Grateful For

Recently ei posted on her fabulous blog about all the things she's grateful for. I love this simple, yet profound, concept: by focusing on what we're appreciative of and grateful for, we redirect our energy and concentration from the icky and negative circumstances in our lives, to the happy and positive. It's so unbelievably easy to focus solely on all our troubles. We ruminate on our hard knocks: "I'll never get out of this problem!" "Why do all of these terrible things happen to me?" And while I find it's good, productive even, to consider our problems in an effort to work through and determine solutions, we must do so in moderation (we shouldn't obsess, or stress) and with a positive outlook.

If only I could figure out how to live by these guidelines!

But, as a start, I'm going follow ei's lead and create my own list of things I'm thankful for. It's time to center on all the great things in my life in an effort to realize the good in the midst of hardship, feel more contented and less frustrated, and create even more circumstances to feel grateful for.

* My (huge!) family
* My sis -- she's my mentor, my best friend, and an immense source of strength, support and I admire her beyond words
* My dad -- though he's no longer here he is still inspiring, guiding, loving and protecting me
* Though no relationship is perfect, the way Scott is willing to work through things with me in an effort to reach solutions that are "perfect" for each of us
* Writing. Without the ability to write thoughts, feelings, frustrations, joys, life would be more difficult to endure and less fun to recount (not to mention, I'd be slower to learn from all my experiences and, most likely, be much less self-aware)
* Wonderful friends. Though I don't get to see them as often as I'd like, I am constantly thinking of them, wishing them well and knowing I wouldn't be half the person I am today without their impact on my life
* My health and 100 percent full recovery after my scary, near death health scare that occurred one year ago this month
* Blogging and all the incredible, supportive and kind blog friends I've made since I began keeping this web journal 4 years ago
* The ability, and desire, to express myself creatively, particularly through writing and music
* Running
* Great music (I especially love acoustic, soulful tunes with creative and meaningful lyrics)
* Sunshine!
* Both the brilliant and muted hues of fall
* Good, kind people and random acts of kindness
* Pictures
* My faith in something bigger than myself
* Love ... I once heard it makes the world go round ;-)