Yogananda said: “Don’t wait for reversals to make you grateful for what you had.”
Shoo, that one hit me in the chest guys because let’s face it, this is our nature as human beings. We stare our healthy bodies/happy kids/safety/relationships/security/financial security/good fortune in the face and it’s only when we lose one of those things that we realize what we had going. Right?
I’ve cultivated the habit of making a daily Gratitude List. In fact, I make several a day (on paper/on my phone) and I have done this for 15+ years. Every.Single.Day.
It’s a bit like brushing my teeth or going out for my daily walk sometimes. It’s a slog! I can come up with a million reasons I should postpone starting it or not doing it at all, but once it’s done, I’m like … “Girl!?”
My lists are often simple and things like my housekeeper Mavis, my children’s teachers and food top my list, but just yesterday, I had over 30 items on my Gratitude list. They just flowed.
It was a simple, shitty Monday of chores, no-Mavis and dreary weather but I had things like:
1. Old McDonald had a farm (on the piano by an 8 year old!)
2. Spinach from the garden
3. Take away coffee from the hubs
4. My Dishwasher
5. Fireplace
6. Bookclub stash
8. Walk with Celeste
9. Home Office
10. Birds galore
11. Chats with school moms
12. Found my keys!
13. Boy scored goal in hockey (hates hockey)
14. Girl happy to perform in school concert (eek)
15. Great meeting with editor
16. Prawn rissole from heaven
….okay, I’ll stop there but you get my drift.
I didn’t have to wait until my body was too sick to walk or my garden too barren to give me spinach to appreciate the glory of these little moments. I saw them and I winked in absolute gratitude for all the many blessings.
And I tell you, the more I do this, the more I want to. Always.
Lee Mayimele - Writer 