I have heard about the concept of non-linearity. In the classes I take, we talk about letting go of control and how the world of energies is not linear. 

So some days, writing or talking about what I am grateful for is more difficult than other but then unexpected things are showing up in my life. For example, I was at work concentrated on the task at hand and out of the blue I felt a wave of happiness through my body. It was a wave so it came and went, but it has a lasting impression through the fact that it happened. It’s possible. It exists. 

I am grateful I got to experience this wave of surprise happiness for no reason. 

Last night, when I asked Rolly what he was grateful for in his day, he said: “I feel like I am just saying things to meet a quota”…

Just after I tell myself this nice story of Rolly loving our gratitude exchange…

I told him that some days it might feel like filling up a quota but other days, it is fun. 

The thing is when we most need to feel grateful that’s when it seems to be the least available. But theoretically, it is like a muscle, so it is like working out: some days it is easy and fun and others it is not… I’ve been told there is a benefit to working out even if it isn’t easy. So possibly it is the same with listing things that we are grateful for…

What are you grateful for in your day today?

Rolly loves our evening gratitude exchanges (we share 3 things we are grateful for about our day). It is becoming a ritual that brings us joy. We get to talk about the good things in our day and most of the time when we name something we go on to describing it in details and therefore reliving it. 
Maybe Rolly doesn’t love the gratitude exchange but believing that he does makes me happy so I might as well believe it. There is a French book titled “Les gens heureux ne s’inquiètent pas de savoir si c’est vrai… Ils se racontent de belles histoires” (= happy people don’t worry about knowing if it is true… They tell themselves beautiful stories).

My beautiful story is that Rolly and I both love our gratitude exchange. What is yours?

Here is a gratitude description I found in a blog that I like much better than the dictionaries’ definition:

“Gratitude means thankfulness, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive.” … “Gratitude shifts your focus from what your life lacks to the abundance that is already present. ”

Lately in the morning, I have arrived at work a few minutes early so I stayed outside, standing in the sun, enjoying the warmth on my skin and through my cloths. What simple pleasure are you enjoying today?

http://www.thechangeblog.com/gratitude/

Rolly was making a call while I was looking at things on my computer. I heard him talk but didn’t pay attention. Then he said “I’m talking to the automatic system”. I laughed and continued on with what I was looking at. He then talks to someone for a while and when I heard him say: “oh what a nice piece of music you’re playing for me!” I asked “are you still talking to the machine?” He nodded and we laughed some more. 

What would it take to create more silliness and laugher in our lives?

I am grateful for Rolly’s lightheartedness. 

Yesterday, I noticed that when my computer was doing its thing to start, it said “Welcome”. How sweet! I had never noticed that my computer is welcoming me each time I start it. Progress is so amazing!!!
I am grateful for the ordinary coming alive. 

I am grateful for my friends who spoil me. How many unicorns do you see in this picture? 

I read an article on gratitude in the face of the suffering in the world. A portion of the article was talking about the action of gratitude. It said that once we acknowledge and appreciate something that we are grateful for, we can make it matter by sharing it. The article had the example of being grateful for a healthy body, we can share by using our body to get things done, to help others. 

I believe that recognizing the things I am grateful for helps me. And when I help myself, I can have a different impact on the world around me and that impact can have a ripple effect. 

What would it take for all of us to be a bigger ripple of gratitude and joy in our lives?

http://www.gratefulness.org/readings/kn_difficult-times.htm

Yesterday, I got to really work my brain, intensely for 5 hours. It was like using a Ferrari on a race course instead of a regular road. It was fun for me. I am grateful for my brain and my body’s capacities. 

I was discussing gratitude with my friend and she mentioned that she had read that appreciation was better than gratitude. As I was looking for the ethymology of the word gratitude, I found this:

“Part of the confusion is that many people have come to equate gratitude with obligation. But real gratitude begins as appreciation for that which has come into your life.”

(excerpted from Phillip Moffitt’s article, “Selfless Gratitude,” August 2002 Yoga Journal, pp. 61-66)

I wonder if in order to emote gratitude at a deeper level, I could consciously add appreciation in my acknowledgement of gratitude…

Not quite clear to me yet. 

This week-end I really appreciated the orange roses of the Rose garden in Stanley Park. I am grateful for orange roses.