Before the new year begins I feel the need to introduce this blog. Maybe that's unnecessary, I'm not quite sure of the "blog-etiquette" as this is my first real attempt. I guess I will be learning as I go, something that I'm not always great at doing. I tend to want to learn it all, apply it all, and excel at it all. That is partially why I am sitting here starting a blog. I need to tone things down in my life. I recently had an experience that I will call, despite the dramatic quality of the phrase, "eye-opening" and "life-altering." I'm sure in time I will more fully explain the events that led me to writing a blog, but for now we will leave it alone - the emotions still a little to raw for the wide world of the internet.
Back to the blog and my ultimate goal for writing. I hope to write each day, and that sounds very overwhelming so forgive me in advance if that doesn't happen. If the title of the blog wasn't an obvious give away, my plan is to write about something I am grateful for each day. I'm sure this has been done before, probably by millions of people all over the world, but I have never done this, so to me it is a brand new, amazingly wonderful idea. In November, I spent the days leading up to Thanksgiving posting one thing I was thankful for on Facebook each day. Yes, I was one of those annoying people! Again, my apologies if that is something you don't particular care for seeing on your news feed each day; however, if you didn't like that this blog may not be your cup of tea either. As I was posting each day I found myself taking a few minutes out of each day to think of something good about the past 24 hours. Most of the time I was doing this on my way home from work, simultaneously thinking about how much I hated myself for starting this daily post, but refusing to quit because I don't tend to quit things easily. Amazingly enough I found myself having a hard time thinking of just one thing to post on some days, and I also started feeling less stressed by the time I got home from work.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that simply by thinking about the good I miraculous felt better, happier, and ready to bring peace to the world. Far from it actually. But what I did notice was that it felt good to think about good. A surprisingly simple idea, but something I had never given much thought to before, even in the years prior when I had jumped on the "Thanksgiving Facebook Marathon." I briefly thought about continuing the Facebook posts for an entire year (your welcome fellow Facebookers for not doing this, as it would have probably driven everyone crazy). Instead, Thanksgiving Day came and went and along with it my daily posts. I found myself in a situation a few weeks later having someone read a brief excerpt from the book Peace in our Hearts, Peace in the World by Ruth Fishel, and it turns out gratitude can help to fight away anxiety, depression, stress, sadness, grief, and a myriad of other negative emotions. Gratitude, as it turns out, is pretty powerful.
In some ways I am writing this blog for myself. I need to start appreciating all that is beautiful in my life, and recognizing what I have to be grateful for each day. I hope that by writing this blog and committing myself to writing each day it will force me to spend time with positive thoughts in my head. Of course, I hope that those who read and share this blog will also gain something. Wouldn't it be amazing for others to start taking time each day to recognize one thing they are grateful for, and maybe even write it down. I know there are already people in the world who do this, and I am amazed at their strength and mindfulness. Here's hoping that by the end of 2014 I will be closer to joining that group, closer to having an "attitude of gratitude".
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