Gratitude

Several of my friends have been doing a meme where they post at least one thing every day for which they are grateful. I've enjoyed their entries, but haven't felt the need to join in. I am so grateful every day for the mainstays of my life--my family, my friends, my community--and for the extraordinary luck of living so luxuriously from any historical or global perspective, both in terms of material goods and personal freedoms.

But tonight I found myself thinking something that I think most of us forget most of the time. I wanted crackers and the box in the pantry had been emptied, so I went downstairs and got another box from the backup supply. And I thought that I am deeply grateful to the person who thought to buy an extra box for just such an occasion. That'd be me.

I think it's really important to be grateful to ourselves for making the choices and doing the things that make our lives what we want them to be. Full of crackers and dreams and good books and art and nifty people. I hear my friends putting themselves down so often, blaming themselves for all the bad in their lives and failing to celebrate that we do often manage to make ourselves happy in ways little and big.

So, everyone think of something good that you did for yourself today. If you want to share it, I'd love to hear it, but no pressure. If you can't think of anything, then I encourage you to do something nice for yourself tomorrow. And then say thank you. Treat yourself kindly.

Gratitude

Several of my friends have been doing a meme where they post at least one thing every day for which they are grateful. I've enjoyed their entries, but haven't felt the need to join in. I am so grateful every day for the mainstays of my life--my family, my friends, my community--and for the extraordinary luck of living so luxuriously from any historical or global perspective, both in terms of material goods and personal freedoms.

But tonight I found myself thinking something that I think most of us forget most of the time. I wanted crackers and the box in the pantry had been emptied, so I went downstairs and got another box from the backup supply. And I thought that I am deeply grateful to the person who thought to buy an extra box for just such an occasion. That'd be me.

I think it's really important to be grateful to ourselves for making the choices and doing the things that make our lives what we want them to be. Full of crackers and dreams and good books and art and nifty people. I hear my friends putting themselves down so often, blaming themselves for all the bad in their lives and failing to celebrate that we do often manage to make ourselves happy in ways little and big.

So, everyone think of something good that you did for yourself today. If you want to share it, I'd love to hear it, but no pressure. If you can't think of anything, then I encourage you to do something nice for yourself tomorrow. And then say thank you. Treat yourself kindly.