my gratitude list

On this day before Thanksgiving I'm making a gratitude list. I have the day off work (item #1!) and am getting ready to go for a long walk in the woods. The rains are coming, which we desperately need, but it looks like I'll be missing my walk with my girlfriends tomorrow morning before the feasting begins thanks to Mother Nature's wet gift.

This practice of making a gratitude list is simple but powerful. Whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed with deadlines at work, worries about family or friends, bone-tired, lonely, or blessed beyond belief, I take up pen and paper and start writing. In no time I find myself in a balanced place with my heart overflowing with the warmth of gratitude.

Here goes...today I am grateful for:

1. Having today and the next four days off work as paid time off. Grateful for a job, and one that I love so much, in these trying economic times

2. Family that loves me and who stand by me in good times and bad

3. Friends in abundance who share their lives and laughter with me

4. Good health...being a cancer survivor gives a whole new meaning to "live each day as if it were your last because you never know when it will be"

5. Chocolate donuts for breakfast (c'mon...you know i'm not always so serious)

6. The opportunity to spend the morning in the woods walking the trails and breathing in the cold autumn air

7. My true companion, Boo (the cat), who purrs happily on my lap and makes me feel that all is right in the world

8. A good book and warm blanket on a chilly day (after that long walk in the woods)

9. A new recipe to try for roasted Brussels sprouts (it's the little things that count)

10. The chance to reach out to all of you and wish you a peaceful Thanksgiving with the ones you love

Peace on the garden path,

Patty