Throughout November I decided to immerse myself in gratitude- noticing, writing and reading. Now that it is December 1st, I have decided that making thankfulness and gratitude a way of life everyday is more important than ever.
In November I wrote out a list of things I am thankful for- hundreds of things- during Thanksgiving week. I also did lots of reading on gratitude, made it a point to go looking on purpose each for even the smalles things to be thankful for. Though I have heard it so many times before, the act of giving welled up more gratitude inside me than anything else.
So, how to carry it forward into the rest of the year? One idea is to write 3-5 things you are thankful for each evening before going to sleep. You can also do regular reading, look for ways to be of service to others and to help others, even anonymously. (that is really fun!) I even have found some songs that fire up the spirit of gratitude for me.
One book I would love to suggest to you that I have been reading over the past month is called Gratitude, by Louise Hay. Short stories you can pick up and read in a few minutes- over fifty of them. All different angles on gratitude- very interesting and some of the stories really opened my mind to thinking about things differently. For instance, even though I am sure I missed some people, I tried to focus more on saying thank you, recognizing and appreciating others. Sometimes things can get too busy and I can forget to let them know. I want to change that.
Also, if you have an opportunity to be downloading music, two songs I love that make me feel happy and grateful are : My Life, by Robin Thicke (from the Despicable Me soundtrack- a great movie, too!) and I Gotta Try, by Michael McDonald. Check them out!
I am grateful to all of the readers of my blog! Thank you for reading! Join me in taking Thanksgiving further than the boundary of November, and make it an everyday habit!