The Secret Workings of Being Thankful

I've always considered myself to be a pretty grateful person. Throughout the rolling tape in my head each day, I consider how lucky I am to be healthy, to have people around me who care about me, to delight in small things, to notice and enjoy nature, to have a person in a dog's body for a pet, to have something upstairs in the good 'ole brain, etc., etc.

However, I have my fair share of sarcasm. It's there as a coping mechanism to entertain myself when things aren't exactly as I'd like them to be. I'd like to transform that into more active and unwavering appreciation for whatever I may encounter each day.

Julia Osovskaya took thankfulness to a whole new level with her blogging project last year. She vowed to write each day about one thing for which she was grateful--whether it was expression of a fat element of life or a situational reflection that one might not normally consider in a positive light. She succeeded and took me along in her journey.

I found her thankfulness refreshing and contagious. She's found that it changed her life. A couple days ago, Julia shared what daily thankfulness--deeply considered and expressed in writing--did for her. In her own words, here are 5 ways it's changed her. I think the first is most meaningful for me.

1. I don’t really get upset that much any more.
2. I feel much more comfortable when it comes to making distant future plans.
3. I’ve became a much more cheerful person and this is something other people actually now notice about me. Just recently someone told me the first thing they noticed about me and would never forget was my broad smile upon saying hello to them... I would never forget them saying it either, because this might as well be the first time someone told me something like that. And I honestly believe such thing would have never be applied to me if it wasn’t for my year of gratitude that did this magic to me.
4. I get up in the morning and I look forward to every day. This hadn't quite happened since I was a child, so it definitely feels positively new. I think it’s because I now know that no matter what the day ahead holds for me, I will be able to remain positive through whatever.
5. Not only my year of gratitude showed me what my true passions were, it totally showed me all the ways I could try to pursue my hopes and dreams. How is that not good?

Thanks, Julia, for your example of living in gratitude. It's a mindset, and once you get the hang of it, it's just part of who you are. I'm hoping to be more conscious about living in that space.

Check out Julia's blog here. Sending wishes to you for calmness, health and all good things as this year draws to a close.