"Whatever is Given is a Gift"

So how do we train ourselves to be grateful?

When life isn't always a honeymoon in Italy...

A long time ago, when Tom and I were at the infancy of our dating- he gave me the first material gift of our relationship, aside from little things like Gatorades delivered to my dorm room which he claimed was his way of flirting :).  It was the Oprah Winfrey 20th Anniversary DVD Collection.  No, this was not out of the blue that he thought to give me this...I had just noticed it one day at the bookstore and told him how I always loved watching Oprah, but I always missed it at 4pm everyday.

Well, that was about 5 years ago and I still bring the DVD set out and re-watch certain portions of it.  One segment called "Ah-HA moments" with the author of "Simple Abundance" the gratitude journal- really spoke to me as Tom was getting ready to leave for possibly 2 plus months.  She talked about the transformative power of writing down 5 things every night in a journal that you are grateful for.  They could be big or small, but you had to find 5 things.  There is real science behind this, as Deborah Norville talks about her biggest surprise in this topic:

"Biggest surprise? "That this science existed. So many self-help ideas are like meringue—you take a big bite, and there's nothing there. What I discovered was the 'there.' One study from the University of California, Davis, actually quantified what happens when people are grateful. They really are more optimistic, more apt to help others, more joyful, and genuinely healthier. Related studies have found they're more resilient, less stressed, and better strategic thinkers. All because they focus on what's right in life."

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Deborah-Norville-on-the-Power-of-Gratitude#ixzz1mYyVC1K5

Why is this important to me now?
I am on the path to the hardest thing I will ever do...being a mom, and also approaching the experience that can be terrifying to most women: birth.  These two things in particular, have made me become increasingly interested in the power of our minds, whether it is praying to God for me or meditation for a secular approach. I love that this excludes no one, but can change anyone.  I can already sense a better outlook on life just from this small change of focusing on the good everyday.  Tom is really one of the most optimistic people I have ever met, but the change has to come from within myself.

I admit some nights I fell asleep without writing, which is why my list is a bit shorter(and I also excluded quite a few that were too personal), But here is it:

1. Great friends visiting
2. thoughtful family members who sent cards for our birthdays
3. sunny days
4. free time to do whatever I please
5. staying busy all day while Tom is away
6. the delicious food at Silkes Bakery
7. having money to shop for myself
8. our group of caring friends who helped us move for 3 days!
9. feeling so loved by many people
10. my mother for giving birth to me (today was my birthday)
11. sarah jo and meagan's company
12. my new found spark to research and understand the history of Christianity
13. my husband
14. time alone from my husband to make me remember how great he is
15. Tom's faith
16. Tom's family
17. my paycheck
18. bubble baths with lavender
19. sunsets
20. me time
21. hearing tom's voice and laugh
22. my caring company i work for
23. Joe A. giving me his spare Droid after I ran mine over
24. a Saturday with nothing to do
25. cooking for others
26. always being able to fall asleep
27. long showers
28. tom's friendship with his fellow troop
29. my mom helping me get a new car
30. breakfast casserole
31. finally having a microwave back
32. all of my sisters
33. talks with Tom
34. Elizabeth keeping me company on gchat most days
35. dinner at meagan's
36. mom and dad driving up to Nashville to get my car
37. long walks in my neighborhood
38. my sister candace and her cloth diaper knowledge
39. our baby
40. Tom coming home healthy
41. lunch at silkes with a new friend
42. tom being so helpful with cleaning
43. Publix- the service and unique food i can find now!
44. having the time and energy to cook
45. paydays
46. hours spent at the bookstore with Tom on a slow Saturday together

I hope that I can continue to practice this and improve the way I treat life's "gifts."  What do you do to stay optimistic and grateful?

~the damsel