Happy Humdrum

The concept of gratitude had never really occurred to me before in a profound sense until recently.  This is odd to me because I consider myself to be a person who has always stayed on the positive side and practiced gratitude and mindfulness.  We all get caught up in the mundane; putting our nose to the grindstone, folding laundry, slaving over a hot stove, sitting at a table littered with bills.  Things that seem constant and dull.  We do this amongst a crowd of familiar faces, also a constant.  Life as I know it has turned upside down on me more than once, so I believe I’m well versed in the art of appreciating what you have, but I don’t think I’m well versed in the art of appreciating the constants.  Sitting in front of a pile of laundry, jumping in my car to pay a bill – these things are not considered mundane for other people, especially people in other countries being torn apart by violence and politics. People would love to be annoyed by something so small compared to the bigger problems they’re facing.  They would also love to sink in to a soft bed at the end of a long day or feel the rush of comfort that comes from hugging a loved one.  There are simply people out there that don’t get to do the things we don’t give enough credit to.  What gives us a sense of normalcy and stability is the very thing, ironically, we don’t acknowledge enough.  Let’s start acknowledging it.

Now that I’ve had my moment of enlightenment, I am going to try to see the mundane tasks of my life through rose-colored lenses.  This holiday season I will try to help others reach a sense of gratitude by donating what I can to holiday causes.  My hope is that my small act can help someone feel grateful.  Everyone deserves that feeling.  Happy holidays!

Three good things:

Walt initiated an adorable conversation in the car today about what we all liked about Chuck E Cheese; Autumn really loves to dance and dip her french fries in her Pappa’s ranch at Chilis; My jeans are getting a little looser!