Gratitude, how to beat the blues

Last Thursday I had an exceptionally excellent day and was feeling very grateful- so I was reminded that I had been meaning to write about gratitude for a while now.

There are days, and I'm sure everyone gets them, when life-for whatever reason- feels lame and slow. You feel stressed without a reason, or sometimes depressed. I have found gratitude to be the best cure for that awful sulking feeling. 

I had this friend named Rachel- at the end of each day we would cross out the day on the calendar to mark the passing of time. Only I marked mine with an X and she marked hers with words. At the end of each day she would 'cross the day off' with things she was grateful for that day. I've found that as I follow that example I'm a lot happier. I'm not as good about doing it daily right now- but on days or weeks when life feels bad I pull out my calendar or planner or whatever and write down things that I'm grateful happened that day. This can include the humorous, the terrible (because it will turn into memories that you will laugh at later), the happy, the delicious, whatever. 

Just taking time at the end of each day to be happy for your life can make you a lot happier with your life. Promise. :) 

Example page. My favorite ones looking back are "accidentally walked into men's bathroom but no one was inside" and "tripped and fell into bathtub before date"  

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.” 
― Seneca

So here are some pictures from lately of things I have been grateful for. 

The flowers at Thanksgiving Point

Minimizing- getting rid of clothes I never wear. I'm also doing this thing where I've turned all the hangers around backwards and every time I wear a shirt/skirt I can turn the hanger back normal. At the end of one year anything still left backwards goes. 

Free concert at the park...he's a one eyed one horned flying purple people eater...wearing short shorts.

All the roses blooming at work! I love my job. :)

Canoe trip day! There were these three boys in a boat, and the one in the middle refused to sit down...it was very entertaining.

I got these sweet pea seeds from someone's house in Idaho last October (I suppose stole would be the correct term), and this year I planted them. So far 9 are growing!! Exciting! 

Chickens and trampolines

Reading on the front porch. Right now I'm reading Oliver Twist and "Leadership and Self Deception"

I think my favorite banana bread recipe so far- the Lion House recipe

Another free concert in the park- this time it's dueling pianos. 

Dad- "They just ruined another one of my favorite songs" He's 'critically' enjoying himself. 

Mom- Singing and dancing along.

Caution...when carrying honey jars, make sure the lid is screwed on tight- can be very sticky to clean up.