The Grateful Grail

We live in a paradoxical (I looked it up and it’s a word!) culture, us North Americans. Our quest for instant gratification seems to be ever increasing, never satiated. The flip side is our yearning for personal growth and lifelong learning. Instant. Lifelong. The two seem contradictory, and it creates an inner battle that needs to be addressed and quieted.

Some of the recent buzz I’ve been exposed to is the notion of gratefulness – how keeping a journal of what we’re thankful for can open up a world of inner peace and can renew our enjoyment of the simple things in life. This notion, truth be told, is ancient and is only re-surfacing as we recognize the empty hole left in our soul when we insist on serving ourselves.

As I reflect on my own ‘stuff’, I know there are so many reasons for me to be exceedingly grateful. I have committed to myself that I will daily write down a minimum of 5 things/circumstances/people I am thankful for. I have created a new tab on my blog menu called “Grateful Grail” where I will post those items, and invite you to commit as well to some form of daily reflection on the good things in life. I would love for you to post yours along with mine, so that together we can create a movement of people who are aware of how wonderful and amazing life is, and to help us maintain an ‘attitude of gratitude’! (You wouldn’t expect a post from me without some sort of cheeziness, would you?!)

My 5 for today?

• I love that my kids get as excited as I did at their age, to see and try to count the ‘buffalo’ when we drive through Elk Island Park.
• My Mom and I have an annual tradition that spans about 17 years, and Sunday was our 2011 installment. Love it!
• Friends who put up with me.
• Coffee.
• Sitting outside sipping coffee on cool but sunny summer mornings.

Food for Thought:

“Think big thoughts, but relish small pleasures.” ~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.