My mentor, Lezlie Laws of LifeArt Studio, is big on gratitude, regardless of life’s circumstances and has me writing a gratitude list every day. It works. No matter what’s going on, during the time I’m making that list, I am focused on the positive. I find myself looking for good things throughout the day, so I’ll have more for my list the next day. I always find what I’m looking for.
This week, Lezlie’s blog post referred to an article by Leo Babauta titled “31 Perfect Things” where he listed his thirty-one perfect things, including an avocado, fallen leave, people laughing, a song that gets you dancing, and so forth. That made me think. What would my list look like?
- being married to the greatest guy in the world
- good friends
- Lake Fairview
- work I love
- cold watermelon
- making people laugh
- writing
- meeting interesting people
- a walk in the woods
- cool air
- wearing shorts on Christmas
- reading a good book
- pelicans fishing
- hydrangeas
- boiled crawfish
- dancing and getting the steps right
- a warm blanket
- cold caffeine-free Diet Dr. Pepper over ice
- waking up without an alarm
- good choices
- help available for the asking
- my parents
- Treehouse Masters
- bookcases full of books
- wood storks
- purple
- trees
- a new bar of soap
- fire on a cold night
- a good idea
I’ll end my list as Babauta did:
- you
I am so grateful for you. Thank you for being a part of Writing Your Life and sharing your stories with me, and I wish you the most joyous holiday season. Start them off with gratitude by making a list of your thirty-one perfect things. Then let us know what you hold dear in the comment box below.
photo credit: I express infinite love and gratitude at all times via photopin (license)
3 Comments
Brenda
I am so grateful for:
all of God’s graces especially mercy and faith
my family; husband, daughter, son, in-laws parents, brother, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins
Love
good health
good friends – old and new
good neighbors
a fine education
a home
a pension – one I contributed to for 40 years
health insurance
humor
living in a democracy where everyone – even those with whom I disagree – has freedom of expression
modern medicine – cured my husband of prostate cancer, and provided skilled surgeons who performed a triple bypass on him a year ago
food on the table
the ocean
such a diverse world including people, places, habitats, beliefs, cultures,
forgiveness
inventive minds and their creations
problem solvers
joy
art and music
Judi
1 That I am a child of God
2 For my family
3 For waking up this morning
4. For a mind that still works
5. For my guardian angel
6. A roof over my head
7 A bed to sleep in
8. Clothes on my back and in my closet
9 Food
10 Electricity
11 Old friends
12 Books to read
13 Functioning eyes
14 Selective hearing
15 Ears that still hear the birds singing
16 Fingers that feel
17 The ability to taste
18 love
19 children and babies
20 The ocean and the beach
21 The sound of silence
22 My faith, that God brought me home!
23 Good doctors
24 A steady income
25 Living in a republic of freedom
26. Music – all kinds
27. New young friends
28. My car, that has agreed to run until I cannot any more
29. The knowledge of my genealogy
30. You… and you, and you, and I wouldn’t forget you!
Beverly Bailey
Thirty-one Favorite Things in Almost Random Order
1. My husband, Larry, 51 years married
2. Susan and Shawn, my two children
3. Matt—the best of sons-in-law
4. Bailey and Noelle, granddaughters extraordinaire
5. God, and the personal relationship with Him, faith
6. Bible
7. Books!
8. Leslie, my dearest friend
9. Many other close friends
10. Wild turkeys roaming the yard
11. Deer, especially fawns in spring in the yard
12. Fallen leaves from gum, pecan, and hickory trees in the fall
13. Peach tree blossoms in February and March
14. Peaches, golden and juicy
15. Apples from North Carolina
16. Walks in the state forests where we live
17. Handel’s Messiah
18. Two cousins I’ve reconnected with after 30 years
19. Family genealogy
20. Research
21. Teaching
22. A clean house
23. Fresh, clean sheets on a bed
24. Cooking
25. Sitting on the front porch, facing west
26. Memories of Dad, who would have been 101 Christmas Eve
27. My church
28. Writing poems, stories
29. My education
30. Living in America
31. And YOU, whoever you are, reading this list, and Patricia