I am feeling particularly grateful right now.
We spent the past weekend working hard for our bicycling club’s annual fundraiser, the Horrible Hundred. I have written about our work on this ride in the past, but this year I have been feeling especially grateful for our wonderful team. Without them . . . their willingness to work very hard for a long day for no apparent reason other than a job well done, and their ability to overlook and laugh at the foibles of their co-leaders . . . we would never have been able to organize a successful ride rest stop for eight years.
I am also grateful that this is our last year organizing that project.
Focusing on gratitude got me started in a direction I should go more often. With the annual Thanksgiving holiday just ahead, I was encouraged to look further. I took a quit trip to the web site for The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin’s bestseller, and sure enough . . . she is exploring the notion of gratitude this week . . . with a focus on thankfulness for things that do not happen. A quick search of her site revealed about 40 entries in which gratitude is explored in some fashion. After all, having an attitude of gratitude is considered by many to be a key ingredient of happiness.
In fact, a quick Google search of the word gratitude comes up with over 56,600,000 results. That number amazed me! It is not quite so many hits as a Google search for the word ‘greed’ produces (it comes in at 58,200,000 quick results), but it is still a well-mentioned concept in our culture.
The number of hits on ‘greed’ suggests that we might need to improve our focus on gratitude to become better human beings. I get irritated with those greedy folks and their sense of entitlement. I am very grateful for those in my life who have an ongoing sense of awe at the beauty of the world and the goodness of others. They remind me that not everyone . . . maybe not even most people . . . believe that the world owes them anything.
- I am thankful for my family and friends who are always there when I need them….and even when I don’t.
- I am grateful for my co-workers who have been with us for so long and keep on producing so our customers have outstanding software and great support.
- I really appreciate those of you who are our customers, who use our products and recommend us to your friends and colleagues.
- I am thankful that there are a few people in addition to our customers who like to read what I have to say.
- I am profoundly grateful that we live in a beautiful place where we feel connected to nature daily.
- I am thankful that I have found yoga practice, and that I have so far to go to get anywhere near maximum benefit from it. There is only upside!
- I so much appreciate that I will see well-loved family members in just a couple of days.
What role does gratitude play in your life? Is it important in your day-to-day view of the world? For what are you most grateful? What do you do to practice gratitude?
Please share your thoughts and experiences with the rest of us. We will be most grateful. And do have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.