I am struggling with the question as to why we find it so hard to be thankful and express gratitude for the good in our lives, yet find it easy to identify and complain about what we do not like.
I wrote a philosophical tome (well, a blog-tome) on the subject; it was heavy and cyclical and swamp-like and too cerebral for any practical purpose. It wasn't really practicing the simple life. Deleting something can be very cathartic sometimes.
Maybe someone is trying to tell me something; if so, it is a good thing. For Christmas I received three presents which pointed me towards considering happiness and gratitude, and their inter-relation: a gratitude journal; 365 Gratefuls, by Hailey Bartholomew (http://365grateful.com/homepage.htm); and The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin.
In 2014 I am going to write down three things every day that I am grateful for. I want my outlook to go from lazy, un-monitored complaining to disciplined, proactive identification of the beauty and goodness in my life each day. Here are some for today:
How different do you think your life would look if you practiced gratitude? Do you think 'practicing' detracts from the spontaneity of thankfulness?
