With Thanksgiving right around the corner, many people are asking themselves what they are thankful for. I try to practice gratitude on a daily basis, as it helps reveal all the beautiful aspects of my life, from the grand to the ordinary. By listing the things you’re grateful for, you begin to appreciate the minutiae of your life or you may even learn to find appreciation in the little annoyances of your existence.
For instance, my toaster is extremely temperamental. Some days I will put it on the highest setting and it will require two rounds, other times, my toast burns on the lowest setting. But with gratitude practice, I am just glad to have this appliance that adds some amount of ease to my life, and I learned that I actually like the taste of burnt toast!
Today I am feeling beautifully overburdened with gratitude. This is usually the mood I get after a family dinner, which we try to have occasionally. Seeing the various generations of my family coalescing and gathering together over a good meal is one of the more precious things in my life. My family has not always been composed of my favorite people, like most people, I could refer to my loved ones as “crazy,” and it wouldn’t be a hyperbole. But after spending four years away from them at the other end of the country, to be near them again is a blessing unimaginable. To know my nieces, to watch them grow before my eyes, to hear my sister’s laugh, to watch my father hold my son, these are the moments of my life I treasure above all.
I just wanted to take a moment to share my gratitude, and now to ask, what are you thankful for today?