How much is gratefulness and appreciation a part of our everyday? Keeping a daily journal about all the things we are grateful for, regardless of our circumstance, is a kind and uplifting practice. And even fun. I will have to start that. I have tried it now and again as part of being appreciative of my life. And it is lovely when I’m in that frame of mind to remember.

If the “glass of life” feels half empty, we might start a short list of what we are grateful for, including breathing, or having clean sheets on the bed when we are sick, or to have a tree to stand under when it rains. Mother Nature offers us a lot to be grateful for, and she is so generous, no matter who we are or what we do.

By looking at ways we can be grateful right now in this moment, rather than lament for external things we may not have, is a lift to oneself. Did western culture get sidetracked and distracted with wanting stuff? How did we come to believe more stuff, more possessions, more botox , more products, would lead to happiness and fulfillment?  Is there a quick fix to feel good, grateful and appreciative?  Is it an inside job, meaning something we have to do individually for ourselves? It seems we have to work through why we feel unsatisfied in our life. Meaning we have to feel our feelings , not buy our way out of it. And sitting quietly for a few minutes each day, to list a couple of things we may feel grateful or appreciative, is a nice new step to invite into our lives.

We have so much to cultivate and nurture inside ourselves, a garden really. Maybe we  forget to water or fertilize our inner selves, which can affect our energy and thoughts. Yet when we are ready, and give it the right love and attention, our inner garden will grow, bloom and be luscious. That is something to be grateful for, that our garden may be dormant, or struggling through some weeds,  but it is always ready to grow and bloom from the seeds of gratefulness we sow.