Slideshow image

What did you do when you first woke up today?

Did you say “I Love you” to a special person (or fuzzy) in your life?

Did you say "Thank you, God, for letting me have another day" as Amarante Cordova does in the film “The Milagro Beanfield War”?

Or did you turn over, hit the snooze button, and say “Not yet.”

Whichever way you woke up today, you can choose how you go through your day.

“THANK YOU” is both a prayer and an acknowledgement of gratitude for the blessings in your life.

Now, sometimes it is difficult to view an annoyance or an impediment as a blessing, but lessons in living are all around us. The Universe is always reflecting and giving us chances to learn and grow and change. It is up to us to be aware as students and learn.

So how do we live our gratitude?

By being patient with ourselves and how we interact in the world around us.

It is in being kind to others and also to ourselves.

It is recognizing the beauty in our lives and around us.

It is in being grateful for the roof over our head, the food on our tables and the family and friends we have with us on our journey.

It can be quick check-ins throughout the day.

It can be a song or a dance expressing your joy.

It can be a gratitude journal.

It can be a beautiful box or vase you fill with slips of paper on which you write what you are grateful for.

It can be a gratitude prayer before bed, listing what you were most grateful for throughout your day.

In this choose-your-own-adventure life, how you express your gratitude is up to you.

But the great thing about gratitude is the more you are grateful for, the more the Universe lets into your life to appreciate.

May you recognize the blessings in your life every day and recognize the new ones coming your way.

 

Jennifer Markley

Jennifer is a LUT (Licensed Unity Teacher) candidate and author of The Reader’s Journal and The CreativeGoods.com: Resources, Tools and Inspiration to Live the Creative Life.