21 Days of Gratitude

I've read that it takes 21 days to develop a new habit. So today, I start a new habit. It's something I try to do every once in a while, but always subconsciously, with no real appreciation of the moment. I'm going to find something or someone or both to be grateful for every day for 21 days. I plan for this habit to stick.

I'm an optimistic person and I rely greatly on my faith in God's will. But I wasn't always this way. There have been several times in my life where I've felt certain desperation, bleak depression and frustration with my particular lot in life. I realized that it was during those times that I stopped believing in the greater power that has always pointed me in the right direction.

I'm not one to push my beliefs on others. I will never claim to be an authority of religions nor do I feel the need to espouse on the merits of one religion over the other. I believe myself to be more spiritual than religious. But it's been my faith that I return to time and time again where I find great comfort. I've done countless things I'm not proud of, but yet here I sit, blessed with a good husband I adore, a home full love and happy moments, a tight-knit family, lifelong friends and a job I enjoy.

I believe it's important to find these things everyday that make us happy and thank God for them, or whatever deity you believe in. It's not just about turning off negative thoughts, but feeling true appreciation on a conscious level for the little things as well as the big things.

Today, in additon to what I listed already, I'm grateful for:

- Easy conversations with old friends, friends you may not hear from for months, but when you do make contact, it's like no time has passed.
- The helpful neighbor I have in Bob, my co-vanpooler, who never hesitates to loan me the tools I need to work on a home project.
- A vanpool that costs me in one month what most people pay for just one full tank of gas.
- The finances that allow us to house and feed the abundance of beautiful pets we have, with enough left to pay Sam to come in weekly to clean up after them.

And thus starts Day 1 of 21.