“It’s not too hard to notice what’s not going well. But noticing what is? That’s a challenge.”
This past November, I took part in the 30 Days of Gratitude Project for the second year in a row. The project, created by Annie Zirkel, LPC author of You’ll Thank Me Later ~ A Guide to Raising Grateful Children & Paul Taubman, AllAboutGratitude blogger, invites people to post their daily gratitudes throughout the month of November on the project website http://www.30DaysofGratitude.org .
Many of us (myself included) are guilty of being jaded, overly sarcastic and taking for granted all the good things we have in life. We easily get caught up in the things we still want and don’t have and we get very frustrated when things don’t go according to plan. It’s easy to forget the good stuff. Gratitude is a feeling, but it is also a practice. It has been my experience the more grateful you are for the good in life, the more good will come to you (still working on the billion dollars though). I have to confess, I don’t feel that grateful most days. That is why I loved this project. This is my second year posting my gratitudes and reading what others are grateful for, and it was truly inspiring, heartwarming and humbling. It was a reminder to remember the good things in my life and be truly grateful because you know what, I do have it good. Actually, I have it great.
So here they are, my 30 Days of Gratitude:
1. I am grateful for my strength. The past two years have been the hardest I’ve ever experienced in my life, but I made it through the hardships and came out a stronger person.
2. I am grateful for my cousins. I am very lucky that I grew up with people who understand my unspoken thoughts and who I can have a great time with no matter what we are doing.
3. I am grateful for the knowledge I have been blessed with. There is no greater bliss than being one with all. JGD
4. I am grateful for my body and my health. Even though I don’t take care of it as I should, it still gets me through life.
5. I am grateful for my parents for providing everything I need and want in my life.
6. I am grateful for old friends. We grew up together and went through a lot. I’m glad you are still in my life.
7. I am grateful for the travel opportunities I have in my life. Though I can never get enough, I realize that not everyone is able to travel as much as I do. Seeing the world is a great blessing.
8. I am grateful for my renewed sense of acceptance. I recognize that some things are within my control and some things are not within my control. I am happy I am recognizing the difference and accept whatever happens.
9. I am grateful for my brother, who knows me and always has my back. I love you bro!
10. I am grateful for the person who lifted me up, lightened my heart and eased my worries. I am blessed with your love and light.
11. I am grateful for the amazing weather we’re having. I love being outdoors enjoying the sun.
12. I am grateful for my car. It gets me where I need to go AND it’s red.
13. I am grateful for the beautiful homes I have and will have. Truly a blessing when many have none.
14. I am grateful that I can pamper myself when I need to.
15. I am grateful for the abundance of delicious food I am blessed with.
16. I am grateful for all the wonderful memories I have of growing up, of great people, and the good times.
17. I am grateful for this vacation as it allowed me to recharge, reflect, and spend great times with my family and friends. A great reminder that life is good.
18. I am grateful that I am surrounded by wise people who are willing to offer their time, help, support, advice, and guidance.
19. I am grateful that God always reminds me how lucky I really am.
20. I am grateful for my resilience. I am glad I can bounce back after hitting rock bottom.
21. I am grateful for the great deep sleep I have been having lately. It really is helping me accomplish more.
22. I am grateful that I am Lebanese. Even though our country is crazy, it has made us face the world’s challenges easier than others.
23. I am grateful for the children in my family. It’s a joy to have fun with them as they view the world as a wondrous place and they are full of unconditional love.
24. I am grateful for the creatures in the world, especially dogs.
25. I am grateful for my loved ones, who never hesitate to lend a sympathetic ear, words of kindness and inspiration. They always remind me that things will be ok.
26. Though we haven’t always seen eye to eye and it took me a while to admit, I am grateful for Kuwait. I was born here and lived here all my life. It has allowed me to get a great education, be close to my family, travel and experience the world, grow and evolve, and meet amazing people who have become my lifelong loved ones.
27. I am grateful for my mom who constantly pushes my personal and spiritual growth. I love you mom.
28. I am grateful that my problems seem quite big but are actually small compared to what others face.
29. I am grateful for technology which opened up a new world with amazing people and knowledge. I never would have met them otherwise or know the things I know now if it wasn’t for technology.
30. I am grateful for the 30 days of gratitude project. It is important to be grateful for life’s blessings and obstacles. It makes us who we are. 30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE
Dizzy Rum Kit 
What a great project! Writing our gratitude down makes it more real and makes us realize all the things we have. And I'm grateful for knowing you 🙂
Thanks Mich. 😀 I'm very flattered and humbled by your comment. I am grateful for you. You are truly a giant force of positivity. Hope to meet you soon. 🙂
While I understand how important it is to be grateful for what we have, I'm having a hard time pinpointing this at the moment. And I wonder what good it does any way. I've grown to be very wary of this new age philosophy that encourages us to ask while the Universe just giveth. It seems to me that the Universe takes more than it gives, if it giveth anything at all. It just works in such mysterious ways that I've lost hope in it. I can't wait for 2010 to be over because it was a year full of disappointments. And I don't know what to expect from 2011. Am I being ungrateful by stating this? Maybe I am. I just feel that I've to be honest about how disillusioned I am with all this positivity. Maybe I'll eventually come around. But for now, I'm in a state of mourning until I find that silver lining.
Dizzy Di, I apologize if I seem to have rained on your parade.
My dear Joelle,
Thank you for your comment. You definitely have not rained on my parade. I fully understand what you said about 2010,as it was a tough one for me too. Its hard to be grateful and happy when you're in that place, and everything seems grey. That's why I mentioned that I didn't feel that grateful, though the exercise was a reminder. It took me four months of work on my self to get out of that negative bubble, and its a daily struggle. Also, asking is not enough, action is a must. It has also been my experience that when I was feeling negative, it was tough to attract positive things. I wish you all the luck in the world and I hope you don't lose hope.
Dear Dizzy Rumkit,
This is such an impressive collection of contemplations. What a nice way to put all your gratitudes together.
And I am so glad that you added your presence to our project. It really was each person who took the time to participate that made it the awesome experience that it was.
Thanks for posting this and for sharing it with me.
I do hope that your 2011 is an easier year to be grateful for.
Peace- Annie
@Joelle – I understand how hard gratitude can be, especially if your life doesn't make it easy. And I am also not afraid of not feeling grateful for a while, but I don't want to stay there because it doesn't help me.
In my book I talk about stages of gratitude. The fourth one is Hard Gratitude – which is when life is hard and the choice is down to despair or gratitude. As the mother of a son who is severely disabled this was the gratitude I had to learn.
It took a while and it doesn't always come but it has really saved me too.
Obviously I don't know your troubles, so I hope this doesn't come across as dismissive of your pain but I hope that you look back on 2010 as a year that you are grateful to have survived and that reminded you of your strength and courage.
And I hope that your 2011 is a much easier year to be grateful for as well.
Peace – Annie
Dear Annie,
Thank you very much for your comments and your wonderful project. Your courage and outlook on life have inspired me. I wish you a great 2011.
Peace, love and happiness.
@Annie, I do admire your courage and strength to rise above the hardships. And you're right, when I think about it, if there's anything I'm grateful for in 2010 it's that I survived it. Hopefully, this acknowledgment will be the stepping stone to better things. Thanks for your kind words. I wish you all the best in 2011.