In his book THANKS!, Robert Emmons recommends keeping a gratitude journal to enhance our gratefulness. At this time of year, it’s especially appropriate to look back over past entries (I’ve now filled two small diaries), to see patterns, and to be grateful again for:
The Gifts of Time
–fitting in two errands and a quick walk before an appointment
–getting a free evening when it wasn’t expected
–one stop-shopping: finding all I needed in one place
The Gifts of Taste
–a favorite ice cream flavor
–Trader Joe’s dark chocolate lacey cookies or chocolate covered almonds or Girl Scout Samoas
–finding an easy crock pot recipe for pot roast or soup
–cinnamon-raisin swirl toast dripping with butter
–Yakima cherries on the Olympic peninsula
The Gifts of Work and Leisure
–meeting a deadline, finishing an article
–getting home before the snow fall, finished on a Friday with the week well done
–a proposal accepted, a talk scheduled, a project complimented
–finding fine novels: The Light between Oceans, The Truth According to Us, The Invention of Wings, All the Light We Cannot See at the library
–slipping into grubby, comfortable clothes after dressy ones
–falling asleep in deep peace
The Gifts of Family and Friends
–an unexpected call from my daughter, an e-mail from my son, a postcard from another daughter, a text from another son
–a wonderful dinner or hike with special people
–family members getting plane tickets for Thanksgiving or Christmas
The Gifts of Nature
–tiny toes of green buds in spring, turning into full-blown, tax-paying adult leaves
–the first ¼“ of daffodils poking through the mud
–the sound of rain on the roof
–prism light of sun on snow
Kathy Coffey 