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I talk a lot about practicing gratitude. I try to keep an actual gratitude journal, but—thankfully—sometimes I'm too busy to get to it every day. When I do have (read: make) the time to write down my blessings, I realize how much I have to be grateful for.

I'm grateful for the Poetic License that blesses me with the ability to end a sentence with a preposition. And start sentence fragments with a conjunction. For example. 

In the Beginning

There's so much we take for granted that we fall into the trap of not appreciating what we have. So that's where I started—appreciating the basics in my life. Trust me, once you get going, keeping track of the obvious blessings gets easier by the minute. It took me a while to get into the groove, way back in the beginning of my Gratitude Journey. It was a tough year and I think my initial entry went something like this: 

I'm grateful I have a warm bed to sleep in. 

I'm happy to report that once I started paying attention, I realized  there are tons of things for which I can be grateful…

• My cool new shoes because lime green is one of my favorite colors
• The dehydrator I just inherited so I can make oodles of kale chips
• The discovery of lacinato kale so I can make even better kale chips
• Friends who stop by and bring me breakfast because my car won't start

Kicking it up a Notch

That last one gave me pause. Did I really find something to be grateful for even though my car wouldn't start that day? I almost got all proud of myself…and then the next level of practicing gratitude began to dawn on me. What if my car had started that day? I would have missed an opportunity, and so… 

I'm grateful that my car wouldn't start so I could learn to appreciate the thoughtfulness and generosity of my friends. 

Being grateful for the good things in life is essential. We need to pay attention to the things that are good/great/awesome and we need to be appreciate and grateful. But what about the things that are not so great? What about the days when the car doesn't start? When you develop a food allergy that prevents you from eating some of your favorite foods? When a freak snow storm leaves you without power for a week? When what you believed was the most important relationship in your life ends? Practicing this type of gratitude is so important—and of course, SO not easy. Believe me! But here goes…

I'm grateful for…

• Those pesky allergies to wheat and eggs, because without them I feel SO much healthier
• The freak snowstorm that left me without power for a full week, because I regained my clarity and independence—plus I get to regale my friends with tales of the time I spent in the convent. And of course, I'm grateful to the Sisters of Divine Compassion who took me in when I needed a warm bed, a hot shower and three square meals.
• For the relationship that changed my life and broke my heart because without him I would not be the person I am today—and I love who I am today.
• For my whole world falling apart because I learned the most valuable lesson of all…

I've heard that when God closes a door, He opens a window. In my case, God demolished my home and gave me world full of possibilities.

Namaste and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.