Chowing on nachos with a good friend of mine, she reminded me that when life gets you down to focus on what makes you happy.  (Thanks Stace).  She pointed out that I have a good job and can pay my bills,  my children are healthy,  I have a supportive family and friends as well as a warm house to come home to.  She’s absolutely right. I know she’s right. I just need that friendly reminder when that pity-party band starts playing in my head – LOL.

Focusing on random aches and pains, complaining about the dysfunction in our world,  stressing over the minor obstacles in my life and pining after what I don’t have, absolutlely brings me down.  Yes, I do need to set goals and make little changes and take action to acheive my dreams, but I need to do so in a positive way.  I need to make time for myself and let myself be me. So I’ve come back to gratitude.  Remembering what I am grateful for and reminding myself that I am enough and I have enough, genuinely leads to happy feelings and drives my blues away.

Beyond those obvious “BIG” things I am truly grateful for (my children, family, friends, health, home  and job), I played back the last few days in my life and found little things that I am grateful for…in no particular order:

• Giving my cockapoo a shampoo and blow out at the self-serve dog bath with my teenager. He smells great and looks positively fluffy.
  
• Writing with a brand new gel pen. There’s next to nothing more satisfying than writing that first stroke with a new pen:)
• Stocking up at the olive bar. (Need I say more?)
  
• Listening to the Coffee House channel.  Even though I am musically inept, listening to music while reading a good book lifts me up every time.
• Eating a yummy waffle sandwich (Again, need I say more?)
  
• Watching an old movie in the dark. Just like a good book, a good movie is good for the soul (happy endings only, please).
• Playing with a new fun photo editing app.
  
• Dropping my daughter off at her first job (brought back memories for another post).
• Being reminded by my friends to keep on keeping on.
• Writing this blog post and hopefully resonanting with other grateful people.

What random things are you grateful for? Please comment below.