Everyday Gratitude

Happy Wednesday! Happy day before turkey day and the Macy’s parade (my second favorite holiday tradition of all time, looking at Christmas lights with my dad is my most favorite)! This time of year, a fair number of people take to social media to post 30 days of gratitude for the month of November. And while the sentiment is lovely, I’m here to say that making this an everyday exercise is necessary. It doesn’t have to be some public post to the world. You don’t even have to write it down (although there is magic in putting pen to paper and writing your gratitude list down *thanks to my friend Shunta for that wisdom*). It just needs to be a declaration each day, whether you speak your gratitude to yourself or you put it into words for everyone to read.

I express this sentiment as someone who has a relatively easy time expressing gratitude. While everyone in the world certainly suffers hardship at some point, I am in a season of life filled with easily accessible experiences and comforts for which to express gratitude. However, I am continually reminded that waking up each day with breath in my body is reason enough to be grateful. If all you are grateful for is being alive, that is enough. If you are like me and fortunate to have an abundance of gratitude, please be conscious of it each day. The thoughts we allow to dominate our mind have a tremendous impact on our perspectives and how we move in the world. I made a conscious effort this past year to write down what I’m grateful for each day. Some days they don’t make it on paper but each day I prioritize gratitude when I wake up each morning.

Because it’s 2020 and my kids are home wayyyy more than they would be otherwise, I started having them say three things they were grateful for each day. Initially it began as a way to buy myself a few more minutes to get lunch together while they were all up on top of me in the kitchen, but now it’s become an almost daily thing. I will not pretend that it’s deep or profound or whatever because it doesn’t have to be, but watching my kids express gratitude each day has been extra awesome this year. My son tries to game the system and say the same three things each time but just the act of speaking gratitude out into the world is enough for me. I hope building this habit now in the kids will instill necessary perspective. My kids are growing up even more privileged than I did and I hope to teach them the gratitude my parents taught me. My parents taught me to never take anything for granted and continually told me her fortunate I am. Thank goodness for my parents.

All this to say, no matter what season of life you’re in, no matter how ridiculously hard the world is (and it is for so many people, not just this year but every single day), we can all be grateful for waking up each day with breath in our bodies. And those of us with abundance can take our gratitude for all we have and translate it into giving. I’ve learned lately that while non-profit organizations truly appreciate all the giving that occurs this time of year, it is more impactful for many of them to receive a guaranteed monthly gift. Meaning that if you are someone that donates $100 (or however much) this time of year to the organization of your choice, it is often better to donate around $8.33 or so a month rather than the lump sum of $100. The reason behind this is that when an organization is planning their monthly or yearly budgets, knowing guaranteed amounts each month is extremely helpful for budgeting. I never thought of this before and would not have known this on my own so I wanted to pass it along to you. If you are looking to thank someone for this idea, thank Jenna Fischer (Pam from The Office). And complete side note, if watching people bake soothes you, give her a follow on Instagram and thank me later 🙂

If you are able to give and you choose to, please consider a recurring monthly donation. You can make a world of difference and a tangible impact on the lives of other people. I hope you have a joyous holiday in this year of all the ridiculous things. You woke up with breath in your body today. You are amazing!