Fifth Friday Gratitude
Thank you for joining me on the ride
Ah the quirks of having 13 weeks in a quarter… Each quarter, there’s a fifth Friday! And when I share my newsletter based on the week of the month (First Friday: Fiction. Second: Fridge Philosophy. Third: Writing Journey. Fourth: Anything), I’m at a loss of what to include in the schedule. Last time, I had a survey. Here in September, I’m going to lead with gratitude.
Gratitude is a good place to start in anything. Gratitude puts you in a place of grace and happiness. Gratitude provides context. Gratitude aligns with progress, even when life is tough. Gratitude is a mindset.
In researching the next big project, I’ve been focusing a lot on the power of gratitude. In the story I’m crafting, I’m taking a cranky curmudgeon columnist and making him confront his ego by making him write about gratitude to see how he changes. When he sees how gratitude creates selfless acts toward others and how it expands the heart exponentially, he begins to see how he can change for the better.
In my own life, I’ve tried to start the day by thinking of three things for which I’m grateful (Sometimes, I forget. I’m grateful for grace). It could be for my health. It could be for my family. It could be for an activity in which I will be participating that day. It could be this newsletter. The point is by thinking of gratitude, my day starts on a good note. At the end of the day, I try to think of gratitude in the context of what happened that day. It could be a good thought. It could be an unexpected surprise or the taste of a fantastic cheeseburger. But each day ends with a good heart.
Even in the toughest days, when things did not look good, or when I know I’m going to need to have tough conversations or answer hard questions, focusing on gratitude helps me get through.
That’s why I want to take this morning (as I write this, I’m on a business trip), to be grateful that you’re here and reading these words. It means so much that you are taking the time to support this newly formed passion. I hope that my gratitude of this process is showing through, and you are enjoying it. I write for myself, but it’s a lot easier and drives the process deeper when I know that someone is reading. So, I thank you for driving me to push deeper and make this the best I can.
THANK YOU!
Well said, my friend. The power of gratitude is amazing! I try to use it in my life constantly, even during trials. It's noteworthy to see how it can change your outlook if you say, "Thank you, God, for this flat tire!" or "I am grateful for this health challenge"
If you are interested, the President of our church delivered a message in 2020 on "The Healing Power of Gratitude". It is well worth a watch for everyone, in my opinion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i51gcWCs-Ho&t=160s
Nice post. I keep a gratitude journal in which I usually write a few things I'm grateful about. My wife, my health, having a bed to sleep in, etc. Sometimes it's just a few things, other times it's a longer list. I often find I awaken the next morning with a positive attitude. The gratitude attitude can change our lives for the better.