what are you grateful for

I think a common way to for us check back into ourselves is to ask the question, "What am I grateful for?" Being grateful for even just one small thing can shift our perspectives. Even in the darkest, most anxious times there is usually at least ONE thing that we can find hope or a shred of light in. The one thing that keeps us going. So it is an important question...what AM I grateful for today?

If you wake up every day and have a million negative thoughts about how the day will go, then your day is most likely going to be bad. But, if you wake up every day and have a million positive thoughts, including a list of things you are grateful for, then your day is most likely going to be a good one. We can open the shades and see clearly when we begin with focusing on what we DO have. Not what we don't have.

In the month of May, for twelve days I woke up and wrote what I was grateful for that day. If I forgot to do it when I woke up, I would go back and do it later. Sometimes, it was actually hard to think of something. But I sat for however long it took and really thought about the good parts of my day, some big, some small. So here is my list of things that made me smile and reminded me to celebrate even just the littlest moments:

5/12 - warm coffee, warm blankets, good friends and family, the ability to be active

5/13 - cold fruit, music that speaks to me, birds and the sound of them chirping, rainbows

5/14 - the beach, iced coffee, kind and thoughtful people in my life

5/15 - julia's yoga class, dance, pretty rooftop views, a roof over my head

5/16 - my bible study, waves and the ocean, sunlight through the shades, prayer, a healthy body

5/17 - being able to watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day, generous people, dreams

5/18 - notes from friends, fuzzy socks, laughter

5/19 - having a passion, the color green, warm cookies with milk

5/20 - car jam sessions, tennis with friends, patience, real hugs

5/21 - the feeling the weekend is about to start, a good pair of jeans, pizza comas

5/22 - breathe, long beach days where you play games and everyone is in the water, concerts

5/23 - groceries, toasts to friends, rest, clean sheets

Looking back at this list had me in awe. Not in awe at myself, but at the fact that those things are simple and beautiful. I often take for granted the groceries in my fridge, the bed I get to sleep on, and my everyday life. I would challenge everyone to try and make a list of things that make you smile throughout the day and hope you notice a change :)

We don't HAVE to do anything. We GET to do it.

We are blessed to wake up and do the things we do.

We don't have to go to work, we get to.

We don't have to do our laundry, we get to.

We don't have to wash the dishes, we get to.

It's all just a perspective change.

Let's be grateful <3

Always,

Sara