Warning: This is an unabashed FEEL GOOD post! Gratitude!

Research supports the notion that taking the time to be grateful, by writing in a journal, through meditation or prayer, improves mood, and enhances resiliency. But what about those times when we are so low we can hardly come up with one measly, teeny, tiny, itty, bitty thing for which to be grateful?

A few weeks ago a friend, knowing I was feeling a bit down, sent me this sweet little book. Without even opening it I was cheered right up! What a thoughtful thing to do! How often do we think of making gestures like this but don’t follow through? I was sincerely touched. The book is called thx thx thx, by Leah Dietrich. She writes thank you notes to the funniest little things in our lives like zippers or the TV remote. I opened the book which randomly fell open to:

“Dear Rice, Thanks for revealing your mysterious preparation to me. I know I’ve burned you in the past, pretty much every time, but suddenly I feel like we get each other, and now I can make you whenever. You taste so good. Thanks again, Leah”

It made me smile and I needed that smile right at that time. Appreciating big things like having enough energy to write more on the blog wasn’t happening. It was too big a hurdle at the time which was depressing me. But appreciating the smell of laundry as it came out of the dryer? I could do that! This little book, and my friend, reminded me.

I’d like to encourage everyone who reads this to write a few words, perhaps a simple sentence, perhaps a single word in the comments about a small thing or something significant, that you are thankful for. It could be something as simple as a sunny day or it could be prednisone. I have a love-hate relationship with prednisone but yet I have an overwhelming amount of gratitude for this medication.