Every morning for the last couple of months I’ve picked 5 things to be grateful for.

Sometimes they repeat. I mean, the things we’re REALLY grateful for, we’re really grateful for! So why wouldn’t they repeat?

Sometimes they’re big. Like being grateful for Deb, my wife.  And Caileigh, Keaton, and Tara, my kids.  Come to think of it, it’s the big ones that seem to repeat!

Most often, though, what I’m grateful for is small and benign. I’m grateful that I spoke to one of my kids. I’m grateful that I finished listening to an audio book. I’m grateful that I had pizza for dinner.

If you look, it isn’t hard to find things to be grateful for.

Conversely, if you look, it isn’t hard to find things that don’t make you feel gratitude. It’s like the glass half full, half empty thing. What ever you believe, you’re right. You’ll find things to reinforce your beliefs. But why choose to look for things that will make you feel bad? There’s enough things in the world that will make you feel bad without looking for them, so choose to find things that will make you feel good.

I’ll be honest, in the last couple of months, I haven’t noticed a huge difference in my attitude. There have been no earth shattering revelations. But I think it’s helping. At the very least, I start my day on a positive note.

And it might be having an effect that I haven’t noticed, but maybe other people have noticed. Or maybe having the attitude of gratitude is allowing me to be open to other things, instead of closing myself off?

I can’t point to anyone thing (at this point) that is a direct result from finding 5 things a day to be grateful for.  But I’ve just started my third month in a row and I plan to keep going.

© 2019 Peter Gruner