn on roaming" Jenny wrote about how roaming, in a broader sense, leads to inspiration, wonder, vision. You can read the post here . She encouraged readers to do some roaming of their own, so I did. I went through my day yesterday with roaming on my mind. I observed. I participated. Some of my discoveries included: *A construction vehicle slowed traffic on my commute. Because of that, my eyes could roam a bit more as I drove across a new bridge tha...

Today I am grateful for my job and the new people I will meet, get to know, and work with this school year. I am also grateful for doctors with a sense of humor. Sunday's post quoted from p. 100 of Anne Lamott's book Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers.   Further down on that same page, Lamott writes: "More than anything, prayer helps me get my sense of humor back. It brings me back to my heart, from the treacherous swamp of my mind." This is what I call a zinger, and Lamott is so good at delivering them throughout her books. Prayer as a way out of ourselves. Prayer as a ticket back to some level of sanity. My mind can become a treacherous swamp when I go down the paths of worry, anger, fear, regrets, impatience. I get stuck in taking myself and life way too seriously. At times like that, my mind seems to be disconnected from my heart and soul, which means I have also crowded out faith. But I can pause and pray. I can get on my knees if I choose bec...

Today I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to others about gratitude last night at our church, and I am grateful for those who were there to listen. This is today's quote in my gratitude journal: "Gratitude is riches, complaining is poverty. Instead of complaining about what's wrong, be grateful for what's right." (Zachary Fisher) Thank you Zachary Fisher for nailing it! It seems to be my nature to dwell on what isn't going right, what I am worried about, what I wish I could control but can't, what I would prefer not to have to deal with. When I do that I get exhausted and I am not paying attention to the daily gifts that surround me.Gratitude practice works if I work at it. I am deeply blessed. My life is rich. And it has nothing to do with money and stuff. It has everything to do with seeing what's right. Here are a few things that are right in my life: *my marriage to Darcy *being a mom to Sam and a stepmom to Arthur and Emily *my...

Today I am grateful for acceptance and a healthy perspective. Both help me approach challenges with calm. Both are amplified by gratitude practice. So what about today's blog post title? Read. Repeat. Pray. Repeat. That's what I do with Anne Lamott's books. I read them once, love them, laugh, marvel at the insights I can so relate to, put them down feeling full and blessed. What strikes me the first time I read one of her books will be different the next time I read it. I like books like that. Months after reading one of Lamott's books, I will pick it back up again, when I need a boost. I just read Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers for the second time. I have blogged about Anne Lamott, my favorite author, numerous times. You can read some of those posts here  and here . In this trip through Help, Thanks, Wow , these words on p. 100 struck me: "If you're like me, you ask your higher power for help and then cause further need for help by pro...

Today I am grateful for doctors who patiently answer my questions and for good ice cream. I am also grateful for the lifts I get from others in so many different ways each and every day. Sometimes we literally need a lift. Circumstances leave us without transportation and we catch a ride with a friend, a family member, or a co-worker. Sometimes we literally need a lift because we are recovering from surgery, a stroke, or a broken limb. We can't get up or stand up on our own. I saw a couple of recovery friends yesterday who need lifts of the literal kind. It got me thinking about  "need a lift" and the many ways you can look at it. I often need lifts of the emotional and spiritual variety. And I am very thankful that I have many available to me. Yesterday they included a phone conversation with my friend Jill, time with other recovering people, laughter, reminiscing and going through old toys with my son Sam, and a head and neck rub from my husband Darcy. I am grat...