Yesterday was a long and tough day.  Every day lately I seem to get thrown unpleasant twists on the same old themes (I know that something good is coming soon!).  I’m feeling tired of being there for everyone around me but not really taking care of me … I know you know that feeling!  So, last night, as I slowly walked down the road to the ball field to watch my guys, I seriously thought about turning around, running home, getting in bed and waiting for tomorrow.

But when I got to the ball field, there were my friends – those from my side of the fence and those on the other.  I immediately felt better seeing them.  It’s energizing to connect with people who care … and are happy to connect about nothing!

In one of my chatter-filled conversations, I made a mental note to be present and not take the moment for granted.  It was only a split second but it was enough to develop an immediate sense of gratitude.

Look, s*** happens all the time.  But, we can choose to wallow in it or we can choose to be thankful at any time.  And, we can choose gratitude for a day, an hour or even a minute.  What helps us find gratitude?

1. Relationships:  Friends and those who truly love you make it easy to feel gratitude. Be thankful for the compliments your friends give you, for the checks they pick up, for just being there — and it won’t be long before you’ll have even more friends to be thankful for.

2. Health:  Be thankful for what you have.  My friend called me last night to tell me her niece was paralyzed in a horrible accident — she’s alive, however.  Gratitude, my friends.

3. Practice: Practice gratitude.  It will just build in you and I promise you will feel healthier and happier.  Try it for one second today.

3.Strangers:  Yesterday a stranger hugged me.  I was crying on the phone at a coffee shop and he came over to hug me, bought me a cookie and left.  I’m gluten free but who cares … it was great!  Reach out to a stranger and you’ll feel gratitude as will he/she.

4. Your beliefs. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, devoted Yogi or just a lover of the sun — no matter what you believe about how it all ends, (or if you believe in nothing), the goal here is to find gratitude in your every day life and find your purpose.

So baseball friends – you quietly saved me yesterday by allowing me to just be.  Thanks for that!

To all you blog readers — with numbers growing at an amazing rate – I feel gratitude for you.  You allow me to be totally open (brutally so) and I hope in some way, it helps us both move through this amazing thing called Life.

Today’s (everyday’s) mantra:  My life isn’t perfect, but I’m thankful for everything and everybody in it.

Have a great day!